Berkeley students were not violent

Let me make this loud and clear: Those who resorted to violence at the protest against Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley were not in any way affiliated with the university.

They were not students or faculty or encouraged by the administration. They were extreme leftists and anarchists who used the campus as a platform and hid behind the presence of students who were protesting peacefully.

The majority of campus does not stand with these people, and we are frustrated that the media is illustrating this as a student attack. However, the real icing on the cake is the moronic idea that the university should not receive federal funding because of this event.

In a statement sent out by Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, he made clear that the university respected his right to speech and took measures to make the event safe. It was only called off because certain individuals felt they had the right to use violence, and the university police decided that it was too unsafe for Mr. Yiannopoulos to speak.

So yes, go defund the No. 1 public university in the world for something it was not responsible for. Fabulous logic by Donald Trump and his supporters!

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Berkeley students were not violent."