Richard Spencer paid Auburn University $700 to speak on campus; students plan protests to stop him
Auburn University has recently found itself at the forefront of two major controversies. One is this story about an alt-right student group that has many there angered and asking for the university to get involved. I posted a discussion about that one earlier. The other involves them allowing Richard Spencer to speak on campus. Several students are planning to protest. I along with other friends have personally reached out and expressed my outrage to the university.
Here is a snippet. The link is below.
Richard Spencer paid Auburn University $700 to rent space in the school's James E. Foy Hall for a speech he plans to deliver Tuesday evening. The fee also paid for the Auburn Police Division to provide security for the event, according to a university spokesman.
Meanwhile, students and others who disagree with Spencer's divisive views plan to protest Spencer - a self-avowed white supremacist and "alt-right" leader described by many opponents as a "Neo-Nazi" - both before and during the controversial event.
"We are a public university and our meeting space is for rent," Mike Clardy, a spokesman for Auburn, told AL.com via email Wednesday evening. "Auburn supports the constitutional right to free speech, so we don't make decisions on who can rent based on content. Spencer is paying $700 for the space, plus all costs for security (Auburn Police Division)."
Spencer set off an online firestorm when he announced via Twitter early Wednesday morning that he plans to speak at Auburn on Tuesday. Scores of people, including Auburn alumni and students, decried the event on social media.
[link:http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/richard_spencer_paid_auburn_70.html|
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/richard_spencer_paid_auburn_70.html
Anyone else willing to help these students fight back against this ideology can do so by reaching out to the individuals below.
Office of Dr. Jay Gogue (President of Auburn) - 334-844-4650 - jgogue@auburn.edu
Office of Timothy R. Boosinger (Provost) - (334) 844-5771 - provost@auburn.edu
Chris Green (Coordinator, Campus & Community Events) - (334) 844-9135 - greenc1@auburn.edu
Teresa Whitman-McCall (Director, Campus & Community Events) - (344) 844-7521 -whitmtl@auburn.edu