Organizers of the Free Speech Week at the University of California at Berkeley insisted Monday that the event will go on, despite school officials announcement that some large indoor venues could not be rented for the events.
Well do it outdoors if we need to, said Pranav Jandhyala, a sophomore who is a member of the Berkeley Patriot, the student group that invited provocative writer Milo Yiannopoulos and others to campus. He said that conservative commentator Ann Coulter, frequent critic of Islam Pamela Geller and former chief White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon are all planning to speak there next week.
Coulter, and a spokeswoman for Bannon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. Geller said she is planning to speak. University officials released a list of speakers they said had been confirmed that did not include Coulter, Geller or Bannon.
The events were promised by Yiannopoulos after his own speech was canceled amid violent protests in February. When anti-fascist and other extremist protesters began smashing windows and lighting fires amid a large group of students peacefully protesting his talk, university police shut down the event.
That set off charges that Berkeley, the home of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s and a symbol for some of left-leaning college campuses, was stifling conservative speech. School officials countered that they had to ensure safety but were committed to the First Amendment. As the school year began with a new chancellor, Carol Christ, she promised to make this the year of free speech on campus, reminding the community that it is a defining value for the state flagship school.
