University cancels ‘Fake News’ panel: Bill Whittle is a racist, Islamophobe
A debate co-organized by the College Republicans and College Democrats at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has been canceled after students protested the involvement of conservative pundit Bill Whittle, accusing him of racism and Islamophobia.
“The organizers of the Feb. 13 Fake News Panel at Cal Poly have decided collectively to cancel the event following continued withdrawals and uncertainty surrounding the participation of the announced panelists,” said campus spokesman Matt Lazier in an email to The College Fix.
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“The intent of the program was to bring together a wide variety of perspectives on the topic. However, organizers decided this was no longer possible with the continued withdrawals, including those of the Republican and Democrat clubs’ respective panelists,” Lazier said.
Whittle, who was invited by the Cal Poly College Republicans to take part in a “Fake News Panel: What is it and who decides,” has been accused by some students of being a white supremacist, prompting outrage that ultimately led to the event being canceled after panelists and organizers began to back out.
Objections detailed by College Fix stem from a 2016 interview on race and crime as well as a column written after the Orlando massacre: “At present, Islam is at war with non-Muslims in Orlando, Paris, Brussels, Munich, Rome, and in fact in every western country.”
“… Muslims are throwing homosexuals to their deaths from the tops of buildings; they are using knives to stab Jews in Israel, and they are using stones to kill not the rapist but rather the victims of rape. You can write all the laws against guns, or knives, or stones or even gravity that you want to. They will find a way to keep killing what they hate, and as we have seen, they hate pretty much everything that is not them.”
Whittle was drawing examples from Islamic State, who Orlando shooter Omar Mateen swore allegiance to, and not all Muslims.
Whittle is a commentator who, over the course of his career, has contributed to PJ Media, National Review, Fox News, NRA TV and many other outlets. He also runs a popular YouTube page and is a frequent guest at Republican and Tea Party events.
Cal Poly’s Muslim Student Association President Edreese Gardizi told the Mustang News Whittle’s views are “harmful to marginalized and minority students on campus.”
Cal Poly College Democrats stated on their Facebook page that they withdrew from the event “in response to the College Republicans’ invitation of a panelist who routinely publishes racist and Islamophobic commentary. We condemn these statements as false and hateful and stand in solidarity with the individuals and communities they affect.”
Omar Mateen was tracked by the FBI, told by Disney he was “casing” the property and aligns with Islamic State
