\\ | Young
Democratic
~ ydsa Socialists of
a America
April 5, 2023
Contact: ualbanyydsa@gmail.com
OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO TPUSAÆS TRANSPHOBIC SPEAKER IAN HAWORTH AND
UNJUST ARREST OF TWO STUDENTS
On April 4th, 2023, the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter of the University at Albany
invited the infamous transphobic, alt-right figure lan Haworth to campus. While UAlbany
YDSA is in support of first amendment rights, we believe this individual's hateful rhetoric is a
clear danger and significant threat to the many queer students at the University. In response,
students attended the event as a peaceful demonstration of queer solidarity and joy,
simply chanting and dancing. During this time, doors were blocked by campus administrators
and any students attempting to re-enter the space after leaving to tend to basic needs (such as
getting water or going to the bathroom) were denied re-entry. In some instances, these campus
officials got into the faces of students and pushed them back against the doors.
While the action remained peaceful, TPUSA chose to change the location of their event, making
it a members-only meeting despite their advertising it as a public event (despite their claims that
they never had their event). This goes against the responsibilities of Student Organizations as
stated in the Student Organization Handbook, which outlines on Page 9 that ôstudent
organizations funds [may only be expended] to further the purpose of the group and not for the
private benefit of its officers or members.ö While a handful of TPUSA members had a private
conversation with lan Haworth, the rest of the UAlbany community was denied access. Albany
Student Press was also barred from entering this secondary location in a clear violation of
freedom of press. No students should be barred from any SA funded event.
The University at Albany University Police Department (UPD) blocked entrances to a public
hallway and staircases, and disabled the elevators in the UniversityÆs Campus Center, physically
preventing students from joining this student organization event and making the Campus Center
inaccessible for anyone who may have difficulty or inability with using stairs. While remaining
peaceful, two University at Albany students were unjustly arrested and charged with
disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration in the second degree.
The two were arrested while protesting in a public hallway on publicly accessible
campus property. One sustained minor injuries.
The Student Organization Resource Center handbook also states that ôthe University seeks to
foster an environment in which persons who are on its campus legitimately may express their
views as widely and as passionately as possible.ö They claim that the same rights are to be
provided for protesters, yet only community members who showed up to protest transphobia
were arrested while being barred from the Q&A with lan Haworth. Students are permitted to
exist and resist bigotry through active discourse.
TPUSA as a student organization is funded by the student activity fee, a mandatory fee
assigned to UA students which funds various student organizations, mental and physical health
services, and other essential student needs. TPUSA used part of their student activity fee
budget to pay for the room and food (that all students have the right to utilize) to spread lan
HaworthÆs hateful, transphobic, and dangerous message on campus. lan Haworth regularly
engages in public harassment campaigns and has already begun to post identifying pictures
and videos of queer students and students of color, along with disparaging comments, at the
event on Twitter and Instagram, to his national and notoriously hateful base.
The UAlbany Chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America deeply condemns this
outrageous violation of studentÆs First Amendment rights to peaceful demonstration.
What occurred last night was a clear suppression of free speech, which is ironic considering
that TPUSA and their guest lan Haworth claim to uphold these rights. The use of force by UPD
is wholly unjustified, and further illustrates the longstanding systemic issues with our University
Police Department, especially for queer students and students of color. While UAlbany YDSA
did not organize last nightÆs protest and had no official connection to the action, we
stand in proud solidarity of our comrades who attended and spoke up against blatant
bigotry. If the University wants to continue boasting their status as one of the most diverse
research institutions in the country and lauding gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk as a
notable alumn, they cannot continue to silence queer students in the face of bigotry. Especially
as trans rights are under attack nationally, UAlbany must loudly protect and affirm our
trans community.
UAlbany has an obligation to its student community to keep us safe, not just from harmful
rhetoric but from systematic overreach. We urge students, faculty, and community members
to call UPD and President Havidan to demand:
e All charges against the two students are dropped, and that they do not face
any sort of academic repercussions
e The University at Albany divest from UPD and invest in a social worker based
response unit
e The University at Albany administration must support the trans community by
⌐ Providing more gender affirming resources on campus
o Ensuring mental health professionals trained in gender affirming care are
available
Ensuring that mental health professionals on campus reflect the diversity
of the student body (ie multiple counselors of color and queer counselors)
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UAlbany YDSA
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Our official statement regarding last night's transphobic speaker, the peaceful protest, and the unjust arrest of two students at the University at Albany.
8:26 PM · Apr 5, 2023
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