Student protesters seize stage; University of Oregon president cancels speech
EUGENE, Ore. - Students stormed the stage with a megaphone and sign ahead of University of Oregon President Michael Schill's State of the University address on Friday.
Schill never took the stage. The University released a prerecorded video of his address.
"Today, I had planned to share with the campus community some wonderful news about investments in three new academic programs, support for student success programming at the soon-to-be-built Black Cultural Center and nine new endowed faculty chair positions for our schools and colleges. We are able to make these investments thanks to an incredibly generous $50 million dollar gift," Schill says in the prerecorded speech. "Unfortunately, I was not able to tell you my good news in person, because my speech was disrupted by a small group of protesters."
Tobin Klinger with the university said officials had seen social media posts and posters suggesting a protest might be planned. The president recorded his speech in advance as a contingency plan, Klinger said.
The protesters were seated in the crowd. Before the presentation began, they stood up and took the stage,chanting "nothing about us without us.". At least one of the protesters had a megaphone.
Other people in the crowd waiting for the president's speech got up and filed out of the room.
Student protesters told a reporter they had a variety of grievances, from "fascist" propaganda found on campus to recent tuition increases.
Klinger called the situation "unfortunate." He said Schill supports free spreech.
University officials will review whether the protest constitutes a breach of the student code of conduct.
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