far right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
student group registered as a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
in the United States. The group became a
corporation
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
in 2006 and began actively organizing in 2008.Kevin DeAnna founded the organization. Its honorary chairman was former
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
US Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...
.
The group opposed what it viewed as "radical
multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
,
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, and mass immigration" and a "poisonous and bigoted leftist campus climate". It also opposed
affirmative action
Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
on college campuses.
YWC was a more
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and issue-specific alternative to groups such as the
College Republicans
College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...
(CRs), although many of its leaders and members were also involved in the CRs; the YWC was represented at the 2009 National CR Convention.
Critics considered the YWC to be
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
s. Founder DeAnna later became an
alt-right
The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...
activist.
YWC was organized on at least seven university campuses. According to its website, the group hoped to inspire Western youth on the "basis of pride in their American and Western heritage", defeat "leftism on campus", and create a right-wing subculture as an alternative to what it calls a "poisonous and bigoted" campus climate. It said its mission was "to organize, educate, and train activists dedicated to the revival of
Western Civilization
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...
".
Chapters
YWC had chapters at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
,
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
,
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
,
Elon University
Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...
Liberty University
Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...
,
Boise State University
Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...
,
Bentley University
Bentley University is a private university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay, Boston, Back Bay neighborhood. Bentley has one undergraduate school which off ...
, and
Towson University
Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...
; there was also a chapter at
Providence College
Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...
recognized by the national organization but not by the school.
Logo
The imagery and rhetoric employed by YWC have also contributed to concerns. The group's web site featured in black and white, a hand gripping a hammer. YWC members say it's meant to symbolize
Charles Martel
Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
, who stopped the impending Islamic expansion into Europe during its early years. However, the logo was criticized by some who say it closely resembled a
fasces
A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...
.
Activism
YWC members engaged in a range of activities, including protesting a performance of '' The Vagina Monologues'' and a presentation by poet Emanuel Xavier, and bringing speakers such as
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...
Bay Buchanan
Angela Marie "Bay" Buchanan (born December 23, 1948) is a conservative political commentator who served as Treasurer of the United States under President Ronald Reagan.Richard B. Spencer at Vanderbilt University in 2010 and
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...
in 2011.
On October 5, 2009, the Vanderbilt YWC chapter protested at the site of a
Wachovia Bank
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...
in
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
because of Wachovia's affiliation with the now-defunct
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a left-wing community-based organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable hou ...
On April 14, 2009, campus police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...
and the threat of
taser
Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...
s against protesters outside the room where Tom Tancredo was scheduled to speak to YWC against in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants. The group's president, Riley Matheson, attempted to introduce Tancredo but was shouted down by protesters. When Tancredo appeared, he was
booed
Booing is an act of publicly showing displeasure for someone or something, such as an entertainer or an athlete, by loudly yelling "Boo!" and sustaining the "oo" sound by holding it out. It may be accompanied by hand gestures such as the thumbs ...
with shouts of "
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
" and "
white supremacist
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
". He attempted for several minutes to speak but was repeatedly shouted down.
A window was smashed a few feet from Tancredo. Two protesters held a sign reading "No Dialogue with Hate" in front of Tancredo's face. Tancredo was eventually escorted out of the room by the police.
Tancredo later claimed that a police officer accidentally broke Tancredo's middle toe by stomping on his foot, as the officer attempted to escort the speaker through a crowd of protesters.
UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp and UNC System President Erskine Bowles called Tancredo to apologize for the incident. The head of the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
in North Carolina said that the video of the incident was "chilling" and "de facto censorship".
Tancredo returned to UNC-Chapel Hill on April 25 to speak, again at the invitation of YWC. During his second appearance, Tancredo gave a brief speech entitled "Is Western civilization worth saving?" He was interrupted once, when two thirds of the audience stood up, chanted "No human being is illegal" and filed out of the room. Tancredo finished his speech and took questions while protesters rallied in the Pit outside.
Cramer resignation
On September 18, 2009, Elliot Cramer, the faculty adviser for the University of North Carolina branch of the YWC, resigned after writing in an e-mail that he had a gun and knew how to use it. The e-mail came in response to brochures opposing the organization and had Cramer's photograph, home address and telephone number. It said in bold letters, "Why is your professor supporting white supremacy?"
Nikhil Patel, president of the university's chapter of the YWC, sent an e-mail to Cramer notifying him of the brochures and saying that he was concerned for his safety. Cramer responded to the e-mail with "I have a Colt 45 and I know how to use it. I used to be able to hit a quarter at 50 feet seven times out of 10." Cramer also sent Patel's letter and his reply to the chancellor of the university, Holden Thorp.
Thorp then contacted Cramer, expressing concern that this e-mail might be used against the university and ultimately asked him to resign from the faculty adviser position. He said Cramer's statement was "highly inappropriate and not consistent with the civil discourse we are trying to achieve". Cramer explained to the chancellor that this was not meant to be taken seriously but that the chancellor should know about the distribution of these brochures.
Three advisers were appointed to replace Cramer.
Kevin DeAnna
Kevin DeAnna led YWC throughout its existence. Earlier, as a student at the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
, he led the campus chapter of
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth educational activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ...
and helped edit a libertarian-leaning student paper, ''The Remnant''. After graduating, he took a job at the
Leadership Institute
The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, that teaches "political technology." The institute was founded in 1979 by conservative activist Morton Blackwell. Its mission is to "increase the n ...
, founding YWC soon after. After leaving YWC in 2012, DeAnna left the Leadership Institute for ''
World Net Daily
WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) is an American far-right news and opinion website. It is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was born outside the United States.
The ...
'', where he wrote many articles over the next five years, mostly without a byline. At the same time, DeAnna wrote hundreds of articles for white nationalist publications (including ''
Radix Journal
Washington Summit Publishers (WSP) is a white nationalist publisher based in Augusta, Georgia, which produces and sells books on race and intelligence and related topics. The company is run by white supremacist Richard B. Spencer, who also ran th ...
'', ''
Counter-Currents
Gregory Johnson (born 1971) is an American white nationalist and advocate for a white ethnostate. He is known for his role as editor-in-chief of the white nationalist imprint Counter-Currents Publishing, which he founded in 2010 with Michael Po ...
'', ''
American Renaissance
The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...
'', and
VDARE
VDARE was an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech. Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism ...
) under the
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
s James Kirkpatrick and Gregory Hood. He was a member of the Wolves of Vinland at one point. In 2020,
Buzzfeed News
''BuzzFeed News'' was an American news website published by BuzzFeed beginning in 2011. It ceased posting new hard news content in May 2023. It published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was strong ...
reported that DeAnna had met with
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. According ...