{"id":10727,"date":"2019-06-11T12:48:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T20:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=10727"},"modified":"2019-06-11T20:26:15","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T04:26:15","slug":"joey-gibson-comes-to-westerns-campus-creates-controversy-over-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/joey-gibson-comes-to-westerns-campus-creates-controversy-over-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey Gibson comes to Western\u2019s campus, creates controversy over safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

[fruitful_alert type=”alert-info”]This piece was co-reported on by News Editor Bailey Thompson and Editor-in-Chief Caity Healy.<\/span><\/em>.[\/fruitful_alert]<\/p>\n

\"\"Bailey Thompson<\/strong> | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, June 4, the College Republicans hosted conservative activist Joey Gibson in the Willamette Room of the Werner University Center. Although this speech was eventful enough on its own, heated discussion and action surrounding the event happened well before it even took place.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many students, the first time they were made aware of this event was through the sharing of a tweet and email template posted by Mykenzie Gabriel, a junior education major. The email template that Gabriel shared encouraged Western students to make their voices heard if they disagreed with the fact that Gibson was being brought to Western\u2019s campus. When asked what inspired this action, Gabriel had a clear response.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen something\u2019s going on that has potential to hurt a chunk of the population, if you know about it then you have a responsibility to speak out against it and show the people who could potentially be impacted that they\u2019re not alone in this,\u201d said Gabriel.<\/span><\/p>\n

With this post, along with others that were similar, being shared rapidly by Western students and other members of the community, a campus-wide controversy arose \u2014 should Gibson be allowed to speak, or should Western\u2019s administration disinvite him due to fear of violence breaking out on campus?<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about the motivation to bring Gibson to campus, Dakota Perkins, the president of the College Republicans Club and a sophomore international business major, shared her take on the events leading up to Gibson being invited to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the exec members \u2026 do their own separate research and come up with their own conclusion. And a lot of social media does have those neo-Nazi and white supremacist tag on his name, but if you really look at it, those people are actually protesting his events,\u201d said Perkins. \u201cSome of (the sources) do say that they are a part of him, but that just depends on what media outlet you look at, honestly. But everyone did their own research, and we all agreed yes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Perkins also shared a bit about the topic Gibson was scheduled to speak about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is speaking on the issue of first amendment, which you know is free speech, and how hard it is. And the pushback we\u2019re receiving from ASWOU and the students just further proves our point,\u201d said Perkins. \u201cI know that they\u2019re saying he\u2019s a bigot or that he\u2019s made racist comments, but there isn\u2019t any proof that he actually has in any audio or any writing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the concern that some people had for safety, Perkins stated that Campus Public Safety would be present and that the Monmouth Police Department was aware of the event happening on campus, just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that is a concern. I\u2019ve seen that \u2026 If they\u2019re so concerned about their safety that they don\u2019t want to go or don\u2019t feel safe to go, then don\u2019t go. There are other events,\u201d said Perkins. \u201cThe way I see it is, would you go down a dark, sketchy alley if you knew something bad was going to happen? Probably not. So, don\u2019t go down the alley. And, if you think something bad is going to happen at the event, then don\u2019t go to the event.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Perkins was subsequently asked if she expected anything bad to happen, she responded, \u201cPossibly. Who knows? The way I see it is don\u2019t cause an issue until there is one. So, going into the event worrying about not-so-peaceful protests or an issue like that is unnecessary because we have it figured out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another individual that affirmed Gibson\u2019s right to be on Western\u2019s campus was President Rex Fuller, who released an initial statement to all Western students on May 30 which discussed the need to allow Gibson on campus because of laws regarding free speech. On June 3, President Fuller expanded upon his initial statement by addressing the process that the College Republicans had to go through to approve the event and the safety precautions that were being taken in light of student concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe campus is running its normal protocol for protection every day. And I think the student body has reached out and asked students to consider attending alternative events,\u201d said President Fuller. \u201cAs my letter makes clear \u2026 College Republicans invited the speaker, and any student club has the ability to host events so long as the university can assess the overall caliber of those events with regards to use of space and facilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

