The Patriot Post® · Clemson's Harambe 'Safe Space'

Most Americans are familiar with Harambe for one lousy reason. The silverback gorilla was immortalized earlier this year when wildlife officials at the Cincinnati Zoo were left with little choice but to fatally shoot it after a boy fell into an enclosure, his life threatened. The situation caused quite a stir among those more concerned with a gorilla’s fate than that of a defenseless young boy. Antics aside, you might be wondering what in the world Harambe’s story has to do colleges and their “safe spaces.” It doesn’t, but at least one Clemson University resident assistant managed to find one and decided unilaterally to do something about it.

According to Brooks Artis, Graduate Community Director for Clemson University: “Due to an incident … we are no longer allowing any reference to Harambe (or any other spelling) to be displayed on doors, halls, billboards, or windows. There was a report from an individual about a meme being offensive and bias in nature and as a result all Harambe references are no longer allowed within our community. If you want to use the memes for decoration, then you should move them into your room, where people would have to be invited into the space to see said decoration.” Artis later added, “[T]here have been reports that [Harambe] and the incident surrounding his death have been used to add to the rape culture as well as being a form of racism.”

However, the university has since responded: “We … want all residents to feel they are able express their thoughts, opinions and ideas. To that end, we want to clarify that building residents are able to post items on their individual doors.” Good for the school, dispensing with the monkey business. Now if only it would do something about Clemson’s mascot, the predatory tiger…