Education

Ass Clown College of the Week: Gonzaga University

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Gonzaga University is The Daily Caller’s Ass Clown College of the Week because it threatened to expel two students for using a gun to chase off an intruder, prohibited students from organizing a Catholic group on campus and admitted infamous “hatefuck” hoaxer Meg Lanker-Simons to law school.

Last week, two students at the Spokane, Wash. school faced the threat of expulsion because one of them produced a gun in response to an aggressive six-time felon who was violently demanding money and trying to enter their apartment. (RELATED: Gonzaga students use gun to scare away violent intruder, now face EXPULSION)

Gonzaga security guards appeared at the students’ apartment immediately after the incident and searched it. They later showed up at 2 a.m., entered the apartment again and forcefully confiscated the gun as well as a hunting rifle.

Administrators found seniors Erik Fagan and Daniel McIntosh in violation of a blanket policy outlawing guns in all university-owned buildings even though, according to CNN, a lawyer representing the students discovered that Gonzaga doesn’t actually own the urban apartment building. The school merely has a long-term lease on the property.

Gonzaga officials ultimately placed Fagan and McIntosh on probation.

Back in April, the Jesuit-affiliated school refused to recognize the Knights of Columbus as an official student group because — wait for it — the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization. (RELATED: Catholic Gonzaga University won’t allow Catholic students to form Catholic group)

“The Knights of Columbus, by their [sic] very nature, is a men’s organization in which only Catholics may participate via membership,” reads a letter written then by Sue Weitz, vice president for student life.

Gonzaga is, of course, under the umbrella of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)—a men’s organization in which only Catholic men may participate via membership.

Weitz’s letter went on to explain that she feels “strongly” about Gonzaga’s “commitment to non-discrimination and inclusivity” and is troubled by the fact that “all members of a student Knights of Columbus group must be Catholic.”

Of course, Gonzaga is most famous because the law school admitted Meghan Lanker-Simons, the University of Wyoming graduate who police say perpetrated a social media hoax by authoring an unsigned posting on a Facebook page called UW Crushes.

The posting read:

“I want to hatefuck Meg Lanker Simons so hard. That chick runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn’t care who knows it. I think its so hot and makes me angry. One night with me and shes gonna be a good Republican bitch.”

The April posting brought national attention. Initially, the administration stood firmly behind Lanker-Simons, denouncing “rape culture.” (RELATED: Police say 28-year-old undergrad threatened herself with rape in Facebook hoax)

However, when police investigated the incident, they quickly determined that Lanker-Simons posted the message on her computer while it was in her possession. (RELATED: CSI: Laramie: How cops busted Lanker-Simons)

Lanker-Simons later announced her intention to plead to a criminal charge related to the incident. The plea isn’t the law student’s first rodeo in Wyoming’s criminal system. She was also convicted of aggravated assault over a bizarre gun-brandishing incident. (RELATED: Wyo. student who threatened to rape self on Facebook was convicted of assault)

In 2005, after Lanker-Simons waved a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun around at a radio station. She pointed it at a man who just fired her. He testified that he was “in fear for his life.”

Lanker-Simons maintains a Tumblr blog called Cognitive Dissonance. The cat-filled blog coyly suggested that she recently moved to Washington and now attends the Gonzaga University School of Law. (RELATED: Wyoming ‘hate-f***’ hoaxer adds to checkered criminal past, now attends law school)

When TheDC broke this story, several entries on Lanker-Simons’ Tumblr blog concerning her location and enrollment status quickly disappeared.

Officials at Gonzaga do not deny that Lanker-Simons is a student there, according to Above the Law.

“Gonzaga Law does not as a matter of course comment on student’s personal legal or disciplinary matters,” the school said in a statement. “It is our belief that those who have made mistakes in the past, as many of us have, should be allowed the opportunity to move on and become a contributing member of society.”

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Eric Owens