There is no more insufferable authoritarian lout in the world than a woke college student. I feel the same way about them that I felt about some of the politically active hippies when I was in college: you want to grab them by the shoulders and try to shake some sense into them.
It wouldn’t do any good. They’re woke and you’re not and that makes them oblivious to reason and the truth.
At the University of Florida, the sins of the father can apparently be visited upon the son. The student body president is being threatened with impeachment for inviting Donald Trump, Jr. to speak on campus.
The university’s Student Senate passed a resolution Tuesday to oust Michael Murphy for malfeasance and abuse of power over the alleged misuse of public funds. More than 100 students and alumni signed the formal resolution for his impeachment, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
The resolution accuses Murphy of using the fees to “advance his own expressed political beliefs” and endangering “students marginalized by the speakers’ white nationalist supporters.”
I sympathize. I wouldn’t pay 50 cents — much less $50,000 — to hear Donald Trump, Jr. drone on. But there’s a whiff of hypocrisy in criticizing Mr. Murphy for inviting someone he agrees with politically when liberals do the same exact thing.
There is a specific prohibition against speakers engaging in “campaign activity” on campus and university officials agree that Trump, Jr. did not violate that stricture.
“Student Activity and Service Fee money cannot be used to pay for campaign activity,” university spokesman Steve Orlando told Fox News in a statement. “Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle were advised about UF’s policy prior to their appearance and did not engage in campaign activities during the event.”
Students at the university pay around $2,000 in fees over four years, some of which are covered by a publicly funded scholarship program.
Murphy has said he did not violate any rules and that the one-hour visit was not campaign-related even though portions of the Trump’s speech [sic] centered on his father’s accomplishments as president, The Times reported.
Murphy apparently coordinated with the Trump re-election campaign to set up the visit, which may have come close to violating the rules. But the reality is that Don, Jr. is a part of his father’s re-election campaign and could only be booked by working with them.
What’s important is what Don, Jr. did while on campus. And he apparently broke no rules.
But Murphy is no font of tolerance himself.
Ben Lima, a student senator, said Murphy’s campus party blocked discussions of the visit beforehand and has shut out student government members with opposing viewpoints.
“They’re basically silencing the voices,” he said. “They’re choosing to benefit the Trump family but not the students. It’s really an insult and a disgrace to the student body to be silent about something students are so passionate about.”
Murphy also invited Senator Bernie Sanders to speak but his campaign declined due to scheduling conflicts.
If Mr. Murphy is guilty of anything, it’s scheduling a speaker guaranteed to bore listeners to death. Otherwise, triggered students should grow a spine and learn to ignore people they disagree with politically. It makes life so much easier, plus, you don’t have to cower in the shadows whimpering like a baby when a Republican comes on campus.
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