Richard Spencer May Speak At University Of Florida
Richard Spencer, the “alt-right” leader at the center of the weekend’s Charlottesville crisis, may speak on the University of Florida’s campus in September, thanks to rules that allow outside groups to hold events at the public college.
“For many in our community, including myself, this speaker’s presence would be deeply disturbing. What we’ve watched happen in Charlottesville … is deplorable,” wrote university president W. Kent Fuchs in a letter to students.
Kent added: “This organization is unaffiliated with the university, and no student groups or other groups affiliated with the university are sponsoring this speech.” The University of Florida, located in Gainesville, allows outside groups to use space on campus because taxpayer dollars fund the institution.
Spencer, who coined the term “alt-right” and envisions a white “ethnostate,” had initially wanted to hold a “White Lives Matter” rally on the campus of Texas A&M, but that move was nixed by campus administrators there.
He appeared at the Texas school in March, in a divisive and violent appearance that led the university to restrict the right of outside groups to use space on campus.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO