Penn State deletes ‘disgusting’ tweet affirming conservative students
Penn State Liberal Arts tweeted a message affirming diversity in various forms. This included an acknowledgment of conservative students and their viewpoints.
After backlash from students and social media, Penn State deleted the tweet.
After intense backlash, the Pennsylvania State University liberal arts department deleted a tweet ensuring conservative students that their voices matter. The original tweet was a picture with the title “Dear Students: You Belong Here” followed by various affirmations of black, Muslim, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ students. It also had a message for conservatives: “Dear conservative students, your viewpoints are important.”
However, Penn State deleted the tweet after swift social media backlash.
Conservative Lives Matter is certainly a take!
— Max Berger (@maxberger) June 12, 2020
Nah but dead ass this is embarrassing. @penn_state is this the best you got? A conservative white student of yours yelled that the Klan is coming at black students and this is your response?#AppalledAlum https://t.co/Sum2E3L2d1
— Canfly (@SaintSundayBell) June 12, 2020
penn state really addressed conservative students views being important while attempting to say “black lives matter” i’m confused
— jonna ♑︎ (@mckenziejonna) June 12, 2020
penn state: conservative lives matter
us: uh no
penn state: you do not see it 🙈
us: 👁👄👁— grace kennedy (@gracekennedy98) June 12, 2020
Conservatives having their feelings hurt because other students think they’re sexist, racist assholes is NOT THE SAME as protecting the physical safety & humanity of others!
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) June 12, 2020
Penn State’s student newspaper The Daily Collegian published students’ thoughts on the tweet. According to one student, “Conservatives in the United States do not live in a system that was built from the blood and trauma of their ancestors — a system that continues to put down people who look like [their ancestors] every day.”
The same student also stated her belief that conservatives did not experience the same oppression as her ancestors. She was disappointed that Penn State failed to include victims of sexual assault and rape: “To me, this just shows where Penn State’s priorities lie.”
[RELATED: Students demand Penn State defund conservative ‘hate groups’]
Another student said that her voice as an African-American was drowned out by the tweet.
“The fact that Penn State cannot even come up with their own flyer to spew their lies of solidarity and support is disgusting,” the student said.
A third student declared that Penn State’s silence is deafening: “This administration needs to combat racism with a comprehensive plan to uplift the Black community not only at University Park but at all commonwealth campuses, or else it will bring them unbearable consequences that will hurt them in the long run.”
Penn State Director of Strategic Communications William Hessert, Jr told Campus Reform that the tweet was deleted because, while it was meant “to express the inclusive, democratic and participatory values of the liberal arts,” the “message was not being received well and it is important for us that our messages be received as intended.”
“While we do not believe in deleting our posts, given the sensitivities of the matter we felt that it was better to remove it,” Hessert added.
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