University of Michigan students walk out of class protesting negotiations with white nationalist

Richard Spencer wants to speak at university

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Students at the University of Michigan walked out of classrooms Wednesday morning in protest of the request made by white nationalist Richard Spencer to speak on the Ann Arbor campus.

The student group known as “Stop Spencer” organized the walkout in response to the “failure of University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel and the regents to deny” the request.

The request is from Spencer's National Policy Institute (NPI).

Schlissel released a statement last week saying that the administration would meet with Spencer’s group to determine whether he would be allowed to rent space to speak on campus and made it clear that no decision had been reached.

The student group said the walkout was in protest to the administration’s decision to begin negotiations with Spencer.

“We will not and cannot participate in classes at a University that prioritizes avoiding a lawsuit instead of protecting its students,” the student group’s statement reads.

Schlissel said in his statement last week that if the school cannot assure a reasonably safe setting for the event, that they would not allow it to go forward.

READ: University of Michigan president releases statement on white supremacist request to speak on campus

Michigan State University recently denied a request from the NPI and is facing a lawsuit.

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About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.