President Fuller also wanted to clarify that the students who had reached out were being heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany people from campus met and talked regularly about today\u2019s event. We do not take your concerns lightly and are doing our best to manage the situation for all,\u201d said Fuller. \u201cPlease note, legally we must reserve space for clubs that request it. Providing a space for free speech does not imply endorsement of that speech.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many students were not content with Fuller\u2019s words, however. One such student was Nathan Soltz, the ASWOU Senate President. After describing how other members of ASWOU had met with President Fuller without changing his mind about the event, Soltz stated his disappointment in President Fuller at not being willing to take certain safety precautions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c(President Fuller) outright refused to record the event to hold both Joey Gibson and attendees accountable for anything that might happen. Because the Administration refused to do anything to keep our students safe, or even deplore bigotry and violent actions, the branch heads decided that we needed to send out the statement encouraging people to stay away from the WUC,\u201d said Soltz. <\/span><\/p>\n

ASWOU sent two all-student emails to the community \u2014 on May 31 and June 3 \u2014 both of which denounced the presence of Joey Gibson at Western.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis speaker preaches abhorrent views and fosters an unproductive approach to political discourse centered on the violent suppression of marginalized communities and competing voices,\u201d read their letter sent out in the May 31 ASWOU email.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to this, Gibson recorded himself leaving a message for Soltz on his ASWOU answering machine, which he then posted on YouTube.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you need to consider the consequences of lying about a public figure,\u201d said Gibson over the phone in the May 31 YouTube video. \u201cYou have to understand that, not only is it morally wrong, legally it\u2019s putting yourself in a bad position \u2026 You\u2019re one of those white people running around and calling minorities racist, aren\u2019t you?\u201d In reality, however, Soltz is Hispanic, Asian-American and Jewish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soltz, in return, shared what it was like to have received this call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly wasn\u2019t expecting to get a call from Joey Gibson, but in hindsight, it shouldn\u2019t have surprised me since he has a history of publicity stunts like this and publicly threatening people who call him out on his actions,\u201d said Soltz. \u201cWhile Joey Gibson is an awful person, I\u2019m not scared of him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Soltz added to this by saying that the thing which was most upsetting to him was the seemingly apathetic response of the administration to the safety of the students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just more superficial platitudes designed to evade the issue while making it seem like the Administration actually cared \u2026 The Administration and the student government should be able to work together on things, most basic among these is keeping students safe and yet, time and time again, the Administration refuses to even do this, so ASWOU is put in a position of having to pick up the slack,\u201d said Soltz. \u201cWhile I am extremely glad that there were no physical altercations, the fact that this wasn\u2019t just a possibility, but a likelihood and the Administration still did nothing is absolutely reprehensible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Soltz shared that, even though the event was allowed to be held in this instance, he has hopes of change being made in the future to ensure student safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile ASWOU has no interest in censoring people with potentially radical views one way or another and will take strong stances on competing with people who preach views we disagree with, the new ASWOU Government will look into amending our Statutes for Chartered Organizations to ensure that clubs do not use student fees and resources to host guests who pose a threat to our students,\u201d said Soltz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading up to the event, students had a number of different ways that they dealt with their stress and frustration: some went to different events on campus, and others protested.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hosting a Stress Relief Night. There\u2019s going to be coloring, board games, we\u2019ll have a movie playing, music, things like that \u2026 It\u2019s now going to be a joint event with the Writing Center because they have a very large space,\u201d said Susannah Doepkin, Stonewall Center Coordinator and one of the Stress Relief Night\u2019s organizers. \u201cWe\u2019re really trying to emphasize positivity and a sense of community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another thing that a number of students did on the day of the event was protest outside of the Administration Building and, later, the Willamette Room. Tyler Martin, a sophomore theatre major, shared what inspired him to organize this protest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe College Republicans are bringing the leader of a hate group, they\u2019re paying him to come speak at a club-sponsored event on campus, and \u2026 someone approved that,\u201d said Martin. \u201cAnd that is completely unacceptable. It\u2019s totally unacceptable to have a violent activist from any political perspective come and speak in the middle of a college campus because that is an automatic safety concern for students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Martin also shared the goals that the protesters had.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur three goals are to let admin and the College Republicans know that this is not acceptable \u2014 this is not an acceptable use of our tuition money. We want to let the College Republicans know that they are on thin ice, and we want to let the students know that the College Republicans are associating themselves with a known hate group,\u201d said Martin.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it came time for Gibson himself to speak, he opened his talk by asking questions of the audience \u2014 a packed room with some people there to support, some to protest and others just to watch. Meanwhile, there were also people directly outside the room, protesting or waiting for there to be enough room to come in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anybody in this room that\u2019s racist? Don\u2019t be shy. Promise?\u201d said Gibson. When nobody raised their hands, Gibson\u2019s question changed to \u201cIs there anybody in this room that\u2019s been called racist before?\u201d This time, a number of hands went up from the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy entire life, I\u2019ve never had a racist bone in my body \u2026 I\u2019ve actually been a victim of racism three different times,\u201d said Gibson. He then described a situation where someone beat him up because they mistook him for being black and he did not correct them.<\/span><\/p>\n

