Campus forum becomes heated debate on issues of race, safety
Matthew Hazlett/ The Towerlight
An open discussion about racism and acceptance at Towson University turned into a debate between the Youth for Western Civilization and students who believe the group should be punished for some of the phrases they have allegedly chalked on campus about other student groups.
Ignacio Evans, vice president of the Black Student Union, was the first student to speak at the forum on Thursday. He said hate speech should not be tolerated on campus from groups such as YWC.
“You can’t tell me there’s nothing else to do when you find them saying things that go against an individual of color,” he said. “You can’t deny their protesting of Muslim events. The students are asking them to leave them alone. That’s harassment.”
Although numerous student comments at the forum were directed at YWC and group President Matthew Heimbach, BSU President Kenan Herbert said the event was designed to gauge student opinions about acceptance all around campus.
“This is about hate, bigotry and racism on campus that was here before Matt and his organization was,” he said
Freshman art education major Andrew Werner said he sees intolerance on campus targeted toward black students, as well as students in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
“I am proud to say that I am gay but that I am also Catholic,” Werner said during his speaking time at the forum. “I personally have been accepted, but those that I’m around have not been. I have witnessed a lot of insensitivity, and as a generally caring person, I just feel that that is not OK.”
Students Helping Honduras Co-President Amanda Fennell said that she felt uncomfortable on campus after reading some of the things Heimbach wrote in the “Towson YWC End of Semester After Action Report,” which is posted on the YWC national website.
Fennell read a line from the report that said, “From the day of our chapter’s inception, the spectrum of the radical left-wing elements at Towson University, the coalition of the pro illegal immigration groups, terrorist front organizations like the Muslim Student Association, ferociously angry gay groups of ‘tolerance’ like the Queer Student Union, and the disease ridden degenerates also known as Occupy Towson, all came together to attempt to intimidate and suppress our budding organization.”
Heimbach said that he does not feel like the forum was productive, and that it was a very one-sided discussion on the issue of his group and students feeling unsafe on campus.
Matthew Hazlett/ The Towerlight
“Overall, I feel the event was a little rocky,” he said. “Things have been interesting. They have been misquoting us, saying we support white power, which we don’t. But when you have a group like this, emotions run high and they misquote us to try to fire up the crowd.”
The tension in the room climaxed when Heimbach began debating Herbert on the issue of Evans wearing a black panther T-shirt and comparing that to the groups with which YWC is associated.
Heimbach approached the table that Herbert was sitting at with the other panel members and attempted to have a one-on-one discussion with Herbert, but Associate Vice President for Campus Life Teri Hall said that the two should sit down, because the event was not meant to be a debate.
Before Heimbach sat down, he said that if the University attempted to restrict his group’s access to free speech, he would “bleed the University white of all its money.”
Some student leaders and administrators said the forum was a step in the right direction, and discussion is necessary in order to come up with a solution to the issue of intolerance on campus.
Student Government Association President Matt Sikorski, who sat on the panel that moderated the forum, said that the experience was eye-opening for him and that he plans to make sure each student has their opinion heard.
“I get paid to represent all of you and make sure that all of you have your voices heard, and I have obviously failed at that,” he said.
Vice President for Student Affairs Deb Moriarty said that she was encouraged by the number of students who attended the forum, but that administration can only do so much to stop other students from discussing provocative ideas.
“I do think that they’re [students] right on with some of the things we need to look at,” she said. “I look forward to getting staff and faculty to debrief and see what the next steps can be. I look forward to students to continue responsibly. Because some of what they’re asking us to do is something we can’t fix. We can’t fix hate, we can’t make everyone safe, but we can do what we can to present resources and opportunities to make this place as safe as possible.”
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What’s happened to people being respectful to each other’s own choices and beliefs?
This University needs to grow a pair of ovaries and get rid of this organization… yes I know you are afraid of a lawsuit but standing for something like acceptance of all students and against hate speech is worth getting sued!
