An OU student group is holding a Thursday evening protest against a Turning Point USA event hosting best-selling author and conservative media pundit Ann Coulter.

The protest Stand Up Against Bigots like Ann Coulter will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the east side of the Oklahoma Memorial Union, according to a graphic.

Susie Kerr, a microbiology senior, said in a message this is an informal gathering organized by Student Advocates Against Governmental Injustice.

We want to use our voice to stand in solidarity and let marginalized groups or persons in the OU community know that there are people here who support them and do not condone hate, Kerr said. Ann Coulter has a history for misogynistic, racist, xenophobic and ableist rhetoric that may make some members of our community feel unsafe or unwanted, so while she is here, we would like to counter that dialogue.

The graphic contains no other information other than the time, place, and reason, which is to protest the guest speaker presenting on campus. Coulter, who has been criticized in the past for anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric after the Sept. 11 attacks, will be speaking in the union at 7 p.m. hosted by the OU chapter of Turning Point USA.

The TPUSA event will adhere to the universitys social distancing and masking guidelines, according to the event registration page,and Coulter will be discussing the outcome of the election and college politics as they relate to our community, according to a TPUSA press release. The release acknowledged a statement from OU College Democrats calling for the event to be canceled, stating the event would not be canceled or postponed.

The release also acknowledged Coulters past remarks.

We encourage the community to remember that a college campus is a place where students are meant to encounter a spectrum of ideas, and engage in open, rational debate, the release read. We must value ideological diversity, because if we are thinking the same, then we are not thinking at all.

Read the rest here:

OU Student Advocates Against Governmental Injustice to hold informal protest at Ann Coulter speaking event - The Oklahoma Daily