A scheduling conflict allowed the Pacifica Forum to revisit campus Friday evening for its weekly meeting in Agate Hall. The group was met with protesters, and Department of Public Safety officers kept a close eye on the meeting.
After student protests at weekly meetings of the group, which has hosted anti-Semitic speakers and been accused of promoting hate speech on campus, the University decided in March that the Forum would meet in the Baker Center, a University property located downtown at 10th and High streets. Because the Pacifica Forum was created by professor emeritus Orval Etter, the group is entitled to meeting space in University facilities.
Assistant Vice President for Administration Brian Smith said the Forum met in Agate Hall this week because of a “scheduling conflict.” He could not confirm whether the Pacifica Forum would meet again at Agate Hall this week because he wouldn’t know the room’s schedule until Monday.
Protesters heckled Pacifica Forum members before, during and after Friday’s meeting. The meeting showcased a movie discussing whether racism exists in the U.S.
“As for the whole free speech thing, anti-fascism is an active struggle,” said one student protester, who requested anonymity. “Just because someone has free speech rights doesn’t mean that you can’t help the struggle for equality.”
University student Cimmeron Gillespie said he attended because the University allowed the Pacifica Forum back on campus.
“There are still ongoing violent struggles in cities as close as Portland (with neo-Nazis),” Gillespie said. “This group is promoting stereotypes and the ideologies that allow this violence to happen.”
The short film “A Conversation About Race” by Craig Bodeker was heckled throughout by protesters, who shouted that the film was based on faulty science and Wikipedia entries and was carefully edited to support Bodeker’s assumptions.
“Who knew that the Nazis are such jokers?” one student protester called out.
As the discussion after the film turned to African-American history, Pacifica Forum leader Jimmy Marr declared he did not feel sorry for the continent of Africa, saying, “It is the largest continent on this planet and boosts fertile farmland.”
Marr was accused by protesters of dehumanizing other people based on race, to which Marr replied, “When you call me a racist, that’s your opinion.”
ASUO Vice President-elect Maneesh Arora also attended Friday’s meeting and said he was there to show his support of the protesters.
“Students made it pretty clear that their safety was at risk (from the Pacifica Forum),” Arora said. “From what I heard, the Baker Center was booked for the time they wanted. I think at that point it would’ve been a better idea to have a different time or not meet at all than come back to campus.”
Smith said DPS ensured the meeting was kept orderly.
“Our goal is to make sure that every event conducted on campus is a safe event for people attending and for people conducting the event,” he said.
Pacifica Forum member Valdas Anelauskas said he was deeply disturbed by recent comments on the Breaking Bigotry Facebook group page about “killing Nazis.” Last month, a link to a YouTube video called “Kill a Nazi” was posted on the group’s page. The link has since been removed.
“They say they have to kill Nazis,” Anelauskas said. “Then they call us Nazis, so that means ‘kill a Nazi’ means killing me. They claim to be peaceful. When you consider (the protesters’) behavior, it’s disgusting.”
University student Lawrence Hill, who attended the meeting out of curiosity, displayed disgust after the meeting with both Pacifica Forum members and protesters.
“Both sides are idiots,” Hill said. “There is no chance of reconciliation. (With the protesters) there is a double standard. I have found that they will shout down anyone with their orthodox, narrow liberal views.”
Hill’s friend, University student Jeremy Sniezko, agreed, pointing out that protesters didn’t care that the group was still meeting on University property at the Baker Center.
“They only care when it’s close to them,” Sniezko said. “They pretend it’s about the entire community, but it’s only about their community.”
[email protected]