This is only the tip of the ice burg, the real problem is the hatred YWC generates not the hatred they spread. Thought many other group might say that they would not retaliate against them in a slanderous or racist way, every group has it’s radicals that would take action. We can’t restrict their speech, we can’t stop them from protesting, the only thing Towson can do is stand up and say that their medieval hatreds are a thing of the past and that’s where we’re going to leave them. The Past.
I don’t have the desire to look into this…
But are other school’s having this?
I mean, YWC could be simply, a group having the beliefs of which they have. And you know what, that’s fine. If people want to believe in all that YWC stands for, great!
But, pressing that onto others is not great!
All of these groups on campus, were developed, BECAUSE these groups are minorities, and felt they needed to band together, to show the campus that they’re not just a bunch of weirdos, but rather, in their own way, they’re perfectly ‘normal’.
This idea of just letting groups like this exist is fine, so long as they coexist. QSU hosts events, and gives out T-shirts every year saying, “Gay? Fine by me”
If you’re offended because someone has offered to give you a shirt that says that. You need to find a time machine and catch up with the times.
BSU hosts it’s own events too. In general, they do their own thing. Hillel has it’s own stuff. I’m sure the Muslim Student Union has their own activities too, that don’t involve terrorism training, but rather allowing Muslim students, who just MIGHT be away from home, wondering how they’ll uphold their traditions while at school away from their family and Mosque that they typically go to.
Beyond the religious groups, there are all of the activist groups, such as Occupy Towson. I’ll be the first to say, I think it’s stupid. The whole occupy movement has been really dumb, and if we want something done, it should be done in a mature way, not in a “Run away from home, and have a temper tantrum” way.
REGARDLESS
They have every right to do what it is that they want. Are they terrorizing the campus, and accusing students of god awful acts? Nope.
They might protest the banks, but targeting individual students, or students of certain beliefs, or students who are members of student groups. That should not be tolerated.
As for the stance the university should take.
It’s RISK MANAGEMENT.
I kid you not, somebody is going to get really really pissed in this whole thing between YWC and the rest of the student groups. Down the line, someone is going to do something stupid, and people will get hurt, or worse*.
(*That is not a threat, but merely a prediction)
So, Towson University, screw the tip-toeing around to avoid a lawsuit, and do something to end this volatile debate.
This forum wasn’t supposed to be about the YWC. Heimbach made it about the YWC by being the first to speak. He’s not a very good public speaker, because if he meant his message to be one that was not hateful, that definitely did not come across. Instead, the forum was started with the air of vitriol in his voice and speech, and students who should have been focusing on addressing issues that existed before the group ever came on campus. Instead of a dialogue, all we ended up with was crazy amounts of mudslinging in one direction, and the angry reaction that it prompted. No one was respecting anyone in that exchange, although I certainly applaud Kenan Herbert for keeping his cool at the end when Heimbach saw fit to interrogate him.
If anything, I think that Matt is the wrong person to represent his organization. He loses it way too easily and is far too gung-ho about the more radical parts of his agenda. And who in their right mind actually argues that they can’t be a part of the KKK because they are Catholic? Isn’t it enough to say that you don’t support an organization without insinuating that you would be a part of it if given the opportunity? I’m pretty sure he’s more of a Roman Baptist anyway.
I am pretty well opposed to everything that he believes (almost), but I think he has the write to speak. His comments towards the end of the forum, however, bordered on terroristic threats targeted at the University. That’s about where I draw my line.
The YWC is a hateful group and their presence is a poison on campus. It’s not a matter of “opposing views”, it’s a matter of hateful ones. “I’m against gay marriage” does not equal “I’m against sodomite marriage”; one carries a political opinion (however misguided) while the other clings to a base level hatred that they haven’t evolved past and most likely never will. “White pride” does not equal “pride in my heritage”; the group knows this. They know that they’re evoking hateful rhetoric and don’t give a shit about who they leave in their wake because their goal is to fight an invisible “far left” elite at universities. It doesn’t matter if you’re a black kid or a gay kid just trying to get a degree and wanting to be a part of a community during your undergrad; your very existence is a threat to whatever way of life these people fantasize about where the gays pretended they weren’t, the blacks “worked for free”, and the “illegal aliens” knew their place.
