Last week 17 year old
Kyle Rittenhouse was found not
guilty of all the charges he was
being prosecuted for.
This was in regard to
the shooting of three individuals,
two of whom died as a result in
Kenosha Wisconsin.
Now Rittenhouse is planning on
getting an education he's
apparently taking some classes
online with
Arizona State University.
And that has led to students from
the school protesting his
involvement with the institution
in fact they want him to be banned.
Members of groups called Students
for Socialism, ASU Students for
Justice in Palestine, the
Multicultural Solidarity Coalition.
And others want the university
officials to withdraw
Rittenhouse from class and
also ban him from the campus.
As I mentioned, he is taking some
classes online nursing classes to
be exact not in person.
The university though explained
that Kyle Rittenhouse has not
gone through the admissions process
with ASU.
And is not enrolled in the Edson
College of Nursing and Health
Innovation officials said that.
The class for
which Rittenhouse enrolled was for
non degree seeking students who
might later seek admission to
a degree program, and so that's
what the university is saying.
The real question here is if he
ends up wanting to take in person
classes at Arizona State
University, should the students who
are protesting him get their way
and get him banned from the campus.
They claim that they are afraid for
their safety if Rittenhouse goes
to the university,
they put out a list of demands.
Including making sure that they
withdraw Kyle Rittenhouse from ASU
release a statement against white
supremacy and racist murder.
Kyle Rittenhouse reaffirmed support
for the Multicultural Center
on campus as a space safe from
White supremacy.
Redirect funding from ASUPD
to support the Multicultural Center
and establishment of a care center
on campus and care stands for
Campus, Assault, Advocacy Resources
and education center.
So they put out their very specific
list of demands and I'm just
going to come out and say it.
I disagree with what they're asking
for Rittenhouse was found not
guilty, we are supposed to have a
system in place that tries people.
If they're found not guilty,
we don't then turn around and
continue punishing them and
continue destroying their lives.
Same with people who have been
convicted of crimes who have served
their time and
want to go back into society to be
productive members of society,
they should be able to do that.
So I disagree with the students
here sorry, you don't get to be
the arbiter of who can and
can't come to your university based
on whether or not you like them.
>> Yeah, I think it's a little bit
more complicated than that I think
I'm going to come out on your side.
But let me give the students side
first and then we're going to ask
you guys a whole question on this.
So graphic five here a spokesperson
for students for
socialism ASU wrote in and
said the goal of these demands is
to let the ASU administration.
Know that we as the ASU community
do not feel safe knowing
that a mass shooter who
has expressed violent intentions
about quote unquote protecting
property over people.
Is so carelessly allowed to be
admitted to school at all our
campuses already unsafe as is and
we would like to abate this danger
as much as possible.
Now and that's why I think it's
a tiny bit complicated here because
now any talk of safe spaces,
normally I don't love that talk
it's not my thing.
I get why some people want it I
don't think it's the end of
the world,
I wouldn't prevent safe spaces or
anything along those lines, but at
the same time we play offense here.
And so the right wing need safe
spaces from us, not the other way
around so but in this case it's
a little literal, right?
He went in with an AR 15 and
created a conflict and
they shot two people.
If a guy like that is on campus,
I hope he learned his lesson, but
if the lesson he learned is I can
get away with it,
that might be in a literal danger.
>> Yeah look,
Arizona is different from Kenosha
Wisconsin Arizona State University
they don't have open carry,
they don't allow open carry.
We're not talking about a situation
where there's a massive protest in
a state that allows open carry.
I just think the environment is
different and I think that
it sets a bad precedent, right?
So if the left tries banning
someone they don't like because
of something they did in the past
from going to a university.
Who's to say that the right wing
can't do the exact same thing and
so where where is the line, right?
He was found not guilty I get it
people still disagree with what he
did I totally understand that.
But I just don't think that you can
have like endless punishment for
someone where you literally destroy
all of their opportunities moving
forward, including the ability to
get an education.
So that's where I stand on that and
it is what it is, I don't think
that the students should make
the decision as to whether or
not someone can be able to go to
that university.
>> Right, but
they can voice their concern and
of course.
>> Yeah of course I'm not saying
they can't voice their concern, but
I don't agree with what
they want to get done here.
>> All right, so
I have one more wrinkle to this,
but I wanted to make sure you guys
know about the pole it's a TIT dot
com slash polls.
Which is where all the polls are in
this case is should school
administration kick
Kyle Rittenhouse out of
Arizona State University is very
simple question, yes or no, okay?
And so now the other wrinkle is
when I thought about it when
the shoe's on the other foot,
Well do I want OJ Simpson.
Somewhere where I'm attending,
whether it was a college,
this actually did come up back in
the day when he was still a member
of a bunch of country clubs, right?
Because it used to be very wealthy
and powerful and famous and
then those golf clubs had to have
conversations about, hey, do we
let him stay or do we kick him out?
And people said, well,
he was acquitted and
other people said, yeah, I know,
but he did cut their heads off.
So and I don't really want to play
next golf next to a guy who
cut people's heads off and so those
are both fair arguments, [LAUGH].
And so that's why I don't
think it's that simple but
at the end of the day, I'm going to
side with your position Anna
because as progressives,
we're supposed to say.
Hey, if someone is acquitted or
they've gone through the criminal
justice system, it is what it
is and we have to move on.
And so I get their concern,
I wouldn't want him on my campus
necessarily, right?
And right now he's not,
he's just doing online and
he's not registered and
he's not enrolled.
But if they asked me to sign that
petition, I probably wouldn't but
I understand their concern.