Milo Yiannopoulos, who writes columns suggesting women “suck” at job interviews and that fear of Islam is rational, will speak at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building next year.
The UNM chapter of Young Americans for Liberty is hosting Yiannopoulos’ visit on Jan. 27 during a national speaking tour.
Ryan Ansloan, vice president of the group, said the group has been talking to Yiannopoulos’ organizing team for about a year.
“We have been eager to host him because he offers a very specific and different point of view than what’s normally offered at universities,” Ansloan told the Journal on Monday.
The event will be free to attend. Ansloan said Yiannopoulos didn’t charge a fee to speak at UNM.
Yiannopoulos writes for and is the tech editor for Breitbart News, a news website with a sharp conservative slant popular among so-called members of the “alt-right,” a movement The Associated Press describes as “an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism.”
He has written articles for Breitbart with headlines such as “There’s No Hiring Bias Against Women in Tech, They Just Suck at Interviews” and “Why Equality and Diversity Departments Should Only Hire Rich, Straight White Men.” He also wrote “America has a Muslim problem” and that Islam around the world rules through fear and terror.
The site’s former chairman, Steve Bannon, is President-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist and special counsel. Bannon once described the site as a platform for the alt-right, though Trump has disavowed the movement.
Yiannopoulos also is an ardent and vocal supporter of Trump, which may be a contentious point for some members of the UNM community. Since the election, students and employees have protested against the election of Trump and many of his stances on immigration.
Yiannopoulos, a gay man, calls his organized speaking engagements “The Dangerous Faggot Tour.” He is known for riling what are typically left-leaning university communities.
At Rutgers University in New Jersey, for example, some attendees smeared themselves with fake blood during one of his speeches. At DePaul University, protesters ripped the microphone from his hands.
Ansloan said he expects some will protest Yiannopoulos at UNM. Young Americans for Liberty doesn’t agree with all of Yiannopoulos’ stances, he said, but is merely offering the speaker a platform.
