Lydia Glenn

Jenna Seigworth

Staff Writers

On November 3rd, contrary to a previous article that was published by the Beacon on November 3rd which stated he would not be attending, Milo Yiannopoulos did indeed showed up to Penn State University Park for the “Pray the Gay Away” event. At about 8:45 p.m., the event hosted by the college club Uncensored America kicked off the event in the Thomas Building. 

The event was two years in the making and UP’s club, Uncensored America, could not wait to test the limits of freedom of speech when they invited Yiannopoulos there. 

The event offered free general admission to Penn State students and community members, but their entry was not guaranteed. However, there were VIP packages that could be purchased and would guarantee entrance. 

Yiannopoulos’ speech was about an hour in length, where he spoke on gay culture. According to University Park news, Yiannopoulos criticized gay culture and was quoted in saying that “being gay is a choice that hurts the family unit.” He also went on to say that being gay is caused by a lack of male role models and abuse. 

The gay criticism given by Yiannopoulos was also coupled with gay and racist jokes, and criticism of the Islamic religion.. Along with blatant homophobia, racism, and xenophobia, Yiannopoulos also talked about the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooter. He said that the “nightclub shooter who killed 49 people and injured many others had done nothing wrong.”

Yiannopoulos possibly felt he could speak on the matter because he himself was at the LGBTQ+ nightclub on that fateful night. Yiannopoulos was actually injured by the shooter as well, and still claimed in his speech that the shooter had done nothing wrong. 

During the presentation, Yiannopoulos declared himself as pro-execution, declaring that the death penalty is justified. 

Yiannopoulos also brought an electroshock machine to the event, demonstrating elctrochock therapy as the solution for “being gay”.  Directly after that, he began a prayer, leading the crowd into “praying the gay away”.  

In opposition to Yiannopoulos’s “Pray the Gay Away” Event, Penn State’s Gender Equity Center held a “Love is Louder” event from 6-10pm, also on November 3rd. This event was sponsored by the Jeffrey A. Conrad Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Love is Louder was made to provide “a more supportive and affirming environment” for students who felt Yiannopoulos’s presence was unwelcoming to them. 

The leaders of the event noted that they understood that Yiannopoulos was most likely going to speak and wanted to have a safe place for all students to be throughout the event. 

Many Penn State students chose to attend this event, but others took to the streets to rally against Yiannopoulos’s presence as well. 

Outside the event, protestors rallied and made their thoughts about the event known. One student at University Park said, “I should not feel afraid on my own campus. I should feel welcomed here.” 

Chants raged on throughout the speech, with one chant going, “We are, gay.” Even 33-year staff member Amy Leddy joined the protest and chanted with her students. “Saying that gays can be converted through conversion therapy is just horrid – absolutely horrid,” said Leddy. 

One student who attends University Park who was outside rallying told the Collegian, “seeing all these wonderful people come here together to fight the bad coming to campus is wonderful.” There were many more students who spoke out on the event, but all in all, students banded together and pledged their allegiance to the LGBTQ+ community at and outside of Penn State. 

Also in opposition to this event, a petition was started on change.org to try and stop Yiannopoulos from coming to UP. The petition was started by students who were concerned about Yiannopoulos’s appearance and how it would impact the LQBTQ+ community and other minorities. To read the full petition, go to: https://www.change.org/p/penn-state-cancel-milo-yiannopoulos-penn-state-appearance 

Many have questioned whether or not PSU could cancel Yiannopoulos’s event, but according to faculty at Penn State, there were many reasons that Uncensored America’s event should not have been allowed to proceed. Among the debate for First Amendment Rights, other factors involving Uncensored America’s actions when planning for Yiannopoulos’s visit were taken into consideration. 

When reserving the room to host the speech, Uncensored America provided false information in regard to the event. Under the details of the events, Uncensored America wrote “A very special guest will deliver a speech on a wide range of issues and take questions from the audience. The speaker and details are TBD.” 

Uncensored America did not name Yiannopoulos throughout the application process and requested student funds from UPAC- University Park Allocation Committee –  to pay for this event. After receiving confirmation for these funds, Uncensored America then requested the room again, answering “No” to the following questions on the form: “Are you paying anyone for a service? Who is providing the service? Are you requesting UPAC/SIF/SGA funds?” 

Despite the organization clearly knowing who the speaker was, and that they would be paying Yiannopoulos with student funds, the group lied in order to have the request passed. 

The organization initially requested $20,000 on their forms and eventually ended up giving Yiannopoulos $17,934.80. For the whole event, Yiannopoulos acquired nearly $24,000, saying that around $7,000 was given to him from an “outside donor”. 

In addition, Uncensored America lied about how long they had been a club on their request form. The club stated they had been around for three years, when they were actually founded in 2020. The club also continues to violate its own constitution by not having an advisor. 

A student here at Penn State Behrend was interviewed about their thoughts on the event. They said that “it didn’t represent Penn State well” and as a university that advocates for diversity and inclusion, it just did not make any sense for someone like Yiannopoulos to come to the university. 

The student responded to Yiannopoulos’s views on being gay and how being gay is a choice was by saying that they are a member of the LQBTQ+ community and do not feel that way. They said, “I did not experience any abuse from my parents, and my dad is a big part of my life, and here I am.” According to the student, Yiannopoulos’s claims clearly do not hold up against real personal testimonials. 

The student was asked their thoughts on a few other key points in Yiannopoulos’s speech, one being the nightclub shooting. The student said that it “makes me think Yiannopoulos felt as though he killed people who weren’t human.” Lastly, they were asked about the fact that Yiannopoulos brought an electroshock machine with him and how made the student feel. They said, “it doesn’t make me feel good, and it does not sit well with me.” As a member of the Penn State community and society overall, the student said that this presentation “takes us back from where we’ve come, and in the year 2021, there should not be this attitude against people.” 

Milo Yiannopoulos showing up at Penn State caused a lot of outrage among students and staff. While Yiannopoulos’s appearance was negative, it did create unity between students and faculty and showed their solidarity with the people that Yiannopoulos was persecuting.