NYT: Political Divide on Campuses Grows Following Trump Victory

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

An article from The New York Times claims Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election is widening the political divide on college campuses.

In a piece entitled, “On Campus, Trump Fans Say They Need ‘Safe Spaces,'” Anemona Hartocollis claims that Trump-supporting students are now looking for safe spaces. The piece mentions a Trump-supporting student at the University of Michigan who was disappointed when she found out that one of her professors had canceled class over concerns that her students might be too upset to focus.

Conservative students who voted for Mr. Trump say that even though their candidate won, their views are not respected. Some are adopting the language of the left, saying they need a “safe space” to express their opinions — a twist resented by left-leaning protesters.

The article points to Biddy Martin, the president of Amherst College, who suggested in a speech on campus that Trump-supporting students who were happy about the results of the election were celebrating the triumph of “racism, misogyny, homophobia.”

The day after the election, Biddy Martin, president of Amherst College in Massachusetts, called for tolerance and acknowledged that some people might be rejoicing. But she also said in a speech on campus: “In the mirror we see virulent forms of racism, misogyny, homophobia and other ills; and we see them celebrated by some as though the expression of our worst impulses were the definition of human freedom.”

Her speech at Amherst followed an incident in which a professor brought a bottle of champagne to class so that he could celebrate Trump’s victory in front of his students. An editorial in the school’s student newspaper blasted him for bringing alcohol to class, as well as celebrating the victory of a candidate who they felt was “bigoted, homophobic and misogynist.”

There are students on this campus whose lives and civil liberties will be compromised in the next four years,” the editorial said. “Not only does Amherst’s nonpartisan stance invalidate their struggles, but brash and insensitive political partisanship creates irreparable scars.

Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity for Breitbart. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com

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