Evergreen State College in Washington has been the subject of outrage ever since one of its professors, Bret Weinstein, was driven from campus for rejecting progressive student activist demands to remove white people from the campus in a “Day of Absence.”
Addressing the school’s Board of Trustees this Wednesday, Weinstein and student speakers spoke out on the issue.
One student, who identified herself only by her last name, MacKenzie, stated that she was prevented from voicing her opinions on any issue at the school all because she is white and labeled a “white supremacist” for offering any sort of viewpoint.
“If you offer any sort of alternative viewpoint, which I do have, and you’re kind of the enemy,” said MacKenzie, whose statement was transcribed in part by HotAir. “I don’t agree with the behavior that has been shown on the campus and unlike what Anne Fischel [a previous speaker] has said, I think it’s important to focus on the way this was handled.”
“This behavior has actually been encouraged and because of this I feel like people are becoming more violent and the campus is becoming more of an unsafe place,” she continued. “I have been to several meetings to speak. I’ve been told several times that I’m not allowed to speak because I’m white.”
“This school seems to focus so much on race that it is actually becoming more racist in a different sort of way. And because I say that—because I choose not to focus on race I have actually been labeled a racist and a white supremacist. If anyone took the time to actually know me, it’s not true at all,” she said.
Professor Weinstein says that Evergreen “descended into literal anarchy” for days following the protests. He says that the school had lost complete control of the environment. Heat Street previously reported that progressive activists at the college had formed a militia, armed with baseball bats, to perform what they called “community policing.”
“Do you know that the college descended into literal anarchy?” said Weinstein. “For days the campus was not under control of the state, it was under the control of protesters. There were assaults, there were batteries, there was pressure not to report crimes to the police. People were, by the legal definition I believe, kidnapped and imprisoned. That included faculty members and administrators. Others were hunted on the campus.”
“Lawless bands roamed the campus unimpeded. Police were physically and intentionally blocked by protesters,” he continued. “Police were cruelly, systematically and personally taunted. They were humiliated and forced to stand down by the president. Students that held different opinions were, by the protesters own analysis, stalked, harassed … their names, pictures, addresses, and phone numbers were distributed online.”
Weinstein concluded his remarks to state that the code of conduct designed to protect students, teachers, and police officers was effectively suspended by Evergreen College President George Bridges, giving activists “license to threaten others.”
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter.
