Following the assassination-style murder of two New York Police Department officers last weekend, one student at the private liberal arts school Brandeis University took to Twitter to justify the murders and, following backlash over her statements, has since garnered the support of many of her fellow students.
"i have no sympathy for the nypd officers who were murdered today," tweeted student leader Khadijah Lynch on Saturday afternoon, a junior and, at the time, undergraduate department representative in the African and Afro-American Studies Department.
"lmao, all I just really dont have sympathy for the cops who were shot. I hate this racist f-----g country," Lynch continued.
Following the tweets, another Brandeis student, Daniel Mael, published an article on Truth Revolt which included the tweets along with other radical statements made by Lynch. The article spread virally across social media, getting more than 83,000 Facebook likes in a few days, and prompting Lynch's supporters to launch a #IStandWithKhadija campaign.
On Monday, a group of Brandeis students lashed out at Mael for stoking the fire, some even saying that university administration should punish the student for citing Lynch's tweets, which were posted from her public account, reported The Daily Caller.
A member of the 2014-15 student conduct board at Brandeis, Michael Piccione, wrote an email to the president of the university, senior administrators, professors and students, titled, ""VERY IMPORTANT: Holding Daniel Mael accountable, and other threats to student safety!"
Not only did Mael expose "Khadijah to the largely white supremacist following of the [Truth Revolt] website," claimed Piccione, but in publicizing her tweets, Mael "potentially violated multiple parts" of the university's student conduct code, including "stalking," Piccione said.
The Brandeis Asian American Student Association then took to Facebook to voice its support for Lynch and the "unjust hatred and abuse" she has incurred over her tweets.
"BAASA extends our love and support to Khadijah Lynch in the midst of unjust hatred and abuse. We stand in solidarity with you, as a community that understands your frustrations towards a system that has shown no sympathy to you. We recognize your right to speak freely and we turn a critical eye towards the persons and powers that seek to silence, intimidate, and suffocate you and the black community," the post read.
As The Daily Caller mentioned, the student association conveniently ignored Mael's right to free speech.
"Through this statement we declare our sympathy and our readiness to stand by your side. We aim to pull our own community together, in both compassion and the pursuit of justice, to also stand up and recognize the urgency of our need to take action. To engage in self-critical examination and uplift a fellow student who has been wrongfully targeted and harassed. It is our goal to act upon the words that we deliver. We are ready to grow, to learn, and to listen as members of the unjust but changing world around us.
In love and solidarity,
Brandeis Asian American Students Association #StandWithKhadijah"
Lynch deleted her Twitter account following Mael's criticism and has since resigned from her position as the undergraduate department representative in the Brandeis African and Afro-American studies department, the department confirmed in a statement released on Monday. The statement distanced the department from Lynch and her comments, but asked that they be understood in context.
Two separate Change.org petitions were created on Monday, one calling for Brandeis to expel Lynch, and the other asking people to support her right of free expression.
Andrew Flagel, senior vice president for students and enrollment at Brandeis, also posted a statement criticizing Lynch's comments as well as the response they received, reported Inside Higher Ed.
