Now You See Him, Now You Don't: Kyle Rittenhouse Is No Longer an ASU Student
Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old recently acquitted in the Kenosha shooting murder trial, has apparently dropped his Arizona State University classes.
In an official statement Monday to
Phoenix New Times, ASU described Rittenhouse as "not enrolled."
Rittenhouse
testified during his trial earlier this month that he was a student at ASU, studying nursing. At the time, ASU
confirmed that Rittenhouse was a non-degree student who had been taking online classes. The semester he had enrolled in ends this week.
It's not clear when, how, or why his status at the university changed, and spokespeople there did not reply to further inquires from
New Times on the matter, despite a campus controversy over his possible arrival.
Last month, Rittenhouse had said he was an enrolled ASU student. In
an interview last week with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Rittenhouse said he hoped to become a nurse and was completing the prerequisite classes for the field.
"I intend on going on campus," he said.
Around the same time, Rittenhouse told TV anchor Ashleigh Banfield the same thing in a one-hour interview on her show, which airs on NewsNation.
When asked about wanting to attend his planned nursing classes, he said, "I just want to be a normal 18-year-old college student trying to better my future and get into a career in nursing."
"I took a compassionate withdrawal from two of my classes because I got overwhelmed with the trial coming on," he noted.
Then he dropped this zinger: "I do want to look into law and see if it is right for me. If I decided to, it would definitely be criminal defense work.
ASU spokesperson Chris Fiscus repeated previous claims that Rittenhouse had "not gone through the ASU admissions process." Non-degree students do still have to go through a modified admission process, however, according to the school's own non-degree information page.
Over the last several days, several student groups at ASU have been organizing to boot Rittenhouse off the campus. A petition for the university to expel him had
garnered nearly 2,500 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
"ASU should be a safe and inclusive space for all students, which will be disrupted if Kyle Rittenhouse is allowed to attend this school," the petition reads.
On Wednesday, multiple student groups — including Students for Socialism, MECHA de ASU, Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, and Students for Justice in Palestine — will be holding an event titled "Killer Off Campus," demanding that Rittenhouse leave the university.
Rittenhouse, who faced multiple homicide charges after he shot and killed two people during ongoing police brutality protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was found not guilty on all counts after a two-week trial in Wisconsin. His attorneys argued he acted in self-defense.
The university is mum after pressure from student groups who are demanding Rittenhouse be kicked out.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com
archived 29 Nov 2021 21:27:08 UTC
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