Berkeley Journalism Student Reveals Her Generation's Entitled Arrogance

The University of California-Berkeley is unique in a lot of ways. It’s known as one of the most liberal schools in the country, and is often considered the birthplace of the free speech movement.

Of course, following two riots spurred because people with “wrong” ideas were scheduled to speak (only one of whom was actually on campus) and a third speaker having to cancel because of threats of violence, that “free speech” reputation is looking more than a bit shaky.

The school also has a reputation for elitism. Here is journalism student Melissa Batchelor Warnke displaying that Berkeley arrogance:

But most Berkeley students have zero interest in being part of a standoff between two radical factions whose grievances have everything to do with their own egos and nothing to do with the stakes of this critical moment. Liberal students want Trump’s tax returns and to see Russian collusion properly investigated. The Berkeley College Republicans, who have received national media attention, say they want to encourage diversity of opinion on campus.

Alt-right provocateurs have chosen Berkeley to showcase what they call liberal intolerance of dissenting opinion. We aren’t threatened by dissenting opinion. We go to the best public school in the country; our freshmen can talk anybody who disagrees with them into a corner. We care about the safety of our community.

Their freshmen can debate any of us into a corner, folks.

Despite Warnke’s desire to blame-shift, we know that some of the rioters were Berkeley students. With that in mind, it’s clear that not every student feels like they can “talk anybody who disagrees with them into a corner.” They instead choose to get violent.

Saying that Berkeley students are bright isn’t a problem. Warnke jumps the shark by pretending that even the average student at Berkeley is capable of “beating” people in political debate. Berkeley students might be intelligent, but such self-assuredness coming from zero life experience of the world away from the bubble of Mommy and Daddy is pathetic. These students are not being prepared for the world if they believe they will exit Berkeley with this being the case.

No school deserves the title of “best” anything if this is the mindset of its students.