UNC Chancellor Shuts Down Right-Wing Youth Group
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The chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has shut down the UNC chapter of the anti-immigrant group Youth for Western Civilization after its faculty adviser joked about his proficiency with a Colt .45 handgun.
The adviser, professor of psychology Elliot Cramer, was responding to an E-mail alerting him that fliers bearing his photograph and home address had been distributed on campus. The fliers were captioned, “Why is your professor supporting white supremacy?” They urged students and faculty members to pressure Cramer to withdraw his support of Youth for Western Civilization, a national organization with direct ties to hate groups and white nationalist websites.
“Thanks for your concern,” Cramer replied in a Sept. 19 E-mail that he copied to Chancellor Holden Thorp. “I have a Colt .45, and I know how to use it. I used to be able to hit a quarter at 50 feet seven times out of ten.”
Thorp ordered Cramer to step down as the group’s faculty adviser the following day, effectively freezing the group’s activities. “This email is highly inappropriate,” the chancellor wrote to Cramer. “It is certainly not consistent with the civil discourse we are trying to promote.”
Cramer is the second YWC faculty adviser at UNC-CH to step down since the chapter formed early this year. In June, physics and astronomy professor Chris Clemens resigned, saying the group’s positions and rhetoric were too radical to promote constructive dialogue.
The UNC-CH chapter of YWC’s next scheduled event is a lecture by right-wing activist Bay Buchanan planned for October.
In April, anti-racist protesters forced the cancellation of an YWC-sponsored presentation by former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo on the UNC-CH campus. At other YWC-sponsored campus lectures this year, Tancredo staked out a nakedly white nationalist anti-immigration argument.
“Throughout history, people who are not white Anglo-Saxon have become American by adopting a white Anglo-Saxon culture,” Tancredo said in a February lecture at American University. “Today, this cult of multiculturality emphasizes our differences — things that pull us apart instead of bringing us together.” Tancredo further identified Latinos and Muslims as members of “problem” cultures.
on September 25th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Which, IMHO, was the best and sanest thing to do.
Especially before certain of their events disintegrated into disorder and violence of the sort that Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and the whole of Fox Prolefeed would probably be laughing hysterically @ like the harpies of Greek mythology.
on September 25th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I would like to hear Tancredo define “white Anglo-Saxon” in an exacting academic format & then apply that toward Americans with less melanin in their skin.
on September 25th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/.....uth-group/
You need to get your facts straight.
1. He did NOT shut it down; that was misreported. The group had
30 days to find a new adviser. The Chancellor very quickly found
them THREE new advisers to serve together.
2. The group does NOT have “direct ties to hate groups and white
nationalist websites.” It is NOT on your hate list. Heidi
Beirich of your organization has written me saying that “I will
insert a note into our blog post about YWC that makes clear
Epstein later said that he should not have claimed to have been a
founder of YWC.”
3. Thorp did NOT order me to to step down and did not freeze the
group’s activities. Last Sunday I assisted them in finalizing
Bay Buchanans October 8 visit and planning two panel discussions.
4. Chris Clemens said no such thing; he is now one of three
advisers.
5. These anti-racist protesters are akin to facists; read this
statement by a distinguished liberal law professor at UNC on hate
speech.
http://www.indyweek.com/gyroba.....d%3A393805
I couldn’t care less what Tancredo says. I don’t agree with his
views but our students have the right to hear them if they wish.
See my website for more.
on September 25th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
One other comment. The Chapter President is a dark-skinned Indian-American and he resents the claim that Western Civilization is White. The fliers were anonymous and scurrilous and presumably distributed by SDS cowards.
You can see for yourself on my website. It is unworthy of this group to repeat such garbage. A guest editorial will appear in the Chapel Hill Herald on sunday.
on September 26th, 2009 at 11:09 am
This is the result of students who were not taught the difference between right and wrong. The real “hate crime” was when ‘fliers bearing his photograph and home address had been distributed on campus’. But no one is talking about this or pursuing the perpetrators.
on September 26th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Not that I have a problem with Indians of course- but are you saying this leader considers Indian(you mean India) to be “Western civilization”? Any way you slice it, “Western Civilization” is an imperialist term, that logically posits Europeans as being somehow superior to others.
on September 26th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I believe that he is saying that an interest in Western Civilization is not restricted to White people. I can’t imagine how it is an imperialist term or posits superiority. There is a PBS series called “the western tradition” which certainly does not posit superiority. A belief in the superiority of one’s culture is hardly racist. I think that “observer” is right on the mark. No one has ever taught these student tolerance for other people’s belief. Note that I sign my name and email address to this. The authors of the flyer did not. I think this says something about them.
on September 27th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Western civilization is generally meant to mean the tradition inherited from ancient Athens and Jerusalem.
