Student tie to Boston Free Speech rally draws response from Fitchburg State U.
By Stephanie Murray, State House News Service
Posted Aug 16, 2017 at 5:19 PM
Updated Aug 16, 2017 at 10:38 PM
BOSTON - In an attempt to distance Fitchburg State University from a
senior student among the organizers of Saturday’s Boston Free Speech
rally, the university’s president says the institution has “zero
tolerance for bigotry and violence.”
Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus sent an email to students Wednesday after film major John Medlar captured media attention for his role organizing the controversial Boston Free Speech rally.
“It has come to our attention that one of our students may be an organizer of the proposed Boston Free Speech rally planned for this weekend on Boston Common,” Lapidus said in the email. “The university does not have any involvement in the Boston Free Speech event ... We do not support groups or individuals that infringe upon others’ rights, espouse hate speech, or commit acts of violence.”
Boston Free Speech posted a flier on Facebook describing the upcoming rally as a gathering of the “New Free Speech Movement,” the News Service previously reported. The flier encourages President Donald Trump supporters, libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists and “classic liberals” to attend on Saturday and “reassert their right to the most basic necessity of civil society.”
Medlar told WCVB on Tuesday the rally is “going forward” though some headline speakers have dropped out. In that interview, Medlar said he is a libertarian and not a member of the alt-right, and denounced hate groups like neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.
“We feel like we have a duty to see this through and make sure it is as organized and clean and coordinated and, most importantly, as safe as possible,” Medlar said on WCVB. He said organizers are telling protesters “not to bring overly inflammatory symbols” like swastikas or confederate flags.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh discouraged protesters from converging on the city Saturday and he and Gov. Charlie Baker denounced racial violence at the deadly protest in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend during a press conference Monday.
Medlar is the chapter leader of Young Americans for Liberty at Fitchburg State University, according to the group’s website, though Lapidus said the university does not have a recognized chapter of that organization. Young Americans for Liberty is a nonprofit focused on libertarian values and free speech that formed at the end of former Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign and operates via chapters on college campuses.
“Fitchburg State University has long been, and will continue to be, a community that values diversity and inclusiveness and understands the richness they bring,” Lapidus said. “The institution upholds freedom of expression when free inquiry advances greater understanding among diverse viewpoints.”
According to a blog post penned by Medlar in May, the university’s Student Government Association voted not to recognize the chapter as a club. The organization’s website claims it has chapters at dozens of colleges and universities in the commonwealth including Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston University.
Other university officials in the state who have spoken out following the violence in Charlottesville include UMass President Marty Meehan and UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.
Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus sent an email to students Wednesday after film major John Medlar captured media attention for his role organizing the controversial Boston Free Speech rally.
“It has come to our attention that one of our students may be an organizer of the proposed Boston Free Speech rally planned for this weekend on Boston Common,” Lapidus said in the email. “The university does not have any involvement in the Boston Free Speech event ... We do not support groups or individuals that infringe upon others’ rights, espouse hate speech, or commit acts of violence.”
Boston Free Speech posted a flier on Facebook describing the upcoming rally as a gathering of the “New Free Speech Movement,” the News Service previously reported. The flier encourages President Donald Trump supporters, libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists and “classic liberals” to attend on Saturday and “reassert their right to the most basic necessity of civil society.”
Medlar told WCVB on Tuesday the rally is “going forward” though some headline speakers have dropped out. In that interview, Medlar said he is a libertarian and not a member of the alt-right, and denounced hate groups like neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.
“We feel like we have a duty to see this through and make sure it is as organized and clean and coordinated and, most importantly, as safe as possible,” Medlar said on WCVB. He said organizers are telling protesters “not to bring overly inflammatory symbols” like swastikas or confederate flags.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh discouraged protesters from converging on the city Saturday and he and Gov. Charlie Baker denounced racial violence at the deadly protest in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend during a press conference Monday.
Medlar is the chapter leader of Young Americans for Liberty at Fitchburg State University, according to the group’s website, though Lapidus said the university does not have a recognized chapter of that organization. Young Americans for Liberty is a nonprofit focused on libertarian values and free speech that formed at the end of former Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign and operates via chapters on college campuses.
“Fitchburg State University has long been, and will continue to be, a community that values diversity and inclusiveness and understands the richness they bring,” Lapidus said. “The institution upholds freedom of expression when free inquiry advances greater understanding among diverse viewpoints.”
According to a blog post penned by Medlar in May, the university’s Student Government Association voted not to recognize the chapter as a club. The organization’s website claims it has chapters at dozens of colleges and universities in the commonwealth including Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston University.
Other university officials in the state who have spoken out following the violence in Charlottesville include UMass President Marty Meehan and UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.
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