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Students Booed Michael Bloomberg as He Tore Into 'Safe Spaces'

Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg / AP
May 2, 2016

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was booed onstage during the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony over the weekend after criticizing college "safe spaces."

"The fact that some university boards and administrations now bow to pressure and shield students from these ideas through 'safe spaces,' 'code words' and 'trigger warnings' is, in my view, a terrible mistake," Bloomberg said to boos, Politico initially reported Monday.

He said the entire purpose of college is "to learn how to deal with difficult situations—not to run away from them."

Thousands of students last year protested at the University of Missouri last year to protest against racial "microaggressions" they claimed were embedded in the school's faculty, forcing the resignation of Mizzou's president and the chancellor of its flagship campus.

Earlier this year, student protestors flocked at California State University, Los Angeles to block the entrances of a theater where conservative commentator Ben Shapiro was set to deliver a speech about censorship and diversity on college campuses.

Bloomberg tore into the idea of a "microaggression" during his commencement speech titled, "Here's Your Degree. Now Go Defeat Demagogues."

"A microaggression is exactly that: micro," he said. "And one of the most dangerous places on a college campus is a safe space, because it creates the false impression that we can isolate ourselves from those who hold different views."