Sean Spicer, who will serve as Donald Trump’s White House press secretary, has been invited to the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics by former Obama adviser David Axelrod.Some students are objecting to the appearance for trite and obvious reasons.The Chicago Maroon reported:
Incoming Trump Press Secretary Visit to IOP Sparks ControversyThe Institute of Politics (IOP) announced Thursday it is hosting president elect Donald Trump’s choice for press secretary, Sean Spicer, for a discussion with IOP Director David Axelrod first week of winter quarter.The announcement drew criticism from some students who say they may protest the IOP’s perceived normalization of hostility toward the press by the incoming president.The nonpartisan institute responded to this criticism to The Maroon, saying that it’s “vitally important” to try to understand the incoming administration.
Two students were even spoken to by a dean over threats of unacceptable behavior.
This is also from the Maroon:
Dean Calls in Students for Facebook Post About “Projectile Vomiting” on Sean SpicerTwo students were called into the Dean of Students’ office following a Facebook thread about incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s visit to the Institute of Politics (IOP).Fourth-year Jake Bittle wrote in a Facebook post that he was “planning to start projectile vomiting five minutes into the discussion,” and fourth-year Terry Hines Jr. commented that he was thinking about “beating an iop student intern senseless” in protest.Bittle, who recently said in an interview that the IOP is “normalizing” the Trump administration by inviting Spicer for a discussion, and Hines received e-mails on Tuesday from Dean of Students in the University Michele Rasmussen asking them to meet with her because of the post.“I have become aware of a post you submitted to the IOP’s Facebook page in response to promotion of a January 4 event featuring David Axelrod and Sean Spicer. In light of the nature of this post, I would like to speak with you by the end of this week,” Rasmussen wrote in her e-mail to Bittle.Bittle did not “submit” a post to the IOP Facebook page—he shared the IOP’s event announcement page on December 23 to his personal account with the added text: “I don’t see how we, as a community, can afford not to disrupt this event. I’m personally planning to start projectile vomiting five minutes into the discussion. Who’s with me?” He later changed the text to a Michelle Obama quote: “When they go low, we go high.”
Jake Bittle appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show last night and made a fool of himself.
Mediaite has the story:
‘Whose Cars Would You Flip?’: Tucker Carlson Mocks Student For Urging Vandalism to Fight TrumpDuring a contentious exchange on Fox News tonight, host Tucker Carlson took on a University of Chicago senior Jake Bittle, who had taken to Facebook to say RNC spokesman Sean Spicer shouldn’t be allowed to speak at the university.As one would expect, Tucker took exception with Bittle’s calls for Spicer to not be allowed to speak, noting that it seems to fly in the face of freedom of speech. Bittle, who is the school paper’s editor, argued that Spicer is just a spin doctor and wouldn’t answer his questions anyway.After some back and forth on that issue, Carlson brought up something Bittle wrote in his paper:
Now, we are faced with a real crisis with the election of term. We must take real action, the Ivy League translation of the vulgar give Trump a chance. Real action, human, donating money to the ACLU, to Standing Rock, Planned Parenthood, call your representatives, protest, flipping cars when trump walks away from the Paris Climate Agreement, attacking racists, attacking people in the supermarket, whatever it takes.
Here’s the video:
Students like Bittle don’t seem to realize they’re helping guarantee a second term for Trump before he even begins his first.
Featured image is a screen cap.
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