Students at the University of South Carolina are calling on their school to cancel a planned “roast” of Kamala Harris. In their opinion, the event promotes “racism, homophobia and sexism” on campus, especially because one of the speakers is the founder of the far-right Proud Boys.
The posters promoting the event include a crude sexual slur against the Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate. Although organizers are presenting the event as a “comedy,” many see it as just an excuse to spread hateful and violent rhetoric. An online student petition condemning the event has received over 26,000 signatures.
The event will be hosted by Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys, and is scheduled for September 18 on the campus in downtown Columbia.
“When I heard about it, I was relatively unimpressed until I realized who the guest speakers were,” said Nick Stewart, a second-year student studying media arts at the university.
“As someone who is normally very proud of his school, this ordeal has made me feel ashamed of being a student at USC.”
The roast was organized by the South Carolina chapter of Uncensored America, a nonpartisan organization that fights for free speech. Uncensored America has a presence at several universities across the U.S. and hosts “honest and entertaining conversations with controversial figures to combat censorship and cancel culture.”
McInnes will be joined on stage by Milo Yiannopoulos, a right-wing extremist media star who is also known for his misogynistic, racist and transphobic ideologies.
Yiannopoulos is no stranger to speaking at college campuses. In 2016, she told a crowd at the University of Massachusetts that “feminism is cancer” and announced a similar speech at Penn State University with signs bearing slogans like “Pray the gays away.”
McInnes is known for his affiliation with the alt-right group Proud Boys, which he founded in 2016. The often violent group has been considered a terrorist organization in New Zealand and Canada since he left. Many of its members are white supremacists, anti-Semitics or Islamophobes. Their leader, Enrique Tarrio, is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and other convictions following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The Proud Boys are all men and are known for inciting political violence at events.
Stewart, who identifies as bisexual, has decided to stay away from the university all day Wednesday. “I feel particularly uncomfortable and unsafe having these men on my campus, a place where I normally feel comfortable expressing myself,” he said. “As much as I would like to join the student protests, I must do so for the sake of my mental health and safety.”
Other students are also expressing feelings of fear, outrage and disbelief. Some of them have organized alternative events or protests, while others, like Stewart, are withdrawing completely out of fear for their safety.
“Many students are frustrated and appalled by the university’s handling of the upcoming ‘Roast’ event on campus,” said a representative from Uphold The Creed.
Uphold The Creed is a student-led initiative aimed at raising student awareness of the university’s disregard for the values outlined in the Carolinian Creed. The group created an Instagram page in advance of the Roast and posted about a peaceful demonstration that will take place, as well as calling on the university to address student concerns and increase security on campus if the event goes ahead.
Student dissatisfaction with the Roast has been recognized and reflected throughout the state and even the country.
In response to the controversy, Congressman Leon Howard led a rally at the South Carolina State Capitol that same day.
The NAACP has also joined the students in pressuring the university to cancel the event. The organization wrote a letter to USC President Michael Amiridis, stating that while it is normally nonpartisan, it “feels compelled to write this letter due to the blatantly sexist and racist nature of the event, the promotion of it, and the potential for violence that the planned event carries.”
The organization added: “Simply put, inviting to USC the founder of a terrorist group with a history of violence and a speaker whose presence leads to violence and property damage would pose a clear and immediate danger to the student body, campus staff and visitors.”
