Bloomberg attacks ‘trigger warnings’ at Michigan’s graduation ceremony

What do you think about the former mayor’s speech?

Yesterday marked a milestone for many wolverines, as the class of 2016 took to the stage at Michigan Stadium for spring commencement. The keynote speaker, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, ensured that the ceremony was anything but boring.

Bloomberg’s speech had all of the elements of the usual Michigan graduation send-off, including a jab at MSU and a joke about heading to Rick’s after the ceremony (classic), but it also touched on a few political issues, as well, discussing free speech on college campuses.

“The fact that some university boards and administrations now bow to pressure and shield students from these ideas through ‘safe spaces’ and ‘trigger warnings’ is, in my view, a terrible mistake. The whole purpose of college is to learn how to deal with difficult situations, not run away from them. A micro-aggression is exactly that: micro,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg’s comments may have been sparked by the events of mid-April, when a group of students reacted to anti-Muslim graffiti by calling the police, who neglected to take any action because of free speech concerns. Trigger warnings and safe spaces have long been controversial issues on college campuses, especially at Michigan.

Bloomberg also touched on politics, as well, and the danger of populism, saying “When a populist candidate promises free college, free health care, and a pony, or another candidate promises to make other countries pay for our needs, remember: those who promise you a free lunch will invariably eat you for breakfast,” an obvious slam at Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. This portion of Bloomberg’s speech was especially interesting because Sanders has such a high level of support among Michigan students. Clearly Bloomberg ignored the old public-speaking adage: know your audience.

While some graduates felt that Bloomberg’s comments were a breath of fresh air, others thought he should’ve stuck to a more traditional commencement speech, and his comments drew strong reactions from students on both sides of the coin. Whether you liked it or hated it, one thing’s for sure: Bloomberg’s speech was definitely memorable.

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