Texas A&M spent more than a $250K to draw attention from Richard Spencer's 2016 visit to campus
Seventeen thousand dollars on t-shirts. $11,000 for flashing LED bracelets. $60,000 for big-name musicians and a string quartet. $9,500 for an “expression wall” that event attendees could draw on.
Texas A&M University officials decided it was worth paying those costs and more to divert attention from a controversial speaker's visit to campus in December 2016.
While lawmakers and campus administrators agree that protecting free speech on college campuses is essential, doing that can be expensive for schools. Take A&M. When a self-described leader of the "alt-right" movement, Richard Spencer, came to the College Station campus that year, A&M held an "Aggies United" event that filled the university's football stadium with musical acts and feel-good speeches.
The cost of that three-hour rally? Around $299,000 – or nearly $100,000 an hour.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/09/texas-m-spent-more-quarter-million-dollars-draw-attention-richard-spen/