Clemson University Student Vice President Impeached for Refusing to Stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
Vice President of Clemson University’s student government has been impeached and is now facing an impeachment trial after he did not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
According to the New York Times, Jaren Stewart has been voted out of his position as student government Vice President after he protested the Pledge of Allegiance at a student government meeting, along with other students. As expected, the university’s spokesman, John Gouch, states the impeachment proceedings started before Stewart did not stand. Student senator, Miller Hoffman, who is also white, was the first to introduce the resolution to impeach the former VP. Hoffman cited a leaked document describing the alleged misconduct and denied that the motion was motivated by Stewart’s protest or his race.
The student senate held a vote to impeach Stewart on Monday (October 23) by secret ballot while he was out of town. The vote was 40-18. There will be a closed-door impeachment trial to determine whether Stewart should be removed from office, where he will be able to defend himself. The NYT reports that any senator who shares details of the proceedings will also face impeachment, as the student newspaper, the Clemson Tiger, states. It is reported that the student body at Clemson University is 83 percent white and 7 percent African American.
Stewart and the other students protested the pledge in solidarity with NFL players and celebrities who protest against police brutality and racial oppression. This news comes after former NFL star turned activist Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL. Kaepernick claims the owners of NFL teams of conspiring against him by working collaboratively to hinder him from being hired by another team. The grievance also explains Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, stating it was meant to “raise awareness of racial inequality and minority oppression in the United States through a silent and peaceful protest of a nation that was not living up to its ideals of freedom and equality guaranteed to all citizens.”
Photo Credit: Jaren Stewart/Facebook
