The University of Oregon president's state of the university speech in Eugene was canceled Friday after a noisy group of protesters took over the stage where he was to announce an anonymous $50 million gift.

President Michael Schill walked out of the auditorium without ever taking the podium. He said later in a video address that, while he supports free speech, he does not support protests that impede other people's free speech rights.

The loud group of a few dozen students did not have a cohesive message but did express concerns over tuition costs, with the leader referring repeatedly to "CEO Schill."

Charlie Landeros, who led the march onstage and spoke using a bullhorn, said the group represented UO students who felt their voices weren't being heard by university administrators.

"Over the summer there has been a huge proliferation of neo-Nazi propaganda plastered all over campus," Landeros said, adding he feared it could escalate to a violent hate crime. "We're here to stand against that."

Tobin Klinger, a university spokesman, said the demonstration violated school policy because it hindered "the university's ability to do its work and function."

"It's unfortunate that it escalated to the point where we had to go a different path," Klinger said.

Schill's speech, which ironically included a defense of free speech rights, was made available on the university's website. "If someone says something we don't like, we should not try to shut them down," he said.

In his remarks about the gift, Schill said the donors challenged him to "use the gift opportunistically, not for business as usual." He said he would initially use the gift for initiatives in data science, an increase in endowed chairs for faculty and support for a new Black Cultural Center.

He also threw support to the School of Journalism and Communication's planned Media Center for Science and Technology, as part of the new Knight Campus.

-- Therese Bottomly