COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – A newsletter posted on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) campus is starting to make the rounds on social media and it states veterans should be banned from four-year universities. Several viewers asked 11 News to look into the origin of the newsletter.
The letter states military veterans should be banned from classes and compares the military culture to white supremacist groups.
The newsletter is titled “Social Justice Collective Weekly” and says it is the first issue. A spokesperson for UCCS said the newsletter has nothing to do with the school and does not represent the institution’s views. However, it was approved by the university and posted on a bulletin board. The school says anyone is allowed to post items on the board.
The university explained while this group is not affiliated with the college, they say it is free speech and the group can post what they want.
The article says veterans should be banned from UCCS and other four-year colleges. It also generalizes veterans and says they are unsympathetic to the LGBTQ community. The article says all veterans have far right-wing ideologies.
“They [the authors of the letter] try and talk about inclusion as a principle,” said UCCS student Joe Hollmann. “Yet, they’re excluding one of the most important members of society, those that are guarding our freedom to even talk about this.”
“There’s a lot of hate in the world,” said fellow UCCS student Caleb Hensley. “You can’t fight hate with hate.”
All of the students 11 News interviewed on campus disagreed with the stance the letter takes. The newsletter was also in the library and other places, but students have been taking them down.
UCCS told 11 News the author is not a current student and couldn’t confirm if they were previously enrolled. We emailed the address on the newsletter, but haven’t heard back as of Friday morning. The author is listed in the article as Terry Steinawitz. UCCS said there is not a student by that name, and 11 News wasn’t able to find any records of anyone who goes by that name in Colorado. According to email responses to 11 News viewers by the editors of the letter, they say they are using fake names to protect themselves.
The newsletter reads as follows:
A four-year, traditional university is supposed to be a place of learning, of understanding, of safety and security. However, there is an element among us who may be frustrating those goals: Veterans.
UCCS is known for its number of veterans who are full and part-time students. But these veterans of much of the school prides themselves on may be hurting the university.
First off, many veterans openly mock the ideas of diversity and safe spaces for vulnerable members of society. This is directly in contradiction to the mission of UCCS. Many veterans utter the mantra that they, “do not see color”. But the problem lies in their socialization into the military culture that is that of a white supremacist organization. They have been permanently tainted, and are no long fit for a four-year university.
Second, many students are frightened by the presence of veterans in their classrooms. Veterans usually have an overwhelming presence in the classroom, which can distract other students. This is usually true for vulnerable individual such as LGBTQQI2SAA, who have been known to be the butt of insensitive jokes made by veterans.
Finally, veterans usually are associated with extremists right-wing groups such as the tea party and the NRA. In order to provide a safe place for all students, extremist right-wing groups must be suppressed on campus. This would include their followers: veterans.
That is not to say that veterans should not be allowed an education. Veterans should be allowed to attend trade schools, or maybe even community college. But, in order to protect our academic institutions we must ban veterans from four-year universities.