The University of Oregon College Republicans (UOCR) is under fire for posting a picture of some of their members at a "Stop the Steal" rally in support of Donald Trump which was also attended by members of the Proud Boys, Daily Emerald reports.
While Proud Boys banners can be seen in the background of the image, the group did not organize the rally, and there is no evidence to suggest a formal connection between the Proud Boys and the campus Republicans group.
Nevertheless, the incident led to the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) senate unanimously passing a motion condemning white supremacy, specifically in relation to the campus Republican group.
The Proud Boys, which is currently run by an Afro-Latino man, is a street gang which has been accused by left-wingers of promoting white supremacist ideology. Conservatives has also criticized the group for promoting violence in a manner comparable to Antifa groups.
UOCR also conducted an interview with a member of the Proud Boys from Texas in late October.
ASUO Senator Nick Keough, speaking on the controversy, said that the student union is "exploring all avenues to holding this student organization accountable and will keep students updated as things progress." It is unclear why being in general physical proximity of the Proud Boys required being held "accountable."
UOCR President Will Christensen said that his club attended the rally to "show our support for President Donald Trump and raise awareness of what we see as widespread irregularities in the 2020 U.S. general election." He also said that their attendance had "nothing to do with an endorsement of the Proud Boys" and that his group "has condemned, and always will condemn white supremacy, racism and all other similar heinous human prejudices."
The University of Oregon College Republicans stand ready to defend our organization, our members, and the constitutional rights of the entire campus community. pic.twitter.com/9gZjLBQC4D
— UO College Republicans (@UOGOP) December 11, 2020
UOCR political director Isiah De Alba said of the incident "We are in no way, as a club, defending the Proud Boys in any way, shape or form" while also refusing to condemn the group, saying "not everyone who goes to our club meet or are associated with our club thinks the same."
Later in December, the Daily Emerald published an opinion piece which falsely claimed that the UOCR members were "posing with [Proud Boys members] for pictures," despite every person posing in the picture UOCR posted to Instagram being members of their club.
The article makes a number of other false assertions, such as claiming that campus freedom of speech is only protected for white people. The author points to a case from a university in a separate state where an anti-Israel group had their club status suspended for interrupting a speech by former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. According to the author, breaking into speech halls to shut down speakers you don't like counts as free speech, but posing for pictures does not.
The article also suggests that Richard Nixon developed his campaign strategy by copying George Wallace, who managed to carry five southern states in the 1868 US Presidential Election. The article does not mention that Wallace was a lifelong Democrat.
The UOCR responded to the article with an open letter posted to Instagram, calling the op-ed "highly defamatory" and called upon the Daily Emerald to apologize for the article.
The "ASUO and College Democrats want the power to control who students can conduct an interview with, something which no one should tolerate."
"The University of Oregon College Republicans stand ready to defend our organization, our members, and the constitutional rights of the entire campus community," their statement finished.
The Daily Emerald has not responded to the open letter from the UOCR and has not removed the article in question.
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