Posted on 02/23/2006 12:13:15 AM PST by CrawDaddyCA
A community college student in Massachusetts faces possible disciplinary action for shouting "Remember Chappaquiddick!" during an on-campus speech by Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy.
Paul Trost, 20, a student at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass., says he was upset by an introduction of Kennedy given by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., in which the congressman noted how the long-time senator overcame hardship in life on his way to success.
"Lynch said Kennedy had overcome such adversity to get to the place he was, and that's a bunch of bull," Trost said of the introduction, which occurred in the school's student center Tuesday morning.
Just as Kennedy began speaking, Trost was walking out of the room when he shouted, "Remember Chappaquiddick!"
"Most of the crowd gasped," Trost said. "Then I walked out of the student center."
The student says a campus police officer went outside and stopped him. He also saw some state troopers go outside, the type who accompany Kennedy around the state to provide security.
Trost says the cop took down his information and told him he would be hearing from school officials about disciplinary action. A spokesman with the campus police verified the incident but stressed that Trost was not arrested.
The student said one of his teachers confronted him after a class about the Chappaquiddick issue.
"One of my teachers called me ignorant and told me this was an embarrassment to the school," Trost told WND. "She said to me, 'Can't you forgive him after all these years?' And I said, 'No, he killed somebody.'
"If it had been me or any other person, we'd be in jail," Trost says he told his instructor.
Referring to his two-word shout, Trost said, "I did it because I know about Kennedy's past. I know what happened at Chappaquiddick.
"I wanted to send a message to him that my generation still knows about it. We haven't forgotten about it."
Trost said he was satisfied to know that students on campus were talking about the Chappaquiddick incident later in the day – some of whom, in fact, were not familiar with it.
In 1969, Kennedy was driving a car that went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. His passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, was killed after the car landed upside down in the water. No autopsy was ever performed to determine her exact cause of death.
At the time, Kennedy claimed he tried several times to swim down to reach Kopechne to no avail. He came under fire for not reporting the incident to authorities until the next morning. In the interim he reportedly made an effort to call a family legal adviser.
"I haven't yet found out what's going to happen to me," Trost said, referring to the warning from campus police.
BAWAHHHHHH!!! I would have paid good money to see the look on Kennedy's face!
Cool. Yay for him.
He waited until the next day to report the incident to the authorities? Why aren't the democrats calling for him to resign as they are Dick Cheney? Lousy hypocrites.
More open minded tolerance, acceptance and support of free speech on campus I see.
Too bad by "Free Speech" they didn't mean for us....
Kennedy has been under the protection of Greenpeace..
LOL!
Yep the same people lamenting the lack of protests and political activisim on campus these days, will be deeply offended by this student's political activism/theatre.
Sorry ya'll, it's early, and I haven't had enough coffee yet.
'Can't you forgive him after all these years?'
It was just some bimbo. No mere woman compares to the life and political career of a Kennedy.
I just hope this young man does not get in terrible trouble for this. He was stating a fact, yet, think of all the conservative/Republican speakers who have been physically assaulted by the liberal crowd and nothing has happened to them.
>>His passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne,
Had it not been for Ted, the sons and daughters of
Miss Kopechne, were she to get married, would have been
born and would have probably been in their thirties by now.
This guy was born well after Chappaquiddick but he
knew of the incident and wanted to remind everyone.
As ytedk.com points out:
""Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law?
Or is there one system for the average citizen
and another for the high and mighty?"
- Senator Ted Kennedy, 1973 -
He was probably too drunk to hear it.
I hope a huge stink is made in his defense - get "Remember Chappaquiddick" in the lead paragraph of stories for weeks!
I'm glad to see this young man sees that we have an 'elite' class in America. He's absolutely correct, had this been an ordinary citizen, he'd still be sitting in a jail cell (and rightfully so).
Kennedy murdered that poor girl, and no amount of whitewashing will cover it up.
This kid deserves something!
Does Free Republic give out medals?
Maybe we should!
No one should be a senator for over 40 years. Liberal or conservative. Term limits or repeal the 17th!
wow!
At this stage he probably wondered if Chappaquidik is a new microbrew he hasn't tried.
I just LOVE how campuses are into that whole "free speech" and "takin' it to the man" and "talking back to those in power" thing!
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