In the wake of last month’s beating death of a gay University of Wyoming student, and the Ku Klux Klan boasting its first amendment rights in the national media spotlight, Yaron Svoray will arrive on campus to speak about racial hatred and superiority for the University Lecture Series at California State University, Fresno.

Svoray’s lecture tonight at 7 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union will shed some light upon several of the world’s most abhorrent criminal activities, including those Svoray has risked his life to investigate.

Working with the famous Simon Wiesenthal Center, Svoray, a son of Holocaust survivors, went undercover to expose the extensive neo-Nazi movement in Europe and America.

Svoray is described by colleagues as a man who takes action against the injustice and evil in our world that others would just pretend does not exist.

“Every year the number of hate crimes has increased until they have become common, and our university has not been immune from them,” said Dr. Robert Fischer, professor of sociology. “Nazism is an ideology that has a great appeal to those who feel that people of color, immigrants, leftists, feminists, gays, environmentalists and intellectuals have taken over this country and are leading it to ruin.”

Fischer stated that he believes it is time to take a firm stand against Nazism in the United States.

Dr. Sari Dworkin, professor of counseling and special education, who strongly supports bringing Svoray to campus, said it is time for people to stand up and do all that they can to wipe out discrimination, prejudice and hatred based on a person’s race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

“In light of recent hate crimes in our nation, Svoray’s lecture takes on even greater significance,” said Dworkin. “Our charge is to start within our own community, eliminating any hostile climate and ensure understanding and acceptance for everyone.”

Advance tickets for the lecture are $7 general; $5 for faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; and $2 for Fresno State students. Tickets are $2 more than the regular ticket price if purchased at the door, prior to the event. For ticket information, call ext. (209) 278-2078.