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Youth For Western Civilization Pushes Out Leader For “Liberalism”

Posted December 4, 2009 by Patrick Young, Esq.

The University of North Carolina has been a scene of constant conflict over the anti-immigrant student group Youth For Western Civilization. The group has been denounced as a racist organization on campus, but had responded by pointing to its president Nikhil Patel.
Well, now the only major non-white leader of the group is out.
Patel appears to have been pushed out in a what looks like an act of intolerance by the D.C. office of Youth For Western Civilization. The national office of the self-describes “rightwing youth movement” received complaints that Patel was too liberal. Patel was then pressured to leave.
The group attracted major publicity on FOX News after protesters disrupted an appearance by anti-immigrant leader Tom Tancredo organized by Youth for Western Civilization.
Here is how the student newspaper The Daily Tarheel described the shake-up orchestrated from Washington:
Nikhil Patel, the former president of the campus chapter of Youth for Western Civilization, said he decided to leave the group after a conversation with the group’s national president, Kevin DeAnna.
Patel, an Indian-American who said he does not agree with some of the national group’s political ideals, became president of the organization during the summer after the group struggled to find a leader.
“I accepted leadership in order to promote free speech and diversity of thought,” Patel said in an e-mail.
Patel initially planned to pursue a dual presidency after complaints from the national organization. He decided to step down after Riley Matheson, his friend and founder of the UNC chapter, received a call from DeAnna during which he said he was “cursed out” because the chapter was becoming more liberal.
“Because DeAnna was only willing to contact me at the very end of this ordeal, as things were coming to a heat, and because it was obvious that whoever was feeding DeAnna information about me was not above lying, I decided to resign and disassociate myself from YWC completely,” Patel said in an e-mail.
Senior Daryl Ann Dunigan will now take over as YWC’s president.
YWC’s official mission, listed on the national group’s Web site, states that it aims to “organize, educate and train activists dedicated to the revival of Western Civilization.”
But the local chapter has faced criticism from members of the UNC community who claim the group borders on white supremacist.
Dunigan said she hopes to make more appearances and publicly promote YWC’s ideals.
“I think it’ll be more open about recruiting members and having a presence on campus even if we’re not having events,” Dunigan said. “We shouldn’t be ashamed.”
DeAnna said he thinks Dunigan is better suited to serve as the chapter’s president.
“Nikhil is more of an independent, whereas Daryl Ann is a conservative, so we’ll probably do a lot more events,” he said. “I’m hoping to bring Tancredo back.”
But Elliot Cramer, a professor emeritus of psychology and a former YWC adviser, said he thinks the group will dissolve as the result of the national chapter’s interference.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for a national organization to dictate to a local chapter,” he said. “I’d be surprised if the current advisers would be willing to stay on under the circumstances.”
Dunigan said the group will remain intact and the three advisers have been informed about the shift. She said although she might face opposition, she looks forward to the new challenge.
“I think the best thing is you can’t take it personally,” she said. “Take it with stride because it’s bound to have conflict, but I see the conflict as welcoming.”
Strange that a group that denounced protesters as suppressors of free speech got rid of its president for being “independent”. Also odd that the decision to dump Patel was made by a non-student from inside the Beltway for what is ostensively a grassroots student organization.
Background on Youth For Western Civilization
Last year the Youth for Western Civilization, America’s self-described “right-wing youth movement”, burst on the conservative scene. Rejecting the “moderation” of the already whacky post-Palin Republican Party, the Youth adopted the controversial insignia of a battle axe used by Charles Martel to kill Muslims as its symbol. These Moor-killers embarked on a confrontational attack on the traditional values of American education.
Mentored by hard-right anti-immigrant activist Tom Tancredo, the Western Youth came out hard against immigrants and against any academic programs that study them. It also railed against attempts to include women, African Americans, and Latinos in American history or cultural studies.
Western Youth have lately become sympathetic to proposals by some politicians to secede from the United States and some of their supporters have expressed a longing for a Prussian-style of government as a replacement for American democracy.
While the group seems to be limited to a few hundred activists nationally, it has made inroads in the Northeast, and at several major universities. It did suffer a set-back when one of its founders was revealed to have been arrested for a hate-crime, but its also received wide publicity in the right-wing media when students at one campus resisted its organizing efforts in a potentially dangerous manner.
Students should speak out strongly against this new anti-immigrant group. But they should also remember that efforts that cross the line into intimidation only help the opponents of a vibrant and diverse campus.