Social justice warriors want universities to ‘ban veterans’

Campus Reform – by Adam Sabes

A flyer recently appeared at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) declaring that “in order to protect our academic institutions we must ban veterans from four-year universities.”

The flyer is part of a new “Social Justice Collective Weekly” newsletter, which is not affiliated with the school, and is aimed at “promoting justice in our society.” The first issue of the newsletter includes an article titled “Should Veterans Be Banned From UCCS and Other Universities?”  

“A four-year, traditional university is supposed to be a place of learning, of understanding, of safety, and security. However, there is an element among us who may be frustrating those goals: Veterans,” the article asserts, defending the claim with sweeping assumptions about those who have served in the military.

“Many veterans openly mock the ideas of diversity and safe spaces for vulnerable members of society,” the author contends, saying that “this is directly in contradiction to the mission of UCCS.”

The newsletter also states that many veterans say they “do not see color,” but dismisses the claim as untrue because of their “socialization into the military culture that is that of a white supremacist organization.”

The article then complains that veterans typically have an “overwhelming” presence in the classroom, which “distracts” other students, particularly “vulnerable individual [sic] such as LGBTQQI2SAA, who have been known to be the butt of insensitive jokes made by veterans.”

Claiming that veterans “usually are associated with extremist right-wing groups such as the [T]ea [P]arty and the NRA,” the author contends that “in order to be a safe space for all students, extremist right-wing groups must be suppressed on campus. This would include their followers: veterans.”

Still, the article graciously allows that veterans should not be excluded from obtaining an education entirely, positing that they “should be allowed to attend trade schools, or maybe even community college.”

A spokesman from UCCS confirmed to Campus Reform that the newsletter was posted “on an open community bulletin board in our University Center,” which is similar to a student union at other universities.

However, he also made clear that the group named on the flyer is not affiliated with the university, and “does not represent the views of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs,” proclaiming that “as a university, we value the contributions of veterans to the campus as well as to the broader community and nation.”

UCCS Chancellor Venkat Reddy also released a statement declaring that “UCCS does not endorse and vigorously rejects the offensive viewpoints expressed in the flyer,” but acknowledged “the right of people to express their viewpoints, even when those viewpoints are offensive to many in our community” that is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

“We ascribe to The Board of Regents’ Guiding Principle that the University of Colorado shall always strive to ‘provide an outstanding, respectful, and responsive living, learning, teaching, and working environment.’ Veterans are positive and valued members of our academic and campus community,” the chancellor’s statement continues. “They bring experience and viewpoints that enrich our discussions.”

Campus Reform reached out for comment to the group listed on the flier, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @asabes10

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