Over 400 students protested the University of York’s Reform Society inviting Jack Anderton, the party’s social media coordinator, to their latest event.
Reform Society’s event took place at 5 pm this evening in the law building, LMB/002, exclusively for paying Reform Society members. Reform insisted that registered attendees bring their student IDs.
York Student Action Network (YSAN) quickly responded to the speaker by organising a retaliatory protest on Instagram. The original post, which received over 2K likes, encouraged people to show their solidarity at 6 pm on November 7th.
Posters have gone up around the University, dwarfing ReformSoc’s event announcement, which garnered a comparatively meagre 32 likes.
The protest started with a safety procedure, advising people not to interact with the media or the police. A team of six or seven PCSOs were seen at the protest, as well as members of campus safety.
The protesters’ signs read “Hate speech isn’t free speech” and they chanted “From the Dales to the sea, Yorkshire will be fascist-free”.
A few hours before the event, the Sabbatical Officers released a statement that said: “We stand with all our marginalised students tonight. But the SU cannot cancel the event. UK law prohibits this.”
The day before the march, Jack Anderton told his Instagram followers: “The radical left of York are lying and smearing me and what I stand for. These are deeply, deeply troubled people, but I will not be deterred.”
“So if you’d like to hear a real discussion about reform, about Britain’s decline, about young people, about immigration. And find out what I actually stand for, then if you’re a York student, please do come.”
By the time the main masked speakers ended at around 7.15 pm, protesters had formed call-and-response chants including: “This is what community looks/sounds like” and “For every refugee, throw a racist in the sea!”. Others used slogans including the Italian “Siamo tutti antifascisti”.
Those leading the protest welcomed protesters to share speeches and ad lib their thoughts into the megaphone.
After the event, York SU said on Instagram: “We want to thank students, staff and guests for helping ensure that the Reform Society event and the accompanying protest took place safely and respectfully tonight.
“This has been a challenging time for our community. The Student Union’s and the University’s role is to uphold both the legal requirements surrounding freedom of speech and our duty of care to students. Striking this balance is extremely important, though it’s not always easy to meet everyone’s expectations.
“We may not always get it perfectly right, but we’re proud to be part of a vibrant community that engages openly and thoughtfully with complex and sensitive issues.”