YAF Hangs Posters with Packing Tape Following Increased Tensions Regarding Their Upcoming Speaker
By Katie Oglesby, Editor-in-Chief
On Friday morning, Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) hung multiple posters per wall in Glatfelter Hall advertising their Tuesday speaker Ryan T. Anderson.
Young Americans for Freedom posters in Glatfelter Hall hung by packing tape on Friday, Oct. 14 (Photo provided).
Members of the organization used packing tape to hang the posters, which the administrative assistant for the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life Cynthia Tokar said she believes is not an appropriate material to hang flyers. Facilities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether this constituted vandalism.
Facilities staff had to scrape the packing tape off the walls in Glatfelter. Photos of the posters show the packing tape around all sides of the flyers.
Young Americans for Freedom posters in Glatfelter Hall hung by packing tape on Friday, Oct. 14 (Photo provided).
President of YAF John Riccardi ’24 claimed packing tape was not in violation of College policy.
“We were forced to poster in this manner in response to the widespread vandalism of the posters we put up Wednesday. This vandalism has continued into today, as nearly all of the posters hung in Glatfelter have been torn down once again,” Riccardi said. “Gettysburg YAF will not stand for having our views silenced, nor will we stand for having our promotional materials vandalized. This course of action is of equal magnitude to the efforts that have been made to suppress our event by the student body.”
The hanging of these posters follows increased tensions between members of YAF and other organizations on campus. In an article on the national YAF website, a writer accuses Gettysburg College of facilitating protests against the speaker, particularly with the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) hosting the LGBTQ+ Signs for Solidarity event and the Inclusion and Belonging Barbecue on the same day.
On Wednesday, the Director of the GSRC AJ Del Gaudio and the Associate Dean for Inclusion and Belonging Cristina Garcia sent out an email to the campus community answering students’ questions about why the College allows speakers that have viewpoints that seemingly contradict the College’s support of marginalized groups.
Del Gaudio and Garcia cited the College’s Freedom of Expression Philosophy.
“Freedom of expression and support for the worth and dignity of all people are not mutually exclusive,” they said. “With this in mind, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) will be hosting…events to celebrate and support our students, faculty, and staff who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.”
In their email, they included details about the events that would be held that week.
Garcia and Del Gaudio noted, “We understand that some may wish to express their opposition to certain events.”
They pointed to the Policy and Guidelines for Public Expression to detail that students may protest an event. Still, it must meet the “Time, Place, and Manner guidelines,” and not hinder the audience’s right to hear and see the speaker, nor the speaker’s ability to speak.