These people should be ashamed of themselves but our words are lost on them; for whatever reason they have been groomed into a life of hatred; of defining others based on what they lack (whiteness, maleness, straightness, English language, Christianity, etc.). They will be sorely disappointed over the course of their lives that nothing is going to pan out the way they expected or the way they were taught by equally misguided peers. Fewer and fewer people are going to care about what they have to say, and instead of acting as some kind of minority martyrs within the vast liberal conspiracy that is higher education, they are going to be woefully unprepared for the world that is going to take shape over the rest of their lives. The YWC is their Hummer H2, their fabricated 10 inch dick used as a coping mechanism for the fact that they no longer fit in with a world that has evolved far past them.
These jerks are going to graduate, the club will become defunct, and the school is going to move on.
Yo Matt how can you add the adjective terrorist in front of the Muslim Student Association? I do believe you are right on some things but not all; the above example being one. NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS and I’ll be damned if I don’t say not all white folks are racist.
Why is it that people that our not white can call us crackers,honkies, rednecks and that is not considered racist. The guy wheres a black panther shirt to show his pride when that group was mostly racist. Every race or religion has some sort of way of showing there pride and it will always offend someone. From what I read it was white pride that was written not white power which is a know phrase that is used by the Klan. What is wrong with white pride. I see people wearing shirts and flyers around campus that say viva la raza, black and proud but of course they couldn’t be racist could they. I also love it when whit people say its reverse racism. Racism is racism. Now the guy from YWC wearing the stars and bars shirt was just wearing that to provoke a reaction and its ashame that flag is considered a racist symbol when it is not. Racist people who use it to promote racism make it a racist symbol. To me its a sign of rebelling against a government that wants to control how we do everything and takes away the powers of the State government from them. i think the British flag is offensive because of the way the English treated my ancestors and its colonies. I think the catholic Church is offensive for the way they would try and force people to accept there religion. I could go on for hours but why its not worth it. This campus is a joke and most of the people on this campus think that the world starts and stops for them. Everything in the world is offensive to someone somewhere.
I really wish you understood how to structure your argument. I’m not entirely sure what the point is that you’re trying to get at.
The point of this entire issue, and the point that has been explained to these people several times is the reason that pride slogans and movements exist. I’m not going to bother explaining it to you right now because I’m tired and you should know this already. White pride is irrelevant because white is a majority identity. Fuck, white is a made up identity that didn’t exist until someone needed a way to rationalize race-based chattel slavery.
Say German Pride, French Pride, Italian, Russian, Greek, Irish Pride. Those are fine. White pride is evocative of an entire system that has only ever served to put down people who are not of European descent. It’s perfectly fine to be proud of who you are, but don’t turn that into a persecution complex. Equality is not zero-sum. You should know this, the YWC knows this. I honestly believe that they’re actively trying to provoke people for some reason that I am unable to understand.
so gladerunner you are going to say white pride is bad because of something that happened in the past. Well lets see german pride do I even have to talk about there past even itlian pride, lets not forget Russia where stalin killed more people then Hitler.
The sad thing is that the highlight of Matt’s End of Semester After Action Report is that YWC gained two new members. I know more students who would join if it weren’t for the unrelenting wrath of the public. Unfortunately, there are a lot of stupid bigots in the world. Towson should consider itself lucky that in our population 21,000+ we only have four bigots stupid enough to admit it publicly.
hey and there are 3 people walking around campus right now carrying confederate flags. well 2 confederate flags and a State flag. not talking about small flags either the full size ones on poles.
White pride makes no sense simply because white is not a distinct cultural identity. Also, most of the rhetoric surrounding white pride was made up by the KKK in the 80′s when they wanted to do activism underground and not appear to be the scum that they are. It’s a smart way of twisting your words around to sound like what you’re saying should be acceptable.
