Michigan beauty contestant claims she was disqualified because of her conservative tweets

Kathy Zhu is a fan of Donald Trump.

UPDATED July 20 10:40 a.m. PDT to clarify that she was a student at UCF and to incclude content of an email Miss World.

A beauty pageant contestant claims she was kicked out of the Miss World America pageant because some tweets that were called "offensive, insensitive and inappropriate," by contest organizers.

“They stripped me of my Miss Michigan title due to my refusal to try on a hijab in 2018, my tweet about black on black gun violence, and "insensitive" statistical tweets,” said Kathy Zhu, a University of Michigan student.

Zhu is a political commentator and online content producer, with about a combined 80,000 followers in her Instagram and Twitter accounts.

In February 2018, while still a student at University of Central Florida, on World Hijab Day, there was a booth on campus offering women a chance to try on a hijab. No one was being forced to wear one but it offered interested individuals a chance to try one on as a way to overcome the fear some people have the headcovering.
This prompted Xhu to tweet: "There is a 'try a hijab on' booth at my college campus. So you're telling me that it's now just a fashion accessory and not a religious thing? Or are you just trying to get women used to being oppressed under Islam?"

She transferred to the University of Michigan later that year.

The second controversial entry occurred in 2017 in a response to another tweet, in which Zhu says: "Did you know the majority of black deaths are caused by other blacks? Fix problems within your own community before blaming others."

That tweet was accompanied by statistics. Zhu has said that she does not regard herself as a racist. In 2019, Zhu tweeted about that message, “When the left calls you racist for using statistics to back up your claim, you know you’re on the right side of history.”

Zhu is a well-known political commentator and online figure, amassing approximately 80,000 followers in her Instagram and Twitter accounts combined. 

"I have seen this happen before," Zhu told the Detroit Free Press on Thursday. "It is just not okay to be prejudiced against people who just have a different political view as you.”

Zhu still defends the two now-deleted tweets that she alleges caused the pageant to  cut ties her.

Miss World America did not respond with comments despite repeated attempts to contact the organizers.

The purported e-mail to Zhu read:

“It has been brought to the attention of Miss Word America (MWA) that your social media posts contain offensive, insensitive, and inappropriate content,” read the purported email from Miss World America to Zhu.

The email went on to state that Zhu was in violation of the pageant’s Rules and Conditions requiring contestants to be “of good character and whose background is not likely to bring into dispute Miss World America or any person associated with the organization.”

“Therefore, and effective immediately, WMA does not recognize you as a participant of any sort or in any capacity as it relates to any events or WMA,” the email continues. “Furthermore, let this communication serve as an official notice to remove any mention of yourself as a participant in MWA from all social media platforms.”

After the news story came out in the Detroit Free Press, she has become a celebrity for the right wing, although she describes herself liberal on some issues such as marijuana use and gay marriage.

__________________________________________________________________

FilAm valedictorian censored, so she posted her speech on YouTube

Petaluma High School valedictorian Lulubel Sseitz leaves the stage after her address was cut off.

BY TRYING to silence a valedictorian's comments about sexual assault, a California high school has instead given her worldwide attention.
Lulubel Seitz was delivering her valedictorian address at graduation last week (June 2) at Petaluma High School in California's wine region, when suddenly her microphone went dead.

At around the four minute mark into her valedictory graduation speech at Petaluma High School, the 17-year old Filipina American's microphone was cut off just as she had begun to speak about alleged sexual assault on the school’s campus. Seitz alleges that she was a victim of a sexual assault.

Her speech started off like any other high school graduation speech, talking about her journey as the granddaughter of Filipino immigrants, being raised by a single mother and being the first in her family to graduate from high school. She talks about the fires that ravaged the region in 2017 and praised the school's teachers who went on strike earlier in the year to earn better wages.

Four minutes in, Lulubel was saying, “The class of 2018 has demonstrated time and time again that we may be a new generation, but we are not too young to speak up, to dream and to create change. Which is why even when some people on this campus, those same people — ” then her mike went dead.

