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ASUO Condemns White Supremacy After UO Republicans Post Pictures with Alleged Proud Boys

Rachael McDonald
/
KLCC News

Members of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) Senate approved a resolution Tuesday condemning white supremacy. The announcement comes after the UO Young Republicans published social media posts with alleged Proud Boys.

Many organizations including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Southern Poverty Law Center have classified the Proud Boys as a hate group.

Students have voiced complaints about the UO College Republicans seemingly supporting the Proud Boys, such as when the organization published an Instagram post showing members standing with local Proud Boys during the “Stop the Steal” rally in Salem, in response to states counting votes in the presidential election. 

But the UO College Republicans released a statement on Nov. 20 in response to backlash they received after attending the event, and said they do not support “or condemn” the Proud Boys.

“We were there to encourage investigation into the irregularities in the 2020 US General Election, and to support President Trump in his legal battles,” said UOCR President Will Christensen. “Any speculation that the University of Oregon College Republicans endorses or condemns the ‘Proud Boys’ is completely unfounded and untrue. We will continue to encourage our members to show their support for President Trump.”

With the ASUO Senate resolution, the organization said the use of white supremacist symbols and rhetoric outside of an educational purpose is considered hate speech. The ASUO is also working to amend their Student Organization Rules to require all organization leaders to attend cultural competency training.

The following are additional rules of the resolution, which states the ASUO Senate:

  • “Rejects and condemns white nationalism and white supremacy as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values of the ASUO and detrimental to the cultural and physical development of UO students.”
  • “Considers the use of white supremacist symbols and rhetoric without acknowledgement of educational purpose or the denouncement of White supremacy sufficiently severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive to a degree that it interferes with a reasonable person’s ability to work, learn, live, participate in, or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the University.”
  • “Reiterates that all ASUO Student Organizations are required to follow the ASUO Student Organization Rules, which ‘affirm[] the right of all individuals to equal opportunity in education, employment and access to incidental fee funded programs and their funded activities, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity expression, age, different ability, national origin, marital status, veterans' status, or any other considerations not directly and substantially related to effective participation.’”
  • “Calls upon the ASUO Executive to revise the ASUO Diversity Statement to condemn hate speech and affiliation with White nationalist and White supremacist groups.”

The ASUO is also reminding students to hold others accountable when addressing hate and bias incidents.

Elizabeth Gabriel is a former KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She is an education reporter at WFYI in Indianapolis.
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