Speech and Debate Society withdraws from moderating campus Clinton/Trump debate amid leaked chat
Speech and Debate Society withdraws from moderating campus Clinton/Trump debate amid leaked chat
The Penn State Speech and Debate Society have withdrawn as moderators of tonight’s debate between Students for Hillary and We Are for Trump after a Twitter account allegedly exposed vulgar remarks against Clinton supporters and some College Republicans, according to a statement on their Facebook page.
In a thorough post mentioning its values and history, the society’s Executive Board said that they found the refusal of repudiation among We Are for Trump’s administration to warrant a withdrawal by the group.
“Based on the recent leaking of internal conversations amongst Students for Trump members and the refusal for the group to issue a statement denouncing those conversations,” the statement went, “we do not believe moderating a debate between these two organizations will establish common ground nor provide an environment for intelligent and open debate.”
Regarding the leaked chats, the debate society said they found the content to be “misogynistic, racist, and homophobic,” and “counter to the values we hold as an organization.”
We Are for Trump Communications Director Chris Baker issued the following statement to Inside the Train:
“WAFT (We Are for Trump) does not subscribe to the content of these messages. However, we do believe that people should be afforded privacy. This was a not an official chat, and several participants in that chat I don’t even recognize as our members.
The actions which led to the release of these documents, and the fallout from their release, are disturbingly similar to the happenings of (the book 1984 by George Orwell).”
President of Students for Hillary Johnna Purcell told Onward State the following:
“We will still be participating in a policy orientated debate with the members of We Are for Trump this evening. While we are disappointed by the actions and remarks of members of We Are for Trump, students at Penn State deserve the resources to make an educated choice as to which candidate will receive their vote this election season.”
As mentioned by Purcell, the debate between Students for Hillary and We Are for Trump is still planned for 8 p.m. tonight at 101 Thomas.
Stay on the train!