Richard Spencer, the avowed white nationalist, will no longer be allowed to speak at UF.
UF President Kent Fuchs announced in an email Wednesday morning that UF would deny the National Policy Institute’s request to rent space. UF is still committed to free speech, Fuchs wrote in the email, but it does not have to risk violence.
“The likelihood of violence and potential injury — not the words or ideas — has caused us to take this action,” Fuchs said.
UF’s announcement comes less than two days after Texas A&M University denied Spencer’s request to speak on their campus.
UF spokesperson Janine Sikes said the university received hundreds of calls and emails from alumni, students, faculty, staff and others complaining since the news about Spencer’s potential visit broke. A hotline was created Saturday to answer specific questions about Spencer, Sikes said.
Several events had been planned to protest Spencer. A mass phonebank with Planned Parenthood had been scheduled for Aug. 22, a march through campus had been planned for Aug. 25 and a protest for the day of Spencer’s visit had already reached thousands on Facebook.
Fuchs’s email referenced a thread on 4chan, a website on which users can submit images and comments anonymously, that expressed a desire for violence surrounding Spencer’s possible visit to Gainesville. The thread is titled “The next battlefield is in Florida” and was created Sunday.
The anonymous users said what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia would be different in Florida since it’s a “stand your ground” state. “Stand your ground” is a law allows people to claim broad self defense if they shoot or kill someone.
Before Fuchs announced UF would not host Spencer, GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias had released an email statement Monday morning saying the department would “continue to closely monitor the planning of the event and any peripheral protests/counter protests that are expected to arise if Mr. Spencer does appear.”
“GPD has training and plans in place for a variety of emergency and special circumstances,” Tobias said, adding officers were talking with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of the Gainesville community.
When Kiara McAlpine learned that a white supremacist wanted to speak on her future college campus, she wasn’t surprised.
As a black woman, the 18-year-old information systems freshman said white supremacy isn't new to her, so although it may appear at UF, she doesn’t regret choosing the school as her future home.
“This can happen anywhere,” she said. “So, it just makes me want to fight harder.”
Peggy Macdonald, a UF alumna who lives in Gainesville, said she was surprised to see that Fuchs didn’t allow Spencer to come.
“I have to say I’m happy,” said Macdonald, who got her masters and doctoral degrees in American History. “It makes me think that Gainesville is going to be a lot safer in Sept. 12.”
Macdonald said she thinks Spencer will file a lawsuit against UF citing First Amendment rights, and that a judge will order UF to allow him to speak, but she hopes not.
“Let’s wait for the next shoe to drop,” the 45-year-old said.
Contact Jimena Tavel at jtavel@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @taveljimena
Richard Spencer
