Many socialists think education is an essential human right. Evidently not Arizona State University’s Students for Socialism. The protestors staged an action Wednesday in order to press campus officials to expel Kyle Rittenhouse (the Kenosha shooter who was recently released from prison).
Join us to protest Kyle Rittenhouse’s racist murder on campus saidThe student group is on Twitter.
It is evident that the video of the event was shared on social media. seemed sparsely attended. In fact, pro-Rittenhouse counterdemonstrators appearedTo outnumber socialists. When a leader of the protest—who was equipped with a megaphone—denounced Rittenhouse as a white supremacistThe killer was shot by three white men, according to witnesses. However, this didn’t deter Rittenhouse, who claimed that Rittenhouse is a descendant from white colonists who have killed brown and black people.
Rittenhouse is unlikely to ever set foot in ASU. He isn’t currently enrolled as an undergraduate. He was at one time signed up for online courses while waiting to be admitted. The public university has no right to expel him if this happens. Instead, it should treat his hypothetical application like any other student. He is a free man who was deemed innocent by a jury of his peers—a jury that agreed he acted in self-defense when he shot three men after each had allegedly attacked him. Although he is not a murderer or appears to be racist, he made public statements that he support Black Lives Matter. He also lamented the fact that prosecutors have the power to abuse defendants of color.
Student Leftists have the right to free speech and may use it to demonstrate their disapproval of Rittenhouse. But a great many university administrations—whose formal stances on public policy matters unrelated to education would be better left unsaid—have also taken sides against Rittenhouse.
AtlanticConor Friedersdorf of’s noted in a recent piece that The Universities of California at Santa Cruz (and Irvine) had all issued statements in protest of the outcome of Rittenhouse’s trial. He suggested that Rittenhouse’s verdict of not guilty was evidence of U.S. white supremacy.
U.C. stated that they were “disappointed and disappointed by this morning’s not guilty verdict on any charges in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse.” Santa Cruz in a statement. We stand with everyone who is outraged over this lack of accountability. BIPOC communities can suffer distress and even harm from trials like these with race-related consequences. It is a daily reality that racism, white supremacy, and flawed justice systems cause this harm.
U.C. Irvine, U.C. The trial has actually made it easier to see.
It is difficult to comprehend why the chief diversity officer at a school located thousands of miles from Kenosha needed to comment on the matter for the school. He did so in a way that suggested any student disagreeing might be a complicit in racism. However, he was able to weigh in.
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system said the verdict was a reminder “that systems of inequity were not built in a day or a moment—they have been manufactured, crafted, and honed through generations of practice and reinforcement.” Fitchburg State University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusiveness set up racially segregated safe spaces—separate spaces for students of color and white students—to process their trauma regarding the outcome.
Colleges and universities should have encouraged vigorous discussion about Rittenhouse’s acquittal and made it easy for professors and students to voice their opinions. But when administrators treat the outcome as obviously and undeniably wrong—and in fact, racist—they are more likely to render such a discussion impossible.
ASU’s administration was not a part of the group, but it is to its credit. A spokesperson confirmed to the media that Rittenhouse wasn’t actually enrolled, but said nothing about keeping him off campus—to the disappointment of the socialists, undoubtedly.
However, conservative and libertarian students expressed their willingness to accept Rittenhouse. Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), a student association, issued a statement shaming the left for their hypocrisy.
Sean Themea (YAL chief of staff) said, “How ironic that socialists who consider higher education a human right’ also want Rittenhouse to be denied that fundamental human right.”