University of Tennessee At Chattanooga Student Senator Asked To Resign For Drawing Trump’s Name In Chalk

Alex Buscemi9 years ago

It all started two weeks ago, when pro-Trump campus chalkings at Emory University caused a handful of special snowflakes to flip their shit and call for the resignation of the university president. The students set up a “safe space” outside of the president’s office, crying, “You are not listening! Come speak to us, we are in pain!” Well, President James G. Wagner did eventually speak to them. He gave a presentation on the quad about the importance of free speech, then wrote “Emory Stands For Free Expression” in chalk right where the Trump chalkings were drawn. Perfect move.

Now, Trump chalkings are appearing on universities across the nation as a sign of solidarity against those who oppose free speech. Here are some choice works submitted by our readers:

On April 7, another butthurt group of social justice warriors are calling for a change of guard. Hailey Puckett, a student senator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was asked by a group of fellow students to resign after photos surfaced of her chalking “Trump 2016” next to a drawing of his signature red hat and a picture of a wall. The group calling for her resignation, Empower UTC, washed away her drawing, replacing it by writing “#BlackUTC.” (See the photos by clicking the link below).

From Times Free Press:

A group that calls itself Empower UTC released a statement on Twitter saying that it had asked for Hailey Puckett’s resignation because “we realize that her values do not line up with the pillars we’ve established ourselves on.”

Photos and videos on Twitter showed a group of students using water to erase the Trump drawings, then replacing them with messages espousing unity and diversity, while using the hashtag #BlackUTC.

Let me get this straight, Empower UTC. You stand for tolerance, yet you condemn a fellow student and call for her resignation because she shares a different political belief? You stand for unity, yet you promote the empowerment of a singular race? Talk about a lack of self-awareness.

Classic social justice warrior: demanding freedom of speech, until that speech conflicts with their personal opinions.

As with the other instances of people writing “Trump 2016” on campuses, no one will be formally punished by the university (thank God).

Chuck Cantrell, UTC’s associate vice chancellor of marketing and communication, said though the university’s administration is staying out of the debate, neither the student who created the original Trump chalkings nor those who later erased and replaced her chalkings with their own messages followed the school’s rules, which require a reservation. However, “nobody’s in trouble,” he said.

“Clearly, we want our students to feel free to exercise freedom of expression, freedom of speech in a civil, respectful way, and that’s really what we’re hoping students will come around to,” Cantrell said. “We’re hoping that our students will recognize this as a teachable moment.”

The Trump chalkings have since returned to the same spot at UTC, bigger and badder than ever.

I don’t care what your political beliefs are. This isn’t about Trump. It’s about the right to speak your mind in college — a place designed for that very purpose. It’s about tolerating the opinions of others. Most importantly, it’s about sending our generation a message — not everyone in the world is going to have the same beliefs as you, get over it. Write a big ass “Hillary” or “Bernie” or “Cruz” in chalk right next to it if you want. But don’t demand someone sacrifice their elected position because you disagree with their opinion..

[via Times Free Press]

Image via YouTube