Rational (empirical) inquiry, and ethics based faith, combined, later, in Roman government, civics, and engineering. This Western tradition spread outward, borrowing from other cultures along the way. The West flowered during the High Middle ages, the Renaissance, and may have peaked within the English speaking countries- for better or for worse. Yet the most of the world has stampeded to emulate Western liberal democratic ideals. I dont think India is exaclty non-Western in outlook- the British period of colonization ended up being a good thing- the Brits gave India her railroads, her bureaucracy, the groundwork for her governemental and scientific structure, etc. India would not be India if not for the Brits- Britain gave India her map. India today would be about 15 different independent smaller nations if the Brits had not colonized her.
on September 28th, 2009 at 5:49 am
@ Observer
I’m sure the flier people are/were being dealt with as well. It’s just that writing about legal/disciplinary actions towards them would be tangential. This blog post is about what happened to the faculty advisior of the student organization. You want followup info, e-mail UNC or go to a related page on their site.
Side-note: Go Tarheels!
on September 28th, 2009 at 8:02 am
This will help UNC solidify its preeminent position as vocational school for Dogpatch mattress testers, cheaper than the University of the South, and now with budget constraints to scare off people with teeth!
on September 28th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I live in Colorado, and we know all about Tom Tancretin here. He’s a bozo. I’m glad he no longer represents our state in Congress.
It is ironic that Tancredo would promote a whites-only immigration agenda, because he is of Italian extraction according to his Wiki bio.
When Tancredo’s grandparents came here from Italy, it was not uncommon for WASPs to regard Italians as NOT white enough. No Italians Need Apply.
In fact, the first nativist groups in America were against Italians – and their Catholic faith – coming to our shores.
Ironic that Tancredo would carry the nativist banner that was used to bludgeon Italian immigrants like his grandparents.
on September 28th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Elliot Cramer, I don’t give a damn what you say here.
As far as I am concerned, you are just another witless gun-nut redneck racist clown.
You must have gotten your PhD from a CrackerJack box.
on September 28th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
It’s a sign of the sad state into which psychology has fallen that a professor emeritus of that science (?) would volunteer his time as a sponsor of and apologist for this YAF-associated organization. Previously, Cramer has turned his professional skills toward attempting to prove statistically that North Carolina’s death penalty is not racially discriminatory. I guess it was naive of me to imagine that psychology had anything to do with healing.
on September 28th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Despite what you read on this site, there is NO evidence that YWC is a racist organization. LOOK AT MY WEBSITE
Evidently you don’t know anything about statistics and the death penalty. I suggest that you look at
http://www.unc.edu/~cramer/death; you might learn something. if you understand a little statistics. Every study but possibly one is seriously flawed. These studies purport to show that murderers of Blacks are LESS likely to get the Death Penalty than murderers of Whites. The one other study on the Federal system shows no difference between Blacks and Whites. The evident way to remedy this supposed discrimination is to execute more murderers of Blacks but 95% of them are Black themselves.
In North Carolina we find since 1961 13 Blacks executed 28 Whites executed
88 Blacks are on death row and 64 Whites are on Death but Blacks commit more murders than Whites.
I don’t claim to be a “healer”; I’m a quantitative psychologist and applied statistician as it clearly says on my website. I’ve testified both for the State and against the State in Court on a variety of issues
Please engage your mind before putting your mouth into gear.
Cheers
on September 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
The stated goal of psychology is “control.”
on September 28th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Tancredo wants to end all illegal immgration, and halt all legal immigration for three years (common sense). Then maybe the water supply ,birds, bobcats, and other animals can recoup a bit from excess human interference, at least in the southwest.
