ASU students to protest Rittenhouse as a possible student
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State University students angered that Kyle Rittenhouse had been a fellow classmate and could enroll again are channeling their outrage into protest.
Four student organizations plan to hold a rally Wednesday afternoon on the Tempe campus to urge the university to disavow the 18-year-old, who was acquitted of murder in November in deadly shootings during last year’s unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse testified that he acted in self-defense when he killed two men and wounded a third with a semi-automatic rifle during protests over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer.
In his testimony, Rittenhouse also said he was taking online classes from ASU. University officials confirmed at the time he was an online student. That no longer is the case.
There would be no rule to preclude him from reapplying. Rittenhouse said in recent interviews he is considering studying to be a lawyer or a nurse and will likely move out of the Midwest.
Still, student organizations want the university to prevent Rittenhouse from being able to enroll online or in-person. Their other demands include a statement against white supremacy and more support for multicultural spaces on campus.
