Despite the presence of protesters and a general sense of nervous anticipation surrounding the event, conservative group Youth for Western Civilization managed Thursday to smoothly host its first lecture since protests disrupted talks last spring.
Former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan spoke in the Union Auditorium on Thursday night to a small but attentive audience about the necessity of free speech and the perils of illegal immigration.
“I want to talk about the importance of free speech, a topic that must be missed in History 101 around here,” Buchanan said.
Her speech marked a peaceful event for the UNC chapter of Youth for Western Civilization, which was plagued with a rocky start this fall, including difficulty finding an adviser.
Buchanan addressed an array of issues in her speech, such as leadership in government, the effects of illegal immigration on the economy and the protection of the nation’s borders.
Buchanan also said she thinks society’s obsession with being politically correct often limits free speech.
“The word ‘offended’ is an active verb. It means you choose to be offended,” she said. “So who are you to decide what I can and can’t say?”
At least 10 police officers
were on hand to ensure that Buchanan was able to deliver her speech peacefully. But their presence didn’t stop senior Haley Koch from protesting.
Koch — arrested after a protest last spring that prevented U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., from speaking — staged a dramatic performance Thursday night in front of the auditorium before Buchanan’s speech.
Wielding a horse whip, chains and a paddle, fellow protesters pretended to scold Koch for a variety of “offenses.” They pretended to beat her and led her into the auditorium in chains.
At one point in the performance, Koch read the First Amendment through the gag placed in her mouth, symbolizing what she feels is the suppression of her right to free speech on campus.
“I hope our performance caused people to think differently about the questions we raised and challenge their ideas,” Koch said.
Koch remained gagged throughout the first half of the speech, drawing audience members’ attention. She exited the auditorium halfway through the speech.
Lauren Atencio, a senior economics major, said she thought Koch’s actions were a ploy for attention.
“I hope that will satiate them for a while,” she said.
Some members of the audience interrupted Buchanan throughout the speech with audible comments. Buchanan did not respond to the diversions.
“When you squash the ability to talk about an issue in a civil way, you lose the opportunity for the truth to come out,” Buchanan said in her speech.
The speech was funded by a $3,000 reimbursement by Chancellor Holden Thorp to YWC for the Tancredo speech in April.
Senior Marius Lorentzen questioned the protestors’ motivations.
“When are they going to acknowledge other people’s right to freedom of speech?” he said.
Students from across the political spectrum were in attendance.
Buchanan spoke last spring as YWC’s first sponsored speaker in their first year as an official club.
Freshman Tyler Hopkins said he attended the speech to have his views challenged.
“It made me strengthen my own opinions,” he said.
The story so far
March 19: Former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan speaks about illegal immigration with little fanfare. She is the first speaker brought to campus by conservative group Youth for Western Civilization.
April 14: Former U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., an ardent opponent of illegal immigration, speaks on the subject in Bingham Hall. Protesters show up to oppose the subject and are broken up by police after they say the protest got out of hand. Five minutes into the speech, a window is broken, and Tancredo ends his talk and leaves campus. The incident gains national attention.
April 22: Police arrest senior Haley Koch for her role in the Tancredo protest. Her case is later dismissed by a judge.
June: YWC’s faculty adviser Chris Clemens resigns, saying he doesn’t have time to properly advise a group that is gathering so much attention and scrutiny.
Sept. 17: Chancellor Holden Thorp re-extends his offer to reimburse YWC $3,000 for Tancredo’s truncated appearance, saying he feels the University is partly responsible for not being able to control the protest.
Sept. 18: The address of YWC’s faculty adviser Elliot Cramer is printed in anti-YWC brochures. Cramer responds by writing in an e-mail to Koch and Thorp that he owns a Colt .45 and knows how to use it.
Thorp asks Cramer to resign from the faculty adviser position because of the comment, saying it is not consistent with the civil discourse UNC is trying to achieve.
Sept. 21: With the help of Thorp, YWC finds three new faculty advisers.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
