Dozens of students gathered in the Student Government Assembly room Tuesday evening to voice their concerns and suggest policy changes regarding the presence of a conservative podcaster on campus last week.
Right-wing influencer Myron Gaines used multiple derogatory slurs in a debate outside Gregory Gym on the evening of Oct. 7. Gaines sat behind a banner that read “The Cornell 7 are innocent. Prove me wrong” and his book “Why Women Deserve Less” while debating students.
The debate was his fourth stop in his “Toxic Masculinity” tour with Uncensored America, an organization that believes “universities should be spaces where all ideas—especially those that are unpopular or debated—can be expressed and critically examined without censorship,” according to the UT chapter’s HornsLink.
Gaines was given a warning for slur usage by campus officials, according to a video posted by Uncensored America.
“The school, which is federally funded, by the way, doesn’t like me saying certain slurs,” Gaines said. “But this is the United States of fucking America and we have a first amendment here, so I’m gonna continue to use whichever slur I fucking want to use in this discourse.”
The event was shut down 45 minutes before its scheduled end time. A UTPD officer told a member of Uncensored America that they were trespassing and would go to jail if the group remained on campus, according to the video.
The campus chapters of Students for a Democratic Society and Black Student Alliance posted statements criticizing how Gaines’ event impacted student safety. Uncensored America reposted the Black Student Alliance’s post with the text “Pound Sand” to its Instagram story.
SG allocates time at their weekly public assemblies for an “open forum,” an opportunity for constituents to voice ideas and concerns to representatives. Six students spoke at the forum on Tuesday to condemn Gaines’ speech and present policy ideas before time ran out.
Many of the speakers also criticized SG and University administration for allowing the event to happen and not issuing a statement afterward.
“I’m disgusted by the lack of statements, the lack of outrage, the lack of press, the lack of defending of certain communities here at UT Austin,” government junior Jamie Barrett said. “The racist, xenophobic attacks that happened here (are) not okay.”
Speakers argued that Gaines’ presence violated the University Catalog, specifically Sec. 13, which creates guidelines for speakers on campus. Approval for guest speakers on campus is only required for “Dedicated Areas,” which do not include Speedway or Gregory Gym. However, the catalog bars obscenity, harassment and discriminatory conduct from all speakers.
“Free speech is not equivalent to hate speech,” government freshman Anisa Abdullah said.
Students proposed multiple policy ideas to prevent events like this from happening again. Abdullah suggested an act to protect students that would limit certain speakers from being present on campus after 5:00 p.m. Psychology freshman Aaron Miller suggested that speakers who violate certain campus guidelines and are reported to the Dean of Students with signatures from students should not be allowed to speak.
“Free speech is important, but so is accountability here at our institution,” Barrett said.
The SG executive alliance thanked the audience for coming to share their concerns, and SG President Kiera Dixon called last week’s events “horrifying and disgusting.” Vice President Jaden Watt, who is president of UT’s chapter of the historically Black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi, said the pair have spent the past week working on a solution to the issue.
“It is about whether UT will protect free expression while recognizing the unequal burden that racial hostility places on its Black students,” said Kaitlin Boyce Johnson, an anthropology and African and African Diaspora Studies senior and president of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta. “We deserve a university that takes our experiences seriously and demonstrates that our education, safety and belonging matters.”