Over in Washington, the current Seattle University Provost, Shane Martin, is facing backlash online after a video surfaced that appeared to show him snatching a Palestinian flag away from a graduate. The graduate, who was wearing a hijab, tried to raise her flag before taking a photo with Martin at Climate Pledge Arena. The two had a short struggle over the flag before Martin pulled it away from the camera’s view. The two quickly smiled for the photo before Martin led her away, gripping the student’s arm tightly.
The video has now gone viral on Reddit, with some appalled by the behavior while others were supportive of the provost.
This is not Martin’s first time making headlines. In 2019, he, along with Loyola Marymount University, was a defendant in a whistleblower lawsuit.
Martin was accused of “intentionally breaking LMU policies, Federal and State law to further his personal interests and ensuring he did not get caught,” according to Seattle U’s student newspaper The Spectator. He was also accused of firing an assistant when she wouldn’t go along with his schemes.
Washington Locals React
Some viewers went so far as to label his actions as “assault.” “Why do these people think they can put hands on these students for holding a flag?” one commenter wrote. Another advised the student to press charges, saying, “Grabbing a student and forcibly taking an item (like a flag) from them without their consent can meet the legal definition of battery and potentially assault!!! I hope she presses charges.”
One Redditor noted how comical it was that both parties smiled for the photo so quickly following the brief scuffle: “The struggling and then pause and smile for a photo got me lol.” Some users scoffed at the assault claims. “He literally just doesn’t want his photo taken next to the flag since it would be a political statement… Not assault,” one Redditor wrote.
Given the conflict in the Middle East and the growing racial tension in the U.S., the interaction struck a chord with viewers.
