Former NCAA women’s swimming star Riley Gaines slammed San Francisco State University after it reacted to her being attacked and on campus during a pro-women speaking event by standing by the mob of transgender activists, making no mention of the violence and even thanking them for participating “peacefully” at the event.
In a purported email to the school’s campus community, the university thanked the its so-called “brave” students for what it referred to as “peacefully participating” at the event where Gaines was physically attacked.
“When I saw this email — one of my friends who goes to the university sent it to me — I had to reread it, because there was clearly no mention of what actually happened. Anything that actually occurred, there was no mention of it,” Gaines said.
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“What they described in that email was how proud they were of their ‘brave’ students who protested ‘peacefully.’ What I experienced wasn’t peaceful. It wouldn’t even be peaceful in an alternate universe. It was, quite literally, the exact opposite,” the swimmer continued.
“I was barricaded in a room where I could not leave for three hours, where they were yelling obscene, terrible, violent things towards both myself and these officers who were protecting me,” Gaines explained. “I was atrocious. It was heinous. It was terrible.”
“I missed my flight home. I couldn’t fly home, because I was stuck in this room where there was no exit. They blocked the stairways, so there was no exiting,” she added.
On Thursday, Gaines was “ambushed” and “hit by a man wearing a dress” after giving a speech about saving women’s sports during a Turning Point USA and Leadership Institute event on the campus. Gaines was also barricaded in a room for three hours.
“Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space,” Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, Jamillah Moore, wrote in the purported email to the campus community.
“I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions. I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully,” Moore continued. “These issues do not go away, and these values are very much at our core.”
“This feels difficult because it is difficult. As you reflect, process, and begin to heal, please remember that there are people, resources and services available and ready to receive our Gator community, including faculty, staff members, coaches and mentors who are here to support you,” he added.
Moore went on to say that “the well-being of the SF State campus community remains our priority,” but never mentioned anything about the well-being of guest speakers, who are attacked by transgender activists at the school.
Elsewhere in the email, Moore stated, “Today, San Francisco State finds itself again at the center of a national discussion regarding freedom of speech and expression. Let me begin by saying clearly: the trans community is welcome and belongs at San Francisco State University.”
“Further, our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own,” he added.
The email continued:
SF State is regularly noted as one of the most diverse campuses in the United States — this is what makes us Gators, and this is what makes us great. Diversity promotes critical discussions, new understandings and enriches the academic experience. But we may also find ourselves exposed to divergent views and even views we find personally abhorrent. These encounters have sometimes led to discord, anger, confrontation and fear. We must meet this moment and unite with a shared value of learning.
San Francisco State University did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’ request to clarify if it is truly the school’s position that the protesters “participated peacefully” at the event where Gaines was attacked.
Scholar Jonathan Turley weighed in on San Francisco State’s email on his blog, writing:
At best, the statement shows a lack of courage to stand firm in the face of this mob. At worst, it is complicit in the incident by enabling such conduct.
It is reminiscent of events at schools like Northwestern. A Sociology 201 class by Professor Beth Redbird was supposed to examine “inequality in American society with an emphasis on race, class and gender.” To that end, Redbird invited both an undocumented person and a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is the type of balance that is now considered verboten on campuses.
Members of MEChA de Northwestern, Black Lives Matter NU, the Immigrant Justice Project, the Asian Pacific American Coalition, NU Queer Trans Intersex People of Color and Rainbow Alliance organized to stop other students from hearing from the ICE representative. However, they could not have succeeded without the help of Northwestern administrators (including Dean of Students Todd Adams). The protesters were screaming “F**k ICE” outside of the hall. Adams and the other administrators then said that the protesters screaming profanities would be allowed into the class if they promised not to be disruptive.
Breitbart News will continue to report on Riley Gaines and San Francisco State University.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
