Penn State UPAC Allocates Over $7,000 For Uncensored America Event
Penn State’s University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) allocated $7,316.62 on Monday to registered student organization Uncensored America for an event. Uncensored America had originally requested $8,129.58.
This comes amid rumors that the student group is working to bring controversial speaker Alex Stein back to campus. While the UPAC has allocated over $7,000 to Uncensored America, no speaker has been confirmed, nor has a time or date.
Last year, Uncensored America was set to host the founder of the Proud Boys, Gavin McInnes, and Stein, a right-wing internet personality, for an event in the Thomas Building on October 24. The Proud Boys is an organization named by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.
Prior to the event’s scheduled start time, chaos ensued on Penn State’s campus. The event was canceled “due to the threat of escalating violence,” university police said. Police also said protesters and police officers were pepper sprayed.
Additionally, police horses stood between the protestors and the Thomas Building just after 7 p.m. that day — right before the event was canceled.
Leading up to the event, Penn State claimed it didn’t have the authority to cancel the event, citing Uncensored America’s “undeniable constitutional right to sponsor this presentation on our campus.”
Earlier this week, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi discussed the topic of controversial speakers in a video, explaining why Penn State allows these speakers to come to campus. Bendapudi mentioned the First Amendment and expressed her support for free speech before further explaining the situation.
She also said there’s a “moral” reason to allow these speakers on campus.
“For centuries, higher education has fought against censorship and for the principle that the best way to combat speech is with more speech — to combat bad ideas is with better ideas,” Bendapudi said. “Let those who wish to listen to and engage with speakers do so — in keeping with their rights. If we, as a public institution, censor messages that we disagree, it opens us all to censorship when anyone disagrees with any message with any member of our community.”
She continued, supporting the students who decide to protest these speakers.
“Our highest priority is the safety of all involved,” Bendapudi said. “Our university personnel is working with law enforcement to create as safe an environment as possible.”
Uncensored America posted the video to its Twitter account on Thursday in an attempt to express its “hype” for “season 4.” Furthermore, the student group teased a “big announcement” coming soon.
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