Grayson Lanza, who was recently appointed Student Diversity Chair at the University of Central Florida, has resigned after just eight weeks after it was revealed that he posted inflammatory statements on social media which some Trump supporters have perceived as threatening.
Shanna Nelson of CampusReform.org reports that conservative students were irate after Grayson was named Ucf's diversity and outreach coordinator on June 22 because of Grayson's history of making hostile and threatening comments toward conservative and Republican students.
Diversity chair has no tolerance for conflicting points of view
One student, Daniel Hanna, said that he was taunted by Lanza and a group of other anti-Trump students who chanted insults such as "racist" and "sexist" at him. Hanna told Campus Reform that Lanza's behavior on campus was "very aggressive," and claimed that the school's diversity and outreach coordinator stated on multiple occasions that pro-Trump students would not be tolerated at UCF.
Hanna also alleges that Lanza refused to shake his hand after a political debate on campus. "He said I’m not shaking your hand, I do not tolerate you and you are not welcome here," said Hanna
The announcement of Lanza's resignation was made on Facebook earlier this week by student body president Nick Larkins and vice president Cristina Barretto.
According to their statement, the student leaders approached Lanza after a social media post from October of 2016 had been brought to their attention by a concerned student. In the offending post, Lanza warns that Trump supporters are not welcome on the UCF campus.
Larkins and Barretto also stated that they are actively searching for a new diversity and outreach coordinator who will represent all students, regardless of political affiliation.“I am confident that together we will find someone who can truly foster an inclusive and tolerant environment that is accepting of ALL students,” wrote Larkins.
Lanza, who is also the communications director for the Young Democrats of Orange County, did not respond to Campus Reform's request for a statement. He was appointed to the position of outreach and diversity coordinator by a 19-6 vote by the school's SGA Senate.
Student Republican pressured to disavow party affiliation
Some students, however, are taking Larkins' promise of inclusion and tolerance with a grain of salt.
Karis Lockhart, whose appointment to the university's SGA governmental affairs position was voted down by the same student council that appointed Lanza, believes that conservative students are being discriminated against when it comes to serving in the student government. She claims that better-qualified Republican students are frequently passed over for campus government positions in favor of lesser-qualified Democrat students.
Lockhart told Campus Reform, "They do not want diversity, they just want one thought process—liberal leaning policies only."
Lockhart claims that during her confirmation hearing, student senators pressured her to "disaffiliate" herself from the Republican Party.
