Twenty-two student organizations have signed a statement expressing concerns about USC's administration allowing an upcoming "roast" of Kamala Harris, featuring two conservative speakers on Sept. 18.
The event, hosted by USC’s chapter of Uncensored America, features Milo Yiannopoulos and Gavin McInnes. Uncensored America is a student organization “dedicated to fighting for freedom of speech,” according to the group’s Garnet Gate page.
Yiannopoulos served as an editor at Breitbart News before resigning in 2017 over comments appearing to condone pedophilia, NPR reported. Earlier that year, a speaking event at UC Berkeley featuring Yiannapoulos was canceled after protests turned violent.
McInnes founded the Proud Boys, an organization Canada designated as a “terrorist entity” in 2021. The group has described itself as an organization for "Western chauvinists" and has often clashed with left-wing activists, according to the Wall Street Journal. He distanced himself from the group in 2018. An event featuring McInnes at Pennsylvania State University was canceled in 2022 due to concerns about public safety, according to a statement from the university’s president, Neeli Bendapudi.
The Association of African American Students (AAAS) posted a statement on Instagram on Sept. 3 that criticized the university’s decision to allow the event and contrasted this decision with the values of the Carolinian Creed. The letter had 21 signatures from other student organizations.
“This event has the potential to create a hostile environment, promote hatred and division while being deeply hurtful to the student body,” the statement read.
AAAS reached out to the Caribbean Appreciation Student Alliance (CASA) in an Instagram message, asking if the organization was aware of the event and wanted to support the statement, CASA President Valerie Diaz said. CASA then decided to cosign the letter.
The organization’s decision to cosign came from its duty to act as a voice for its members, said Talithea Concepcion, the secretary for CASA.
“When all of our members are feeling uncomfortable about this, when they’re feeling hurt, when they’re not being heard by their own campus, they all come to us, and they’re unsure and they’re scared,” she said.
After finding out about the event, Diaz felt uncertain about whether USC was a safe space, she said.
“I just feel like it offends the different organizations, the different students who strive so hard to find a community that’s so accepting, so welcoming, that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion,” Diaz said. “When events like this (are) invited into USC or allowed to be present at USC, it kind of undermines the purpose of finding a community that’s welcoming.”
Individuals Respecting Identities and Sexualities (IRIS) also cosigned the statement from AAAS. While IRIS supports canceling the event, that was not the only reason for speaking out, Development Director Bernie McIlnay said.
“The university has made its position clear,” McIlnay said. “I think it was just important that we make our position clear, where we stand on it, just to let people know that this isn’t what everyone at the university stands for and that hate isn’t just the name of the game at USC.”
Allyn Gilliam, the president of IRIS, said they believe it is obvious that the intent of this event is to be hateful.
“The fact that they have one of the founders of the Proud Boys says everything about the kind of message that they’re about to be putting through this event,” Gilliam said. “I think that the university taking no action to cancel it or try to move it off campus or anything is just them being complacent in making a lot of our community feel unsafe.”
IRIS is one of several organizations planning Blatt Bonanza, an alternative event taking place on Sept. 18 at Blatt Field. The event will include free food and various activities including a mobile rage room, according to an Instagram post by Carolina Productions. It will serve as a fun, social event for students who would not feel safe around Russell House during the event, McIlnay said.
The creation of alternative events demonstrates the hurtfulness of Uncensored America’s planned roast, CASA Events Coordinator Natalia Jimenez said. But she also has concerns about the safety of these alternatives.
“I don’t think I feel even safe going to the events that are gonna be the shadow for this other event,” Jimenez said. “What if someone comes and tries to trash it because it’s taking attention away from that?”
Events such as the roast have the potential to go wrong, but typically, they are not dangerous, McIlnay said.
“It’s very rare that they get more than 10 to maybe 30 people at the most to come to see these speakers,” McIlnay said “And they are almost always overwhelmingly outnumbered by people who are there to express their disapproval.”
USC President Michael Amiridis and Board of Trustees Chair Thad Westbrook released a statement explaining the university’s position on Aug. 27.
The university understands the community’s concerns about the event but has pledged to support free expression, according to the statement.
“We remain steadfast in safeguarding the First Amendment rights of our students, even when we may be offended by their choices and statements,” the statement read.
While USC is allowing the event, the university does not endorse it and disapproves of the language used in its promotional material, according to the statement.
“As a university, we denounce hate and bigotry,” the statement read. “We condemn the vile and juvenile rhetoric used to promote this event and reaffirm the aspirational values enumerated in the Carolinian Creed.”
USC’s student senate denied a request for funding from Uncensored America during a session on Sept. 11. Sustainability Committee Chairwoman Mia LaPinta cited the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in her statement.
"Being apolitical is essential to the functionality of student government, and according to Citizens United, money equals support," she said.
The executive team of Young Americans for Constitutionalism, a student organization at USC, posted a statement on Instagram on Sept. 12, which criticized this decision and demanded that the university open a constitutional council case on the matter.
“The denial of funds to Uncensored America is an infringement on the First Amendment rights of its members, a disavowment of the university’s recently adopted Chicago principles, a devaluation of proper procedures, a declaration of bias against conservative students, and sets a dangerous precedent for future decisions,” the statement read.
The president of USC’s chapter of Uncensored America did not respond to a request for comment.
Editor's note: Emmy Ribero and Carrigan Woodson contributed to the reporting in this article