The Chancellor of UC Berkeley has taken a national tragedy and turned it into an opportunity to project his personal beliefs.

A mere two and a half hours after the national moment of silence, Robert J. Birgeneau sent every UC Berkeley student an email disguised as prayers and well wishes for those killed and wounded in the Tucson, Arizona shooting. The email, however, was actually dripping with social commentary and charged rhetoric. (You can read the entire email here.)

Birgeneau wrote:

    “… I believe that it is not a coincidence that this tragedy has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against     undocumented persons. This same mean-spirited xenophobia played a major role in the defeat of the Dream Act by our     legislators in Washington, leaving many exceptionally talented and deserving young people, including our own undocumented     students, painfully in limbo with regard to their futures in this country.”

So in a sense, Birgeneau is blaming immigration reform on the tragedy that took place in Arizona. While many pundits have jumped in the mud, and were quick to blame rhetoric or policies for the murders that took place Saturday, it is incomprehensible to think that a school administrator’s job is a forum for this type of debate, especially so soon after the event. This administrator has no right to use the University’s listserv to spew his own opinions about public policy, period.

This type of bias is not new on our nation’s campuses, but given the context, this specific example is overtly disgusting.

Is your school using this tragedy as a method to project their social beliefs? Be sure to share your stories with us.