Student demands to kick Kyle Rittenhouse out of ASU are ridiculous and dangerous
Elvia Díaz, Arizona Republic
Tue, November 30, 2021, 11:48 AM·3 min read
Kyle Rittenhouse is a free man and should be allowed to keep taking online classes at Arizona State University if he wants.
I trust ASU President Michael Crow won’t cave to the ridiculous demands of some left-leaning students who want Rittenhouse kicked out and funding redirected from campus police to a multicultural center.
The students’ anger over Rittenhouse’s acquittal on all charges is justified. I, too, hated the jury’s decision to free him despite the undisputed fact that he killed two men and injured a third one during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wis.
Politicians, pundits and civil rights leaders have also denounced the acquittal as unjust, pointing to a broken legal and court system that has historically favored white people over minorities.
But the jury spoke. Anyone who doesn’t like that outcome must direct their anger at fixing the broken system, not at ASU, which sees education as part of the rehabilitation process and a way to help people who’ve been incarcerated.
What danger would Rittenhouse pose online?
Kick Rittenhouse out and the whole idea of giving people a second chance is out the window, too.
Is that what the students calling for his ouster really want? In their view, Rittenhouse is guilty as charged regardless of the jury’s decision.
“Even with a not-guilty verdict from a flawed ‘justice’ system – Kyle Rittenhouse is still guilty to his victims and the families of those victims,” read the demand statement posted on Twitter. “Join us to demand from ASU that those demands be met to protect students from a violent blood-thirsty murderer.”
The college groups, reportedly also representing Students for Socialism, Students for Justice in Palestine and Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, want ASU to “reaffirm support for the multicultural center on campus as a safe space from White Supremacy."
Let’s be real. What physical danger would Rittenhouse pose to campus students if he’s enrolled in online classes thousands of miles away?