I’m not aware of him wanting to ban all non-white immigrants from ever entering the US…
on September 29th, 2009 at 7:53 am
What’s a YAF-associated organization?
on September 29th, 2009 at 11:05 am
It’s an organization founded by members (or maybe former members) of Young Americans for Freedom, a student group founded in the 1960s by the late William F. Buckley that later moved even further to the right and developed a reputation for physical confrontationalism. After a lengthy dormancy, it was revived a few years ago, and its new members included Kevin DeAnna and Craig Burgers, two of the founders of Youth for Western Civilization. For some of YAF’s relatively recent antics, you might check this SPLC article: http://www.splcenter.org/intel.....p?pid=1498.
on September 29th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Molly:
Why would ending legal immigration for 3 years make sense? How would this help the rejuvenation of wildlife in the South West USA?
The process to legally immigrate is a lengthy one.
on September 29th, 2009 at 11:08 am
You can’t spell conservative without “con”. So now we have to be politically correct for the racists? We have to their views simply because. No, No, No. The idea that anyone would allow for such an organization in the first place is very frightening. Taken from an earlier post:
“Diversity can be good in moderation — if what is being brought in is desirable – Marcus Epstein” This is very disturbing statement. Who determines what is desirable? No, this is a very dangerous mentality. Immigrants have done absolutly nothing to contribute to the crippling of the economy. Those grand architects of the current recession were born with golden spoons in their mouths and sport Ivy Leauge class rings. People like this make me sick.
on September 29th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Cramer writes: “The Chapter President is a dark-skinned Indian-American and he resents the claim that Western Civilization is White.”
Finding non-whites to front for white supremacy advocacy movements is an age-old trick. They love these dim-witted traitors of color because they believe having non-white talking heads nullifies all accusations of racism. Of course this is fallacious logic, but they honestly believe it washes their hands clean. Call it Stockholm Syndrome, or misidentification, or whatever you want, but the few minorities who inexplicably sympathise with these groups, do not cancel out the racist white supremacist underpinnings of the groups’ objectives. In fact, it reinforces them since it is an obvious ploy to mask the underlying racism.
The mere fact that Cramer even makes this argument is very telling of what he’s really all about and what his true motives are.
on September 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Unemployment is really over 15%. Why import labor ?
Illegal immigrants leave a lot a trash in the national forests near the border. Animal habitat is adversely affected.
on September 29th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Indians from India are not exactly “non-whites”….most are Caucasians. DNA tests confirm that light skinned peoples from the west Asian steppes invaded/settled India about 2,000 BC.
on September 29th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Most Indians from India are Caucasians.
on September 30th, 2009 at 6:14 am
@Don Quixote
Sorry to nitpick, but Stockholm Syndrome (according to wikipedia) “is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed.”
on September 30th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Rob Waters here, senior editor of Hatewatch, responding to Dr. Cramer’s comments.
“Shut down” was the phrase used in the Chapel Hill News to describe what happened to YWC’s chapter at UNC-CH. That report also said Dr. Cramer complied with Chancellor Thorp’s request that he resign. If, as Dr. Cramer asserts, the university rule is that a student group has 30 days to find a new adviser, then “shut down” overstated the case.
Dr. Cramer is correct that the Southern Poverty Law Center does not list the UNC-CH chapter as a hate group. As the Sept. 25 post stated, the national organization of Youth for Western Civilization has direct ties to hate groups and white nationalist websites.
For example, YWC co-founder Kevin DeAnna has posted racially charged essays to the Spartan Spectator, a website run by the Michigan State University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, which the SPLC does list as a hate group (the MSU chapter, not the national organization). In one such essay, DeAnna attacked the African-American holiday Kwanzaa. “White Christians in particular, don’t owe any deference to the self-defined racial separatist customs of other people,” DeAnna wrote.
As for Marcus Epstein: When Youth for Western Civilization debuted in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, both Epstein himself and YWC promotional materials trumpeted him as one of its founding members. Epstein later said he should not have claimed to have been a YWC founder. In any case, he was very much a part of the proceedings in February.
Epstein is a frequent contributor of racist essays to VDARE.com, a white nationalist hate website. Also, he regularly organizes presentations by prominent academic racists like Jared Taylor, the editor of the overtly white supremacist journal American Renaissance.