With this established as a reason why he did not believe himself to be racist, Gibson launched into one of his major points: the government is corrupt and cannot be trusted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cYes, racism is bad. But it\u2019s being used as a tool to silence you. How many people told you not to come here today and to listen to what I had to say because I\u2019m racist? It should be all of you because they sent an email out to every single one of you,\u201d said Gibson. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gibson also described the corruption he perceives in the United States government.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the establishment, 99.9% of them, are corrupt in D.C. They don\u2019t care about you guys,\u201d said Gibson. \u201cThey act like they fight on camera, but behind the scenes they go have beers and they laugh about how they\u2019re screwing over the American people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing the connections that a number of people make between him and neo-Nazis, Gibson stated that his \u201cfreedom first\u201d ideology is what disproves this notion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything isn\u2019t racist, I promise,\u201d said Gibson. \u201cI\u2019m so much not a Nazi, and I\u2019m so much not a fascist. I\u2019ll tell you why: because I believe in freedom. Did Hitler stand up for free speech ever?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In reference to an audience question about the type of following that Gibson has, he conceded one point while taking a stand on another.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we do have, it\u2019s not a racist following. There\u2019s people who want blood, and they started coming to the rallies specifically because they wanted blood, and that is true. That is very true… I don\u2019t have a bunch of white supremacists because look at what I preach. Look at the color of my skin. The truth is they say that Proud Boys are white supremacists, but half of them are people of color,\u201d said Gibson.<\/span><\/p>\n

When another audience member asked him his opinion about college students, he declared that many of the issues he saw with the younger generation were the result of too many liberal professors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCollege students are becoming soft, they\u2019re becoming weak, they\u2019re becoming afraid of hearing different opinions \u2014 they only hear one side of it \u2014 so yeah, I think it\u2019s becoming hard for students to think freely,\u201d said Gibson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gibson also addressed a variety of other topics, ranging from his opinion on President Trump to gun control and religion. He concluded his talk with a half an hour of question and answer time with the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

To view the initial statement that President Rex Fuller released, as well as the statements that ASWOU released, visit <\/span>this link.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Photos by Paul F. Davis<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[fruitful_alert type=”alert-info”]This piece was co-reported on by News Editor Bailey Thompson and Editor-in-Chief Caity Healy..[\/fruitful_alert] Bailey Thompson | News Editor On Tuesday, June 4, the College Republicans hosted conservative activist Joey Gibson in the Willamette Room of the Werner University Center. Although this speech was eventful enough on its own, heated discussion and action surrounding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":10737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"modified_by":"The Western Howl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}