The black panther party was a militant hate based organization. Does anyone not remember that? Why is it okay for someone to wear a black panther t-shirt and yell black power but a white student can’t state they’re proud to be white.
This is ridiculous. There is a HUGE difference between a minority group celebrating their pride and a majority group celebrating pride. A pride movement is created by a minority to prove that they matter and that they are equal members of society, despite the oppression that has been put on them by the majority group for YEARS.
What large scale, century lasting oppression, may I ask, has the majority group had to go through?
I was angry, hurt, and upset by the “White Pride” messages, because for the first time in two years as a student here I felt afraid to walk around this campus. And no one should ever have to feel like that. EVER.
the confederate flag shld be ILLEGAL! we won bitches! get ova it!
Hello, my name is Josh. I am an alumni of Towson University and also a *donor.* I thought I would share my perspective on this issue as students have probably heard commentary from current administration/faculty and students. When I first heard about YWC a few months ago, I didn’t know much about the organization. I knew there were a lot of opinions regarding its ideology. As I did research on it, I saw that YWC stood for things that were OK (conservative values), but it also stood for things that would be perceived as hatred or were hatred. After my analysis, I concluded that it would not be wise for the SGA to approve this group because of the backlash that would follow. Well, the SGA approved it, which I think was an idiotic move (but then again, has the SGA done anything right in the past? I can be opinionated since I graduated in 2010).
YWC is similar to the countless media companies/personalities because it stirs up controversy in order to get its message out to the public. YWC understands that its messages will result in backlash, but continues to take unusual actions to be heard.
This group has the right to free speech (not hate speech or perceived hate speech in my opinion), but it also needs to use common sense because it is affecting the image of Towson University. For example, when a prospective college student and parent are researching Towson University and Google it, what comes up? “Racial tensions on campus” or “Messages of ‘White Pride’ Spark Controversy at Towson University.” Do you think the student is going to want to come to a school where there is this type of tension? Do you think the parent is going to want to write a check to the school for their child’s tuition? The answer to both of these questions is no. I, myself, as a Caucasian, would be afraid to walk around campus with “white power” or similar writings chalked on the sidewalk. Many of my friends are of diverse backgrounds and I can’t imagine what they are feeling or thinking. The time is 2012, not 1953. Since I have left Towson, the university has done good things, but it has also done some strange things as well.
I am not saying that YWC’s members are bad people, but they need to use common sense if they wish to engage in a dialogue with the university body. I would also like to remind all students that the actions or expressions including those of YWC are documented on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. When students graduate and are looking for jobs, public and private sector employers will be searching your names using online methods (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, etc.) and putting together a profile of each possible job candidate. I can tell you that employers are not going to want to hire people who do not embrace diversity or are opinionated to the nature YWC’s members are. The reason: a manager is running a diverse company, and he or she doesn’t need someone who will cause conflicts within their organization. Whether YWC has good or bad intentions, the organization will be viewed as a hatred group among employers even if it isn’t classified as one.
Finally, how does this issue affect donations to the university? Personally, I think many alumni are going to stop donating to the university because of the existence of this group. Towson University is one of the most diverse universities in the country, which makes it a very special place. There are people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Alumni want Towson to be an innovative, safe, and forward thinking place for students to learn and be free from hatred. According to the Towerlight, YWC is only affiliated and can’t get a budget until the fall of 2012, but can receive a supplementary budget. I don’t think this group should receive funding, and I would not want my money (donations to Towson or tax money) to go to this group.
It is time for Towson to move forwards and not backwards. I think Towson University should learn from the Republic of Singapore where there is a variety ethnic groups including Chinese, Indian, and Malay. In Singapore, people get along, and respect each other. That’s what needs to happen. Sorry for my rant, but I wanted to be heard.
Did anyone notice that Ignacio Evans blatantly lied, saying that “white power” was chalked instead of what was actually chalked “white pride.” He reminds me of Crystal Mangum with his exaggeration. Oh boo hoo he’s so afraid.
