Conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos will come to Athens on Friday, and political groups at Ohio University are making plans for the event.
Yiannopoulos, who is touring college campuses across the country, was invited to speak at OU by College Republicans President David Parkhill. Parkhill said there was a lot of interest for the 7 p.m. event, saying over 500 free tickets had been reserved, even though Nelson Commons has a capacity of just over 300.
"It will be interesting to see what the turnout will be," Parkhill said. "Worst case scenario, (people) stand in line and don't get in, which would be a bummer."
Parkhill said there were some security concerns. Previous talks by Yiannopoulos were shut down due to safety concerns, such as an event earlier in the month on New York University’s campus. Security will be handled by the Ohio University Police Department.
Of the 500 tickets reserved, Parkhill is unsure if any of those were claimed by students who are planning to protest the event. He said he was not particularly worried about it, however.
"If someone stands up and causes a ruckus, I'll say, 'Hey, this is your first warning,'" Parkhill said. "If it happens again they'll be escorted out."
Sam Miller, president of the College Democrats, said OUCDs will be participating in a counter-event scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., the same time as Yiannopoulos' talk. The counter-event is being planned by the Multicultural Action Coalition.
"It’s going to be an event where different groups talk about diversity," Miller said. "We'll have people from the LGBT Center, Black Student Union, (the) Women's Center — pretty much a showcase."
Miller said she would not be protesting the event because she believes it would only give Yiannopoulos more attention.
"Milo is a man who thrives on people giving attention to him — that fuels him," she said. "This event is like, ‘We know why you're here, and we're going to be the bigger person.’"
Claire Seid, a member of F--kRapeCulture, echoed that sentiment. She was concerned OU hosting an event like the talk would make certain groups feel unwelcome on campus.
"We are happy to work with the Multicultural Center in ignoring that turd," she said. "We do urge the university and the College Republicans to examine if this is the message they want to send."
