Ahead of Lt. Col. Allen West’s recent lecture at Saint Louis University, pro-Hamas leftists made plans to protest the event by claiming seats, rudely interrupting the speech, and walking out. In order to recruit other close-minded radicals, the OccupySLU coalition created promotional materials featuring a swastika, in addition to other antisemitic tropes. Despite the students currently facing disciplinary charges and a condemnation by the university’s administration, the leftists have made no efforts to apologize or even remove the swastika from their Instagram page.
In a statement to the University News, SLU Spokesman Clayton Berry said that the student group’s use of the swastika “was unacceptable and is not in alignment with SLU’s mission and values.” He went on to add that there is an ongoing investigation to determine whether OccupySLU’s actions violated university policies.
Lt. Col. West, whose speech was titled “Historical Context, Not Propaganda, on the Israel-Hamas Conflict,” was interrupted approximately 15 minutes after beginning his lecture. Nearly 40 protesters disrupted his presentation by chanting that West, who is black, is a “racist” and a “bigot” – repeatedly shouting “No bigots on campus!”
Although the group was escorted out of the lecture, they carried their chanting over to the library, disturbing students who were simply trying to study. SLU’s Department of Public Safety was standing by, but did not make any arrests.
According to a communication obtained by the campus newspaper, the leftists are currently facing disciplinary charges ranging from “disorderly conduct” to “dishonesty” and “retaliation” for their involvement in the antisemitic protest.
The conservative student organization that worked with Young America’s Foundation to host this event invited those with differing opinions to participate so long as the dialogue was respectful. Students were asked to hold questions until the end where there was an opportunity for West to respond. The OccupySLU leftists instead disrespected the event format, posted hate imagery, and even refused administrative requests to discuss the matter afterward.
Despite the university’s condemnation and the disciplinary action coming their way, the campus radicals continue to defend their actions and have kept the post up on their page.
OccupySLU members engaged in an inappropriate level of disruption, used antisemitic imagery, refused to comply with an official disciplinary investigation, and vocalized inflammatory insults to an esteemed guest speaker of the university. How their club is allowed to continue operating is a mystery.
While SLU has taken steps that indicate that a disciplinary process is underway, there have surprisingly not yet been any publicly announced consequences. It is possible that the SLU administration has yet to reveal substantive responses to the far left organization, although scrutiny seems to be intensifying.
This is far from the first time that a student organization at SLU has attempted to censor a YAF speaker, but this is the first time in recent memory that students have deployed the symbol of the ruthless murder of 6 million innocent Jewish people in order to intimidate their peers.
