Salisbury University Postpones White Supremacist Event
Womp womp womp
Salisbury University has announced that the Maryland College Republicans event scheduled for this Monday, featuring white supremacist Jared Taylor, has been postponed.
The university cited “safety considerations” as the reason for postponing the event.
Members of the SU Community,
I write to you today regarding an event announced three days ago by the Maryland Federation of College Republicans (MDFCR) on Monday, March 9, featuring guest speaker Jared Taylor. Earlier today, we made the decision to postpone the event based on public safety considerations, in alignment with our time, place, and manner policies.
The MDFCR is not an SU organization, and the event was scheduled by the group as an outside entity renting space on campus. SU does not discriminate against activities hosted by third-party organizations meeting the financial and legal requirements for reserving campus space; however, the safety and security of the University community remains our highest priority.
Salisbury University does not endorse, sponsor, or support the views of Mr. Taylor or the event being organized. Mr. Taylor is widely known for extremist rhetoric that is fundamentally inconsistent with the University’s core values of respect, equity, and inclusion. However, as a public institution, SU must uphold the constitutional principles of free speech and expression, even when those viewpoints conflict with our community values.
Since the event was announced three days ago, the level of anticipated attendance, counter-demonstrations, and related security needs has increased significantly, particularly in the past 24 hours. Ensuring the safety of all involved, as well as our greater campus community, requires additional planning and public safety resources that the University is unable to provide on such short notice.
SU remains committed to fostering an environment where open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas can occur, and we respect the rights of individuals to share their opinions. However, the safety of our campus community must take precedence at all times.
While we all may agree free speech and free expression are of paramount importance, particularly since it gives idiots like white supremacists and “white advocates” enough leeway to make asses out of themselves, it is a wise decision by Salisbury. Considering the nature of Taylor’s remarks and the crowd of supporters and detractors that such remarks from a figure like Taylor are sure to draw, not having enough security would be incredibly problematic. It would be like dropping a stick of dynamite in gas tank.
I’m sure that the next time the current Maryland College Republicans choose to hold an event, they will have learned that prior proper preparation prevents piss-poor performance. And, maybe, not to associate themselves with white supremacists.