Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) at the University of Santa Barbara have been caught in a dispute over the group’s ideological direction after they hosted Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
The talk, which was entitled “Feminism is Cancer,” saw Milo lifted onto the stage on a golden throne.
However influential figures at UCSB, including past and present chapter leaders, told The College Fix that they believed the group was “veering away from the mainstream,” and that it was “uneasy” with hosting Milo, who is currently touring US Colleges on his “Dangerous Faggot Tour.”
The dispute was revealed after a leaked Facebook conversation, where a YAL employee said that “any event featuring him must be disassociated with the YAL brand entirely.”
Posting on a group exclusively for YAL Chapter Presidents, Ty Hicks, who is the groups National Field Director and a political science student at Michigan University, said:
Hicks went on to advise leaders seeking to “promote free speech on campus” to consult the groups regional directors for “constructive ways” of doing so.
However Cliff Maloney YAL Executive Director said Hicks’ post does not represent the group in any “official capacity.”
“A staff member mistakenly made the post on his personal Facebook and it has since been taken down,” Maloney told The College Fix. “Our relationship with Milo remains unchanged.”
He did not however explain why a personal Facebook post was shared on a group for YAL Chapter Presidents.
It is understood many YAL were upset with Milo’s comments on libertarianism and the fact he brought a Trump doll onto the stage, and winced whilst describing “the libertarians.”
Other senior figures, such as West Regional Director Erin Yeoman, West Regional Director Erin Yeoman and Carlos Flores, the former president of the UCSB chapter, also expressed concern that Milo was “making fun of libertarians” and that the event “ran afoul of YAL’s expectations.”
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