Youth for Western Civilization

Youth for Western Civilization(YWC) wasafar rightstudent group registered as a501(c)(3)non-profit organizationin the United States.The group became acorporationin 2006 and began actively organizing in 2008.Kevin DeAnna founded the organization. Its honorary chairman was formerColoradoUS RepresentativeTom Tancredo.

Youth for Western Civilization

Abbreviation	YWC
Formation	2008(2008)
Dissolved	2012(2012)
Type	Youthactivist group
Legal status	Inactive
Purpose	Anti-multiculturalism(Pro-West)
Staff	Roughly 10 members at each chapter

The group opposed what it viewed as "radicalmulticulturalism,socialism,andmass immigration"and a" poisonous and bigoted leftist campus climate ". It also opposedaffirmative actionon college campuses. YWC was a moreconservativeand issue-specific alternative to groups such as theCollege Republicans(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 bewhite nationalists.Founder DeAnna later became analt-rightactivist.

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 ofWestern Civilization".

Chapters

YWC had chapters at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,Vanderbilt University,American University,Elon University,theUniversity of Connecticut-Storrs,Liberty University,Boise State University,Bentley University,andTowson University;there was also a chapter atProvidence Collegerecognized 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 symbolizeCharles Martel,who stopped the impendingIslamic expansion into Europeduring its early years. However, the logo was criticized by some who say it closely resembled afasces.

Activism

YWC members engaged in a range of activities, including protesting a performance ofThe Vagina Monologues,and bringing speakers such asTom Tancredo,Robert Spencer,andBay Buchananto university campuses. They also invited white supremacistRichard B. Spencerat Vanderbilt University in 2010 andRhodes Collegein 2011.

On October 5, 2009, the Vanderbilt YWC chapter protested at the site of aWachovia BankinNashvillebecause of Wachovia's affiliation with the now-defunctAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now(ACORN).

Matthew Heimbachfounded and led one YWC chapter.

Tom Tancredo incident

On April 14, 2009, campus police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill usedpepper sprayand the threat oftasersagainst 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 wasbooedwith shouts of "racist"and"white supremacist".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 andUNC SystemPresidentErskine Bowlescalled Tancredo to apologize for the incident.The head of theAmerican Civil Liberties Unionin 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 theCollege of William & Mary,he led the campus chapter ofYoung Americans for Freedomand helped edit a libertarian-leaning student paper,The Remnant.After graduating, he took a job at theLeadership Institute,founding YWC soon after.After leaving YWC in 2012, DeAnna left the Leadership Institute forWorld Net Daily,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 (includingRadix Journal,Counter-Currents,American Renaissance,andVDARE) under thepen namesJames Kirkpatrick and Gregory Hood.He was a member of theWolves of Vinlandat one point.In 2020,Buzzfeed Newsreported that DeAnna had met withPeter Thielin the runup to the 2016 election.