Some students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say the school is not doing enough to protect them from white extremists. Dozens of UAB students rallied outside the Hill Center on Wednesday. The protest comes after several students gathered evidence that suggests doctoral student and teaching assistant Michael Williams is part of a racist alt-right group called Identity Evropa.
Sophomore Hahn Huynh helped organize the protest and says it the problem is bigger than Williams.
“There’s just not this student,” Huynh says. “There’s more here and they’re actively recruiting members. This movement is about white supremacy in general.”
Huynh says UAB needs to think of white supremacy as white terrorism which, she says, is a major threat. Paulette Dilworth is UAB’s Vice-President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She says the university is doing its “due diligence” in handling the issue.
“We do take these allegations seriously and we investigate. And if we find that something inappropriate has occurred that suggest a violation in policy or code, we take disciplinary action,” Dilworth says.
University officials told “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” they have concluded an investigation into Williams and found no reason to permanently remove him from the classroom.
During a call with WBHM, Williams said he is not a white supremacist.