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Monday, Januar y 30, 2017 | Vo l u m e 1 2 1 | I s s u e 3 9
Battle of free speech
April Torres / Daily Lobo / @i_apreel
Provocative alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos addresses attendees during his speech Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at the UNM SUB. Yiannopoulos gathered hundreds of supporters and spoke about political issues during his speech.
Milo packs SUB ballroom Milo speech draws By Nikole McKibben @nmckibben92 After weeks of not knowing for certain whether the University would allow the event to go on as scheduled, polarizing rightwing Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos was met with acceptance and some resistance inside the SUB Ballroom Friday night, where he touched on immigration, Muslims in America and his distaste for the progressive movement. Yiannopoulos’ speech, titled “America Deserves Borders,” was part of his country-wide “Dangerous Faggot Tour,” which has encountered opposition and, in some places, violence. Yiannopoulos cast these leftist activist and minority groups in a negative light, but last night
he ensured that no one was in a bubble. The speaker is known to be a provocateur in many places. “2017 is the year social justice f***ing dies,” Yiannopoulos said. Protesters were in the audience, and yelled out in opposition at various points, particularly when Yiannopoulos said women in Islam were suppressed more than any other group. One woman wearing a hijab who stood up and repeatedly called him a “hatemongerer” was escorted out by police as Yiannopoulos said, “You’re wearing a hijab in the United States, what is wrong with you?” He touted the importance of free speech, and commended acting President Chaouki Abdallah for suspending a portion of the policy that requires groups pay a security fee for free speech events. Abdallah released a Universitywide memo earlier in the week
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outlining UNM values on free speech. “UNM must be a place in which we can freely debate difficult questions in a respectful, inclusive way,” he wrote. “Free exchange of ideas is vital to our mission as a university. However, these times bring challenges to preserving a campus climate that fosters both free speech and respect for others.” Yiannopoulos’ remarks on Friday were mostly met with applause from those in attendance, some of it more scattered than at other points. A portion of the talk touched on undocumented immigrants, at which point he highlighted crimes allegedly committed by those coming across the border illegally, a slide with the numbers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement looming large behind him.
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Talk page 3
hundreds to protest By Matthew Reisen @MReisen88 Controversial right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos came to UNM Friday night, and along with over 200 demonstrators spurred into protesting his message. The group of protesters started by chanting “Alt-right, that’s a lie, you a Nazi in disguise” as they set up shop in Cornell Mall not far from where Yiannopoulos attendees were lining up to enter the event. They carried signs saying “Immigrants in, racists out,” and “Nazis not welcome.” The attendees and protesters were separated by a large contingent of police, but that didn’t stop
the numerous, sometimes heated, interactions between those coming to “shut down” Yiannopoulos and those coming to hear him out. Art, who declined to give his last name, was standing in line to hear Yiannopoulos speak. He said he showed up to support free speech on campus, among other things. “I’m here to support asking questions, instead of shouting ‘racist,’ instead of pointing fingers and calling people Nazis when you don’t even know them,” Art said. “I’m here to support the political movement, that some would label ‘alt-right,’ when half of us are libertarian here.” “Alt-right” is a label that’s been assigned by the Democrats,
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Protest page 2
Visit DailyLobo.com for a photo gallery of Friday’s protests. Subscribe to the Wolf Tracks Podcast, available for iPhone and Android devices, and check out the latest episode, focused on the Milo Yiannopoulos event.