I can’t respond to Dr, Cramer’s assertion that Thorp did not order him to step down. That is certainly what the local papers reported.
The campus paper, The Daily Tar Heel, has now reported that three new faculty advisers have signed up to help the group, so presumably it is functioning again. And as Dr. Cramer indicates, one of those advisers is Professor Clemens, who previously advised the chapter.
Here is what Clemens told The Daily Tar Heel in June when he resigned: “I’m not willing to sponsor an affiliate of the national YWC. … The name has become an obstacle to constructive dialogue.”
on September 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Oh c’mon Tazuka fan, you ARE being nitpicky, and as a rule, don’t ever quote wikipedia and expect to have credibility. My “Stockholm Syndrome” comment was an analogy, not the actual syndrome suffered by minorities (i.e. the oppressed) who sympathize with the majority group (i.e. their oppressors). The analogy is valid as one possible way of understanding why some people of color betray their own people by “sleeping with the enemy,” if you will. Personal greed and lust for power are other valid explanations.
Of course, I don’t see all racial relations this way, but clearly the uber-conservatives love it when they get to prop up a non-white talking head and say: “See there! We’re not racist! We got ourselves a person of color who agrees with us.”
on October 1st, 2009 at 9:52 pm
The first nativist group in America, were Native Americans opposing the Spanish.
on October 2nd, 2009 at 7:47 am
@ Don Q.
I did apologize for my nitpick and I’ve been conditioned (read: old habit) to use Wikipedia for basic info that shouldn’t need a lot of sources (because Wiki stinks when it comes to sources).
Also, it’s “TEzuka fan”, as in Osamu Tezuka, creator of beloved Japanese series Astro Boy, Kimba, Black Jack, Unico, etc. These are stories about useful lessons like tolerance, environmental resopnsibilty, whatever Black Jack’s about, and friendship. It’s because of this, and that I’m an old school manga/anime fan, that I use this username. Also, Tezuka died the very day before I was born.
on October 3rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
The fact that a great deal of Indians have Caucasian roots does not negate the fact that the imperialistic term “Western Civilization” does not include ancient Aryan society. In fact it would be just the opposite since the ancient Aryans were a steppe-dwelling nomadic society originally. Modern Caucasians are about as Caucasian as one could get, but most advocates of “Western civilization” would not assimilate well into their culture.
on October 7th, 2009 at 1:27 am
I’m a resident of Chapel Hill, and I believe the UNC chapter of YWC is now claiming to not be affiliated with the national organization. They are bringing Bay Buchanan to speak later this week, and protests are being organized.
One detail of this story that I heard about on campus but did not see published in the papers is that Haley Koch, one of the “SDS cowards,” was also cc:ed on the gun email from Kramer.
on October 7th, 2009 at 9:25 am
It’s cramer; YWS IS affiliated. I do not believe that Haley is a member of SDS. Of course, I copied her; I had a friendly relationship with her and I wanted her to know what her friends were doing. Meanwhile one of her associates published slanderous statements about me and the News and Observer is publishing a retraction
More later. READ MY WEBSITE
on October 19th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Re: As the Sept. 25 post stated, the national organization of Youth for Western Civilization has direct ties to hate groups and white nationalist websites.
You are wrong; there are NO such ties and nothing on the website indicates any ties
RE: For example, YWC co-founder Kevin DeAnna has posted racially charged essays.
DeAnna attacked the African-American holiday Kwanzaa. “White Christians in particular, don’t owe any deference to the self-defined racial separatist customs of other people,
So what??? You can attack Rosh Hashanah if you like; I don’t see that this makes you an anti-semite.
Re: both Epstein himself and YWC promotional materials trumpeted him as one of its founding members.
I’ve asked for evidence of this and none has been forthcoming. Epstein has NEVER been a member
Re Professor Clemens, who previously advised the chapter. (said) The name has become an obstacle to constructive dialogue.”
This has been misunderstood; he is an official adviser again and I am still advising them as an unofficial adviser
The group is still active and sponsored an excellent talk by Bay Buchannan. See
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages.....in_article
I deplore “guilt by association” and I think that Hatewatch is guilty of McCarthyism in sponsoring a black list just as McCarthy did