Cal State students consider resolution denouncing Milo Yiannopoulos

Milo Yiannopoulos holding protest signs while speaking at Berkeley last Sunday. (REUTERS/Noah Berger)

The student government at California State University, Fullerton is considering a resolution denouncing an upcoming College Republican event on Halloween night headlined by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

Members of Students for Quality Education, a leftist organization funded by the California Faculty Association, spoke to the CSUF Associated Students, Inc. committee on Thursday in support of the resolution, according to a press release from the College Republicans chapter.

ASI's resolution says Yiannopoulos places students who are illegal immigrants, DACA recipients or identify as LGBTQ in jeopardy, and also cites the money previous universities have shelled our for security at a Yiannopoulos event -- upwards of $800,000 recently at UC Berkeley. The group also notes students and community members signed a petition, “No Alt-Right Speakers or Hate Groups at CSUF.”

“Organizations on my campus are seeking to define my speech as hate speech and violence,” SCUF Republicans Event Director Ryan Hoskins said. “This resolution is just one more step towards accomplishing that goal. I hope the student leadership will make the right decision and stand up for free speech.”

CSUF College Republicans President Amanda McGuire said the issue was solely one of freedom of speech.

“With a vote to denounce Milo, ASI is sending a signal to conservatives that their voices don’t matter and are not represented,” McGuire said.

The university said it was committed to “freedom of expression.”

“While many at the university and the broader community may find Mr. Yiannopoulos’ remarks distasteful, if not wholly objectionable, the law is clear: what some consider hateful speech is, in fact, protected speech,” SCUF spokesman Jeffrey Cook wrote in a statement.

Cook referred to SCUF President Mildred Garcia’s fall welcome message, in which she wrote: “We may face language from individuals with whom we strongly disagree. Our commitment to uphold their right to speak should be matched only by our determination to challenge them through civil discourse, peaceful protest, and the hope that education – the truest and longest-standing cure for hatred and violence – sparks a transformation.”

Yiannopoulos is set to speak on October 31st, at 6:00 pm, one week after the student government is set to vote on the resolution.

Fox News asked ASI for a response, but the committee referred all queries to Cook.