Jared Taylor, a self identified white nationalist, will no longer be speaking at the University of Alabama on April 19.
Taylor was invited to speak by Students for America First; a student organization at the University “dedicated to the recognition & preservation of the American ideals of self-determination, individual liberty, and constitutionally-bound democratic government as absolute necessities for prosperity.”
On Monday Lee Hedgepeth, an Alabama local reporter for the New York Times posted on twitter that he had received an e-mail from the University stating that Students for America First’s registration status had been withdrawn, canceling the event.
According to an email I just got from @UofAlabama, the group that had been planning to host white nationalist Jared Taylor “does not currently meet the registered student organization requirements.” Event has been cancelled. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/l1uudlPiMR
“The group had an opportunity to comply with the requirements of a registered UA student organization, but was unable to do so. If its status changes in the future, the group will be given the opportunity to re-register, gaining the privileges of registered student organizations, including the ability to host events and speakers in campus facilities,” the statement read.
“For any student group to host an event through UA’s student event registration process, it must be a registered student organization, which requires, among other things, having a full-time UA faculty or staff advisor. This content-neutral policy applies to all student groups, regardless of a group’s views or the substance of its proposed event,” the statement went on to say.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Taylor is “the founder of the New Century Foundation and edited its now discontinued American Renaissance magazine, which, despite its pseudo-academic polish, regularly publishes proponents of eugenics and blatant anti-black and anti-Latino racists.”
The University’s President, Stuart Bell sent an e-mail to staff and faculty members, in March stating that, “many in the campus community, including campus leadership, have strong feelings against the messages this person may espouse. Hate and bigotry have no place at The University of Alabama. Our community is diverse, inclusive and accepting, and we are committed to treating one another respectfully. We value the ways diversity enriches our University community.”
