On the heels of Kyle Rittenhouse's not guilty verdict, numerous student organizations at Arizona State University are demanding the institution distance itself from the controversial 18-year-old.

ASU's Students for Socialism organization is one of four groups at the Tempe-based university calling for the institution to sever its connection to Rittenhouse. The Midwesterner — who was acquitted after killing two people during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest — is taking online classes at ASU, studying to become a nurse. 

In response to this revelation, the ASU Students for Socialism, Students for Justice in Palestine, Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, and MECHA de ASU have all teamed up to protest Rittenhouse's affiliation with the university. The organizations currently have four demands:

  1. Withdraw Rittenhouse from ASU.
  2. Release a statement against white supremacy and murderer Kyle Rittenhouse.
  3. Reaffirm support for the Multicultural Center on campus as a space safe from white supremacy.
  4. Redirect funding from ASU PD to support the Multicultural Center and establish a CAARE Center on campus.

Additionally, the students plan to host a rally and protest on December 1.

"Even with a not-guilty [sic] verdict from a flawed 'justice' system, Kyle Rittenhouse is still guilty to his victims and the families of those victims," the groups jointly state. "Join us to demand from ASU that those demands be met to protect students from a violent blood-thirsty murderer."

A spokesperson for the ASU Students for Socialism group also elaborated on the matter further during a recent interview with Fox News.

"The goal of these demands is to let the ASU administration know that we as the ASU community do not feel safe knowing that a mass shooter, who has expressed violent intentions about 'protecting property' over people, is so carelessly allowed to be admitted to the school at all," the spokesperson stated. "Our campus is already unsafe as is, and we would like to abate this danger as much as possible."

"Rittenhouse took the lives of innocent people with the intent to do so — by strapping an assault rifle to himself in a crowd of unarmed citizens," the spokesperson continued. "That is the textbook definition of intention. The decision made by the court is one of thousands of cases that have been influenced by biased judges, predominantly white juries, and mistakes inherent in a judicial system founded off of injustice, to begin with."

However, Arizona State has also released a statement clarifying that Rittenhouse has not been formally admitted. Instead, he's taking a series of non-degree online classes that prepare students for college.

"Kyle Rittenhouse has not gone through the admissions process with Arizona State University and is not enrolled in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation," a university spokesperson said. "ASU can confirm that Mr. Rittenhouse enrolled as a non-degree seeking ASU Online student for the session that started Oct. 13, 2021, which allows students access to begin taking classes as they prepare to seek admission into a degree program at the university."

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