Students at the University of South Carolina are calling on the school to cancel a planned event “roasting” Kamala Harris, which they believe will “incite racism, homophobia and sexism” on campus, especially since one of the speakers is the founder of the far-right group Proud Boys.
Graphic posters advertising the event featured vulgar sexual insults aimed at the vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, and while organizers billed it as “comedy,” many see it as an excuse to spread the rhetoric of hate and violence. A student online petition condemning the event has garnered more than 26,000 signatures.
The event is being organized by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and is scheduled to take place on September 18th on campus in Columbia.
“When I first found out about it, I didn’t think much of it, but then I realized who the guest speaker was,” said Nick Stewart, a sophomore media arts major at the university.
“I normally take great pride in my school, but this incident has made me feel ashamed to be a USC student.”
The roast was hosted by the South Carolina chapter of Uncensored America, a nonpartisan organization that fights for free speech. Uncensored America is based at several universities across the US and hosts “frank and entertaining conversations with controversial figures to fight censorship and cancel culture.”
Joining McInnes on stage will be Milo Yiannopoulos, a far-right media personality known for preaching misogynistic, racist, and transphobic ideology.
College events are nothing new for Yiannopoulos: “Feminism is a cancer,” he told an audience at the University of Massachusetts in 2016, and he promoted a similar speech at Penn State with posters bearing slogans like “Pray Away Homosexuality.”
McInnes is known for his ties to the alt-right group, the Proud Boys, which he founded in 2016. The group is often violent and has since been deemed a terrorist organization by New Zealand and Canada, from which he left. Many of its members align with white supremacist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic ideologies. Its leader, Enrique Tarrio, is currently serving a 22-year sentence on sedition and conspiracy charges following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The Proud Boys are an all-male group known for inciting political violence at their events.
Stewart, who identifies as bisexual, decided not to go to campus on Wednesday. “It makes me feel especially uneasy and anxious to have these men on campus, where I normally feel safe expressing myself,” she said. “As much as I want to join the student protests, I need to do so for my own mental health and safety.”
The feelings of fear, anger and disbelief are shared by other students: some have organized alternative events and protests, while others, like Stewart, have withdrawn altogether out of fear for their safety.
“Many students are frustrated and upset with the University’s response to a planned ‘roast’ event on campus,” a representative for Uphold the Creed said.
“Uphold The Creed” is a student-run initiative aimed at raising awareness of student feelings about the University’s disregard for the values outlined in the Carolina Creed. The group created an Instagram page ahead of the roast, posting about the upcoming peaceful demonstration and calling on the University to address student concerns and increase campus safety if the event goes ahead.
Students’ dissatisfaction with the roast has been widely felt and reflected across the state and even the country.
State Rep. Leon Howard led a rally at the South Carolina State Capitol on the day of the shooting in response to the controversy.
The NAACP has also joined students in urging the university to cancel the event. The group wrote a letter to USC President Michael Amiridis saying that while it is normally nonpartisan, it “feels compelled to write this letter due to the blatant sexist and racist nature of this event, its publicity, and the potential for violence that may result from the proposed event.”
The group added: “Simply put, inviting to USC the founder of a terrorist group with a history of violence and a speaker whose presence will result in violence and property damage would pose a clear and immediate danger to students, campus staff and visitors.”
