Chronicling Campus in Contention

By Lauryn Bolz @laurynbolz

Editor’s Note: ‘Campus in Contention’ is an editorial series by The Collegian staff that examines conflicts in our community surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion and proposes solutions for how we can move forward. This article contains media depicting racist slurs and actions and may be triggering to some audiences Campus in Contention focuses on a number of acts that have been called out as discriminatory and regarding hate and bias that occured on Colorado State University’s campus and at other universities across the nation. This timeline puts the events that are mentioned in each of the articles in order to show the broader context of issues concerning free speech and rhetoric at American universities. Though this is not a comprehensive list of acts of hate that occured on CSU’s campus, it highlights the ones that were most highly debated and had a lasting impact on campus climate.

More information on each of these events can be found in the series itself.

FEB. 14, 2017

Conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos speaks at Michigan State University’s campus.

e Breitbart editor was brought to campus by e MSU Spartans for Free Speech, who stated the event was meant to “highlight the impact that politically correct culture has on society as a whole, especially college campuses …”

FEB. 2, 2018

Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, speaks at Colorado State University.

In response to the conservative speaker’s appearance, members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, which is designated as a hate group, came to campus. ey clashed with members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America and antifa, who protested the event. Police ordered a dispersal.

MARCH 5, 2018

Neo-nazi Richard Spencer speaks at MSU’s campus.

Violence broke out between attendees and protesters outside the MSU Pavilion, where Spencer spoke. He attributed the hostility to his race, saying, “No other group is treated with this kind of hostility. … It is only us, precisely because we’re white.” 24 total people from both groups were arrested.

MAY 1, 2019

Texas State University’s attempt to ban TPUSA from their campus results in conflict.

Four students were arrested on Texas State’s campus after confl ict broke out concerning TPUSA’s presence there.

OCT. 30, 2018

Dennis Prager speaks on campus.

e conservative speaker, known for founding Prager University, presented at the Lory Student Center. TPUSA sponsored Prager’s appearance, requesting $13,999 from Associated Students of CSU — $1 under the limit requiring review from the ASCSU senate.

OCT. 25, 2018

Students of color told to “go back to Africa” after Bernie Sanders rally.

A student named Alexandra Owen attended a Sanders rally at the Lory Student Center wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and shirt. When approached by students Rodica Ninguin and Diamond Nicholson, who wanted to understand her purpose of attending the rally, she told them to “go back to Africa.”

SEPT. 13, 2019

Photo of CSU students in Blackface surfaces.

e photo, which was spread through Snapchat, showed four white students in charcoal face masks holding an arm pose, with the caption “Wakanda Forever,” a reference to the fi lm “Black Panther.” Following the spread of the photo, CSU President Joyce McConnell sent an email to the student body saying the University could not take punitive action against the students under the First Amendment. CSU students protested by writing messages in chalk outside the Lory Student Center, saying “CSU admin condones blackface” and “racists condone racists; Pres McConnell, blackface is not okay.” On Friday morning, students arrived on campus to fi nd the chalk messages were washed away. Hundreds of students attended the Sept. 19, 2019, ASCSU senate session to denounce the administration’s lack of action.

OCT. 23, 2019

Charlie Kirk returns to CSU for “Culture War” event.

Charlie Kirk returned to campus, this time with Donald Trump Jr., to speak at the University Center for the Arts. Proud Boys, who are identifi ed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a general hate group, attended the event and clashed with protesters from the Young Democratic Socialists of America and others

JUNE 8, 2020

An incoming student posts racist, homophobic and threatening social media posts online.

e social media posts by Neal Van Houten prompted the creation of a change.org petition to have his admission to the University revoked. e petition gained more than 3,300 signatures. President Joyce McConnell sent an email regarding the posts to the student body stating that Van Houten violated the Student Conduct Code.

JUNE 10, 2020

Fort Collins community joins in national Black Lives Matter protests.

Protests broke out all over the world following the murder of George Floyd by police offi cer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. It did not take long for protests to arise in Fort Collins, as the community stood in solidarity with victims of police violence.

JAN. 27, 2021

ASCSU President Hannah Taylor increases cabinet members’ pay by 6%.

Information about the pay increase was spread through the Instagram account, @ colostatememes. Members of ASCSU said the posts contained misinformation.

OCT. 19, 2020

Melina Abdullah speaks at 20th annual CSU Diversity Symposium.

e event sparked criticism from the CSU community because of Abdullah’s history of supporting religious leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made anti-Semitic remarks. In response to an email from Joyce McConnell in which she denounced Abdullah’s presence, over 140 students signed an open letter to her, saying “You have solidifi ed whiteness as a standard that allows white supremacist speakers to come to campus and exercise their right to free speech without condemnation while failing to hold the same standards for one who fi ghts for Black liberation.” McConnell responded to the letter, expressing understanding of the situation that the Black and Jewish communities were put in.