Yeah, he’s afraid that maybe whites aren’t going to buy into the guilt trip any more, and we’ll say no to affirmative action; no to massive transfers of wealth to his people in the form of welfare; no to sacrificing our children on the altar of diversity. He’s not afraid of a physical threat, but an ideological one. He’s afraid of the end of white guilt. He probably has a point. I have rejected white guilt since it was first thrust upon me in the 1980′s, and I see more and more white people rejecting white guilt.
Hey Ignacio, we’ve heard the grievances, where’s the gratitude? We’ve done so much for you people! Just think — without whites, where would Ignacio Evans be today?
I want to make two corrections to my first post. “White power” should be “white pride.”. Hatred should be changed to hate in some instances.
I’m guessing it was shameless self-interest that led you to link to a website in your username, Rob, but I thank you for doing so. Now people can read the largely incoherent ramblings of an unabashed racist, the kind that is behind groups like the YWC and the kind that the YWC represents and “gives hope” for the future to even though the group is only like three people. If anyone is interested here are the comments on a poorly-written blog post about the meeting that recently took place:
http://mindweaponsinragnarok.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/youth-for-western-civilization-kids-stand-up-to-pc-bullying/#comments
This is what’s happening; the YWC may not be this forward about it but believe me, they – like the commenters here – are laughing at the people who feel unsafe and pitting race against race in a group whose national site claims they are “not a racist group”. This is all funny to them because they’re “beating” the PC police by playing the victim.
Stop being fooled.
Watched a video on Fox News about this, and there was a comment about white not being a race and I ask:
Why is it not ok to have white history month, but ok to have black history month? Why is not ok to be proud of being white, but ok to be proud of being black? If I say “white power” I’m a terrible racist, but if I say “black power” it’s A-ok?
If White is not a color, why is black a color? All skin colors come from many diverse backgrounds, cultures and countries? Why is it ok to lump some together but not others?
I believe in a society of true equality, where skin color, and race don’t matter. I don’t think we are getting there very fast.
Do a little but more digging. These people are equating multiculturalism and assimilation with genocide. At the same time, in the US, immigrants and other minorities are expected to assimilate seamlessly into mainstream culture without having any effect on it. I can only call this willful cognitive dissonance.
why y’all gotta write long ass essays and ish like u applying for grad school and ish! too long, didn’t read; type of ish. what’s the gist? just twitter that! all this long ass comments? now i gotta catch up. give my cold feet and ish.
Lol…pride is good for the Blacks on the Black Student Union but when Whites have pride it’s evil.
Diversity is a euphemism for white genocide.
I say we expel these YWC twerps. We banned smoking, we can ban them. Of course being a public university there is some free speech issues involved, which is the whole problem with public funding. If this was a private institution, Towson would be able to associate or disassociate with whoever they please.
The Black Student Union president spoke. Did anybody hear what the White Student Union president said?
I didn’t think so. Because there is no White Student Union.
Who’s racist now Ken?
There is no such thing as Hate Speech.
A person’s perception of what another person says does not define what the person said. For e.g. person A says “the car is red”, person B think that is “hate”.
Misinterpretation or projection by an individual upon another cannot be allowed to constrain individual freedom and rights.
Fundamental logic in Western Civilization.
I know all these Brown race primitives from the jungles don’t get the concept of thought and civil rights, and want to put primitive restrictions on advanced civil rights culture. But we Europeans have worked hard on developing laws which protect the individual above all. That is the consistent path in White European law history.
Most of these Brown and Black immigrants come from cultures of dictators and crude, brutal, tribal systems. They know not the essence of civil government or civil law.
Funny that the Brown and Black savages come here to put thuggery on our noble White civilization. Brown thugs is all they are.
Sit down, shut up, learn a bit and go back to Africa or Indonesian jungles and teach your primitive 3rd world people the meaning of the rule of Law.
Stop being thugs Brown people.
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