Happy Birthday, Senator Kennedy

Senator Teddy (hic!) Kennedy celebrated his 74th birthday yesterday with a speech at a Massachusetts community college. But one student in particular was not impressed with the celebrated speaker, and his brief protest may land him in hot water with the school.

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.

Hardship? The man has ridden his dead brother's name and reputation for 44 years, living like a bejeweled prince in the liberal fiefdom of Massachusetts and worshipped by the commoners of the mainstream media.

"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 yesterday morning.

Just as Kennedy began speaking, Trost was walking out of the room when he shouted, "Remember Chappaquiddick!"
...
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.

Trost, a liberal arts major who has protested the Iraq war, says he's not a right-winger.

"I tend to have what would be considered liberal views," he explained, "but I go with whatever I think is right."

Would that more liberals had as much conviction.

Interestingly enough, a recent protest by Georgetown students during a speech by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was well covered by the media, with no actions taken by the school administration to discipline or even rebuke the students involved. The Georgetown students, who were much more disruptive than Mr. Trost, stood for most of the speech in the middle of the room, holding a large banner and blocking other attendees' view of Gonzales. The Attorney General's speech was a public defense of the NSA's beleaguered terrorist surveillance program.

Apparently student protest is only allowed if you are in line with the liberal philosophy of academia.

Hat-tip: Ian of Expose the Left (on the Paul Trost story).