Towson’s campus and community news source Online daily at thetowerlight.com
Thursday, 9-15-11
Who is Youth for
Western Civilization?
LAUREN SLAVIN
Editor-in-Chief
The last time Towson University was
host to any true activism was in the
early 1970s, when the Black Student
Union marched to the Administration
Building with a list of demands, includ¬
ing office space and more funding,
according to junior Matt Heimbach.
"The problem is, in looking at
Towson history and looking at Towson
now, there’s no political activism of a
real strong nature on either side of the
spectrum," Heimbach said.
Within the past week, students and
student organizations have begun a
series of protests and organized com¬
plaints, which Heimbach has had a
primary role in.
Heimbach is the president of
Towson’s newly recognized chapter of
Youth for Western Civilization, a con¬
servative group Heimbach said upholds
Christian, classical and folk traditions
of Europe.
The values Youth for Western
Civilization promotes include tradition¬
al marriage, opposition of illegal immi¬
gration and rampant multiculturalism,
and left-wing indoctrination, according
to Kevin DeAnna, the founder of YWC.
DeAnna, who was an American
University graduate student, created
the first chapter of YWC in 2006.
DeAnna is currently a deputy field
director at the Leadership Institute,
an organization that "teaches conser¬
vatives to succeed in politics, govern¬
ment and the media,” according to the
Institute’s website.
See YWC, page 8
Above, Youth for Western Civilization Vice President John Donovan
and President Matthew Heimbach look on as Skye Pollard addresses
the Student Government Association Senate at Tuesday’s SGA meeting.
Below, Emmanuel Kidd holds a sign in protest against the conservative
student group that later became SGA affiliated at the meeting.
RECORD
TURNOUT TO
SGA MEETING
PAGE 11
Students
speak out
against
YWC
Group leaders
concerned with
ideology
JORDAN RUSSELL
News Editor
The newly-affiliated student group
Youth for Western Civilization has
caught the attention of many stu¬
dents and student leaders, some of
whom are concerned with what having
the group at Towson University could
mean.
President of the Black Student
Union Kenan Herbert said he spoke to
YWC President Matt Heimbach in the
BSU office about what the YWC stood
for and how Heimbach plans to run
the organization.
“He didn’t have any hate from face
value. He said he’s dispelling any
racial ties to the organization and
knows about the affiliations. But he’s
not about that. He’s about multicul¬
turalism,'' Herbert said. "I have no
problem with him.”
Heimbach said even though the
other groups may think differently
than YWC, there’s no reason why the
groups can’t co-exist.
'While we might disagree on [cer¬
tain] issues, I have no ill will toward
them, nor does my organization,"
Heimbach said. "We want to promote
good and positive debate to create a
culture that even though we disagree,
hopefully at the end of the day we can
go out for pizza together."
While Herbert takes no personal
issue with Heimbach, Herbert said the
organization presents an opportunity
for others to take advantage of.
“We’ve done extensive research,
and the [YWC] is affiliated with hate
groups. In the past, we’ve had a lot of
racial incidents at Towson University,"
he said. “If you give students an
avenue to express their hate, they’re
just going to cause turmoil. 1 think it’s
a potentially dangerous situation for
the student body as a collective."
See GROUPS, page 8
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