Stanford-bound Lulebel Seintz

Realizing the futility of continuing her speech at the open-air graduation, she returned to her front row seat to chants of "Let her speak," coming from the audience.

Before speaking, the valedictorian and salutatorian are required to submit their speeches to school authorities for approval. They had been warned what Lulubel wanted to say so when she went off script, the pulled the plug.

The controversial line that was not approved by school staff was: "Even learning on a campus in which some people defend perpetrators of sexual assault and silence their victims, we didn't let that drag us down."

Petaluma High School Principal David Stirrat told The Washington Post that all student speeches are submitted for approval beforehand and were told their mic would be cut if they went off script.

“In Lulabel’s case, her approved speech didn’t include any reference to an a‌ssau‌lt,” he said. “We certainly would have considered such an addition, provided no individuals were named or defamed.”

So ... like many internet-savvy individuals of her generation, Lulubel posted her complete speech on YouTube. As of this writing, the video has over 304,000 views and newspapers and television networks from around the world have written about what Lulubel wasn't allowed to say.

“The Petaluma High School administration infringed on my freedom of speech, and prevented a whole graduating class from having their message delivered,” she wrote on YouTube.

“For weeks, they have threatened me against ‘speaking against them’ in my speech. Sometimes we know what’s right and have to do it despite the threats. Watch the whole uncensored version here as well as the aftermath of them cutting my mic,” she posted with the video.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Watch her uncensored speech, below. Note that she does not once mention the individual who sexually assaulted her or any details of the incident. After her mike is cut off, stay on the video, Lulubel reappears to finish her speech.)

Later, talking to reporters, she said that she was a victim of sexual assault on campus.

A guidance counselor told her she wasn't alone, there were other young women on campus with similar experiences, said Lulubel. She was frustrated that perpetrators of sexual assault aren't immediately considered for expulsion or suspension. Her accused assailant was only forbidden to be on campus at the same time she was there. He violated that ban numerous times, according to Lulubel. When she brought those violations to the attention of school officials, she alleged that nothing was done.

So on the eve of graduation, she received inspiration while watching speeches given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She thought to herself, "He had way more on the line than I do. If he can do it, then I should, too."

As of this writing, the Stanford-bound Lulubel's YouTube video has been viewed over 272,000 times, way beyond the few hundred people who attended the Petaluma High School graduation ceremonies. In addition, her story was told on television networks and newspapers throughout the world.

While there were a few detractors who felt it was not appropriate, the vast majority of the social media response has supported Lulubel's moment in the #MeToo spotlight.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The case of the band that shall not be named goes to the Supreme Court

From the band's website

The Portland-based band The Slants will bring their case to the U.S. Supreme Court

ASAM NEWS

THE U.S. Supreme Court gave no indication how it might rule in the trademark case involving the Asian American rock group, The Slants.

The nation’s highest court grilled advocates on both sides of this case which will decide if the band has a right to trademark a name some consider disparaging to Asian/Americans.

The eight justices must decide if the denial is a violation of the band’s right to free speech.

The Los Angeles Times reports Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked if free speech meant the government had to endorse it. She pointed out no one is denying the bands right to use the name.

RELATED: Court takes a different slant on AAPI rock band's name

Other justices wondered aloud where the line is really drawn, drawing comparisons to a person’s right to engage in any conversation they want in a public setting.

“You want us to say trademark laws is just like a public park. That’s it. That’s your argument,” Forbes quoted Justice Anthony Kennedy asking the attorney for the patent office.

The issue has divided the Asian/American community with many backing the band’s right to take a disparaging term and turning it into a positive.

Others back the government, fearing a victory for the band will mean sports teams with names like the NFL's Redskins, which some consider racist towards Native/Americans will be affirmed.

Band leader Simon Tam has tried to draw a distinction between his case and that of the Redskins, saying the cases are unrelated. He asks in an opinion piece for NBC, does the government have the right to decide what terms are racist?