British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos made his UCSB entrance atop a padded chair hoisted by student organizers above a standing audience that filled Corwin Pavilion to capacity last Thursday evening. Many were even turned away from his controversial talk — titled “Feminism Is Cancer” — after waiting in a lengthy queue at the venue’s door.
Since February, UCSB’s fledgling chapter of the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) has touted the planned Yiannopoulos visit as a main event in its free speech crusade on campus. Intent to make a statement about the types of messages welcomed or condemned by their fellow students, group members purposely invited a “no-holds-barred provocateur,” according to newly elected YAL president Dominick DiCesare, who said he was impelled to join the group after the event gained substantial online traction.
YAL cofounder Brandon Morse recently resigned from his position as copresident of the group but appeared at the event regardless. “It’s important for him to be able to come on campus and be able to challenge the status quo, and I appreciate kind of the abrasive way that he presents his message,” Morse told The Santa Barbara Independent. “Whether or not I agree with him, he presents it in such a way that it breaks down the barriers that are traditionally in place that stop conversation from happening.”