The ASUO Senate voted down a resolution asking the Pacifica Forum to leave the University campus Wednesday night, but Senate debate surrounding the group will likely continue in the weeks ahead.
Wednesday’s meeting drew an audience of more than 100 students and community members, most of whom were there to support the resolution. Three University Department of Public Safety officers were present to watch over the meeting.
As audience members reacted angrily to opponents of the resolution, Senate Vice President Nick Schultz said he would continue introducing resolutions opposing the group until the Senate passed one.
“I’m not going to let these people be silenced,” Schultz said of the crowd, which responded with a standing ovation.
Supporters of the resolution said that opposing it could compromise political futures. Citing signatures on the petition that opposed the group, one of the resolution’s co-signers, Sen. Zachary Stark-MacMillan, suggested that those in the crowd could play a role in the Senate’s future.
“As you said, there are more people who signed this petition than voted for us in the last election,” Stark-MacMillan said. “I would encourage you to run for office. You can change who’s on this body.”
The Pacifica Forum has drawn criticism because many of its regular attendees espouse anti-Semitic ideas and because it has invited Holocaust deniers and members of Neo-Nazi groups to campus.
The resolution’s supporters said the Forum made them feel unsafe on campus. Many were members of minority groups who said they had been targets of hate by Pacifica Forum members or those allied with them. Others said having the group on campus made them fear violence.
“I am a student who likes to pull all-nighters in the library,” said University student Kierra Fantroy-Harrison, who testified through tears on the resolution’s behalf. “But I don’t feel like I can be safe doing that.”
The resolution’s opponents said they were nervous that passing the measure would violate Pacifica Forum members’ First Amendment rights. Some said they had changed their minds since the Senate unanimously put the resolution up for a vote at its Jan. 20 meeting.
“I voted ‘yes’ last week and had a very emotional moment,” said Sen. Demic Tipitino, adding, “I realized my conscience would not let me vote against free speech.”
The meeting grew more and more emotional as debate raged. Senators speaking against the resolution were frequently interrupted by audience members, and two senators began crying during the meeting.
The Senate’s first attempt to vote on the resolution failed, and the meeting appeared to have reached a breaking point when Anti-Hate Task Force member Michael Williams, a longtime Pacifica Forum opponent, stood up and began speaking while a senator was talking. However, Williams’ speech implored audience members to remain quiet and allow the Senate to vote.
Shortly thereafter, just before midnight, the Senate was able to vote on the subject, rejecting the resolution by a vote of seven for, 11 against and one abstaining.
The Senate then voted to adjourn, despite having nearly an hour and a half of business left on the agenda. Senate President Nick Gower said that, emotionally, the senators were not capable of finishing the meeting.
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