White nationalist Richard Spencer is choosing Wednesday, March 14 to speak at the University of Cincinnati. Attorney Kyle Bristow says Spencer will speak for an hour in Zimmer Hall and then take questions for an hour. UC offered three dates, all of which fall during UC's spring break. The white supremacist threatened to sue the university, and The Ohio State University, if they didn't agree to let him speak on campus. Spencer's attorneys filed suit against OSU on Oct. 22.
UC isn't confirming the date, saying in a statement to WVXU there is no signed contract. Bristow says in a letter to the university that he is awaiting the document.
UC President Neville Pinto announced Oct. 13 the school would allow Spencer's visit.
"As a state institution, we must adhere to the foundational rights embedded in the First Amendment," Pinto wrote in a statement. "That includes protecting speech of all types at all times—even, perhaps especially, words that are blatantly hateful or offensive. After all, we cannot silence those with whom we disagree without opening the doors to our own voices being silenced by those who disagree with us."
He also condemns Spencer's "dehumanizing views and racist practices" in his statement and encourages members of the university community to "seize this opportunity to live into action the values of inclusion, respect, responsibility and dignity that we all hold dear."
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