Earlier it was reported that the College Republican’s event featuring Milo Yiannopoulos was in jeopardy due to prohibitive security costs. Following the initial CW report, both the Office of Media Relations and the College Republicans have issued statements concerning the security costs. The University will pay for security for the event, thus taking the event out of jeopardy. The statements from both the Office of Media Relations and the College Republicans are below. 

The Office of Media Relations issued the following statement concerning the hike in estimated security costs: 

“Several UA staff members held a preliminary meeting on September 19 with the organizers of the Milo Yiannopoulos event, and one of the topics discussed was security. Staff have been trying to meet with the College Republicans for the last week to finalize details, but they have not responded to repeated requests. The goal all along has been to make sure they have a successful event. To that end, the College Republicans will not incur any expense for UAPD security. The University of Alabama supports free speech and welcomes diverse speakers to our campus. As with all speakers, the views of Mr. Yiannopoulos do not necessarily reflect the views of the university.” 

In response to the University’s statement, College Republicans president Gerald Fraas said, “The UA College Republicans applaud the decision of The University of Alabama to yield the security costs pertaining to the upcoming Milo Yiannopoulos event. The ability to hear from controversial speakers is inherent to a free academic discourse and we are glad The University of Alabama has recognized it as such. We are looking forward to finalizing the specifics of Monday’s event and are excited to welcome Milo Yiannopoulos to Tuscaloosa.”