By DAVE HUBER | THE COLLEGE FIX
West, the former U.S. Army lieutenant
colonel, U.S. representative and Texas GOP chairman, was invited by the campus chapter of Young Americans
for Freedom to give a speech titled “America is Not Racist.”
West managed
to complete his speech despite chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice,
No Peace” by protesters outside the venue. But things turned south during
the subsequent Q&A session as protesters “attempted to hijack the
conversation” and “flung insults at West.”
According
to The Spectrum, West’s talk really demoralized
some students. BSU Secretary Taylor Lewis, for example, said she “felt weird”
and was “trying to figure out where [her] place” on campus is as a “human
being.”
Sociology graduate student J Coley said he is
“exhausted” protesting (alleged) racism and believes the university hasn’t done
enough to make the campus “a more inclusive place.”
“At the end of the day, it is not our
responsibility,” Coley said. “The administration gets paid to do stuff like
this. Remember, we pay their bills.”
The UB Graduate Student Association, of which
Coley is president, issued a statement in support of black and “POC” (people of
color) students regarding “the anti-Black hate speech promoted by Allen West’s
presence on campus […] as well as the attacks on Black and POC student
protesters the same day.”
The town hall also featured the all-too
common “I’m all for free speech but …” statements. Student
Smitty Smith said “I feel like everyone should have the right to freedom of
speech, but the person you invite to speak and you give that platform to
matters.” He said minority students needed to be “protected” from speakers like
West.
In an
Instagram post, student Morgan Ross added to the theme, writing “While we
understand that people have the first amendment right to freedom of speech,
regardless of if they share the same ideologies and thoughts as we do … there
comes a point when we must confront the true reasons why certain platforms are
given.”
In this case, the reasons include “minimiz[ing]
the experiences of Black and Brown students in America.” Even though West is a
black man.
_________________
RELATED
ARTICLE
New ‘Western civilization’ center planned for
University of Florida
By Rachel Lalgie | The College Fix
The Florida legislature has passed legislation to build a
new center focused on “teaching and research concerning ideas, traditions, and
texts that form the foundations of American civilization.”
The education funding bill included
$3 million in funds directed at the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic
Education at the University of Florida.
The goals of the center listed in the bill include
educating students on the “core texts and great debates of Western
civilization,” “the principles, ideals, and institutions of the American
political order” and the “foundations of responsible leadership and informed
citizenship.”
A spokesperson for the governor said this center will
advance DeSantis’ goal to ensure “every child can receive a world-class civics
education that prepares them to be great citizens who will lead successful
lives.”
“The Hamilton Center will serve as a vital hub for civic
education programming, teacher training, public-facing lectures and events, and
a center of learning and inquiry for the entire community,” Christina Pushaw
told The College Fix via email.
“The center will give students a deeper understanding of the intellectual foundations and traditions of Western civilization, and the principles that have shaped American politics,” Pushaw said.
“Governor DeSantis has consistently advocated for
intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity within higher education,” Pushaw
said. “[T]he Hamilton Center will help protect pluralism and free expression on
campus.”
K-12 students will also benefit “because educators can
receive training there that will help enhance the civics education of tens of
thousands of Florida students.”
“The Hamilton Center will provide opportunities for
approximately 2,500-5,000 UF students; and opportunities to enhance the civic
education of 20,000-50,000 Florida high school students,” the budget request
stated.
Pushaw told The Fix the bill will be
signed before July 1 to meet the budget deadline for the upcoming fiscal year.
The University of Florida said it is “prepared to move
forward on this initiative,” communications director Brittany Wise told The
Fix.
Wise also told The Fix that it is too
early in the process to know certain details, such as the timeline for building
this center. But, UF looks forward “to making this resource available to [the]
campus community.”
The Hamilton Center will also be working with the Florida
State University’s Institute of Politics and Florida International University’s
Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic Freedom “to assist in the curation
and implementation of Portraits in Patriotism,” according to the legislation.
The College Fix reached
out to the Smith Center at Florida International University twice via email on
April 7 and 13 to ask how UF plans to work with the center, and how working
together will be beneficial to both the centers in the future, but received no
response.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/new-western-civilization-center-planned-for-university-of-florida/
MORE: Scholar explains ‘why we must teach Western civilization’
