A protest has been organised to oppose the nomination of two controversial figures as the next University of Glasgow Rector.
Students of the university will be taking to the streets on Thursday to protest the nominations of Milo Yiannopoulos and Professor Jordan Peterson.
It comes after a petition to remove the men from the election attracted more than 3,500 signatures.
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Organisers have claimed that their views are in direct conflict with the University’s Equality and Diversity policy.
If elected, the Rector is responsible for representing students as chairman of the university court, which administers university resources.
Yiannopoulos, a key figure in the so-called ‘alt-right’, has previously being banned from Twitter for expressing racist and misogynist views while Professor Peterson has been critisied for his refusal to use gender-neutral pronouns.
One of the organisers, who asked not to be named, said: “We will be protesting not only to show that these views are not welcome on our campus, but also that we will stand in solidarity with and support those members of our community that these views target.
“This is not a limitation on free speech.
“The University has refused to remove Milo Yiannopoulos and Jordan Peterson from the nomination despite their standing in stark opposition to their own Equality and Diversity policy.
“By claiming ‘neutrality’ over this issue, the University refuses to guarantee the safety of its own students and ridicules its proclaimed ‘inclusive’ credentials.
“We will be demonstrating to show our discontent and that there are some who will not tolerate the continuing spread of hatred towards vulnerable groups.
“We call on students and the wider Glasgow community to join us at 5pm on March 16, at the University main gate and help us to show the university that we will not tolerate fascism and hatred to be spread on our campus.”
Other nominees from the position include Aamer Anwar, Dr Leif Azzopardi, Brace Belden, Sir Vince Cable and Lady Cosgrove.
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