Conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos will talk at CU Boulder on Jan. 25 as part of a national college speaking tour.
The CU Boulder student organization chapters of the College Republicans and Turning Point USA invited Yiannopoulos, technology editor for Breitbart News, to speak on campus. The free event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Mathematics Building, room 100. Ticket details and other information can be found at www.yiannopoulos.net.
Over the years, the CU Boulder campus has hosted events featuring prominent figures with liberal and conservative perspectives. Those include appearances by Edward Snowden (via videoconference), Antonin Scalia, Karl Rove, Howard Dean, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Ashcroft, Ann Coulter and Rudy Giuliani, to name only a few.
CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano said that the campus will continue to be a forum for a variety of viewpoints, including those that are controversial.
“Personally, I feel strongly that discrimination and harassment have no place on our campus,” DiStefano said. “With that said, we must support the free exchange of ideas. I would hope that any speaker who comes here can present his or her opinions in a respectful manner. We understand that some topics will be supported by some students and denounced by others. Hosting a speaker on campus does not mean the university endorses or has other viewpoints on that speaker’s message.”
Chris Kohl, president of the CU Boulder College Republicans, said that the organizations invited Yiannopoulos so that students could hear about social justice issues in a unique format.
“He’s talking about really important issues, and he’s contentious,” Kohl said. “I hope people who attend will listen to his message of challenging social justice ideologies without fear. That’s refreshing and not always popular.”
