News-Letter

We are two of over 350 students who are strongly opposed to Tucker Max's appearance on our campus this Wednesday night. This event is a slap in the face to the women on campus, the sexual abuse survivors, the sexual and racial minorities he denigrates with unprintable slurs, the physically disabled, and anyone who does not fit into a white, Western-European, narrow-minded standard of beauty. We are appalled and disgusted that the HOP deems it acceptable to use our tuition dollars to bring a man to campus who routinely and blithely refers to women as "cum dumpsters" and "hos" and believes that "[y]our gender is hard-wired for whoredom," especially in light of the fervent and widespread opposition from students, faculty, and some members of the administration.

Max's misogyny veers into hate speech and endorsement of male entitlement, implied consent and rape. Welcoming him onto our campus gives his words a veneer of legitimacy and acceptability that they do not deserve. This HOP-sanctioned event gives the young men of this campus the wrong impression that Max's attitude and actions should be both glorified and mimicked. In the course of our protest, we were called - to our faces - "c---s," "fat bitches" and "whores," by male students - ostensibly our intellectual equals - who, taking a cue from Max, view misogyny and hate speech as a viable response to peaceful dissent. By bringing Max to campus, the HOP irresponsibly reinforces hateful, entitled attitudes, codifying them into the public discourse. Cheering on these attitudes further dehumanizes women and paves the way towards eventual acts of (sexual) violence, which happen - often - on our campus. Between one fifth and one fourth of college-aged women will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate. Why has an internationally ranked university become a forum for Max to further his hate speech?

Imagine if Max's violent statements were applied to any other minority group. If he had said that "Muslims aren't real people" instead of "fat chicks aren't real people," if he had said that, "Basic human rights do not apply to Asians" instead of, "Basic human rights do not apply to fat, loud, annoying women," if he had threatened to "grind up [Jews] into pig fodder" instead of grinding up women, the HOP would never have allowed him to set foot on our campus. By inviting him here, the HOP is effectively telling us that it is okay, because, "He's just talking about women." The women of this campus are effectively being told that we do not matter to the University or to the world, that our concerns mean nothing, that it is entertaining and we should shut up and take the joke.

Continued...

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