5 most outrageous campus protests of 2018
Conservative author Ben Shapiro often says “facts don’t care about your feelings” and perhaps the most notorious manifestation of feelings on American campuses comes in the form of protests by left-wing students.
From platitudes and appeals to emotion to outright disruption, sometimes the mere threat of a protest is enough to make college administrators capitulate, as demonstrated by this first story.
1. EXCLUSIVE: Sanctuary city college rescinds ICE career fair invitation
St. John’s University in New York City, a sanctuary city, disinvited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from participating in a career fair on campus this fall after students and student groups threatened to protest.
The disinvitation came after a St. John’s spokesman told the public that students would “benefit” from ICE’s presence.
2. Students, faculty stage nationwide anti-Kavanaugh protests
In a nationwide effort, students and faculty members from schools across the country coordinated protests in opposition of then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings in early October.
As part of the protests, colleges cancelled classes or gave students excused absences for protesting against Kavanaugh and his supporters. Students organized “Cancel Kavanaugh” and other similarly-named protests at colleges across the country, including UC Berkeley, University of Vermont, and DePaul University.
[RELATED: Student protesters tear down Confederate statue at UNC]
3. Students protest reformed racist’s message of ‘forgiveness’
A student activist group at Carleton College protested against a convocation speech given by Arno Michaelis, a reformed white supremacist who spoke of his experience and transformation from racist to anti-hate activist. The group claimed to have an issue with Michaelis’ message of forgiveness.
“Being that tolerance and forgiveness in the face of harm and hatred seems to be foundational to Michaelis’ reformation, the college’s decision to invite him here sends a message that directly conflicts with the efforts of students of color on campus,” the student group, Carls Talk Back, wrote in a statement.
“It also places these students in a potentially harmful and triggering predicament as a result of Michaelis’ past history of bigotry and direct physical violence directed towards communities that these students consider themselves apart [sic] of.”
4. Socialist students protest memorial to fallen police officers
In February, a California State University socialist students group, Students for Quality Education, protested a memorial for fallen police officers with signs that read “Why Blue Lives Matter Is Problematic” and “Black and Brown civilians do not want to place police lives on a sacrificial pyre in exchange for their own.”
The memorial, organized by the College Republicans chapter, gave students the opportunity to write messages of support and condolences to officers and their families in honor of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
[RELATED: UNC TAs plot to ‘withhold grading’ ‘until certain demands are met’ over Silent Sam statue]
5. Student protesters: Armed police ‘endangers many’
Students at the University of Rochester and The Evergreen State College protested their respective administrations’ decisions to hire armed security officers to patrol and monitor campus.
The November decision to arm officers upset students who claimed that the presence of armed security made them feel unsafe and endangered racial minorities. Protesters at Evergreen, including students, professors, and administrators, distributed a list of demands to the administration, which included a call for disarming campus security.
“As long as police remain at Evergreen, its status as a ‘sanctuary campus’ should be viewed with a grain of salt, as should any stated commitments to equality and inclusion,” freshman Alice McIntyre told the Cooper Point Journal during the protests.
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