Michigan State Agrees To Host Richard Spencer – On A Farm A Mile From Campus
Image by YouTube
By Aiden Pink March 2, 2018
Michigan State University reached an agreement with white supremacist Richard Spencer to allow him to hold a speaking event on its property — but it will be in a farmyard barn more than a mile from the main campus.
MSU reached an agreement in January with Spencer’s sponsor, Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett, to allow Spencer to speak at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education on March 5. Padgett has sued or threatened to sue multiple public universities on First Amendment grounds to force them to allow Spencer to speak there.
The university’s website claims that the pavilion includes barnyard stalls as well as an auditorium that is “used for livestock auctions and large meetings.”
Padgett had originally requested to speak at a conference center on the main campus, but the university denied his request, citing security concerns. Spencer’s talks have been the site of large protests and counter-protests. The University of Florida spent about $600,000 on security when Spencer visited in October. Three people were arrested there and charged with attempted homicide after allegedly shooting at counter-protesters.
Spencer recently called off a speech planned for next month at the University of Cincinnati, which was to be held during the school’s spring break.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
