A Wichita State University student leader wore a “White Lives Matter” mask to a school event.
The Wichita Eagle reported that Sam McCrory wore the mask Thursday to his first student government event, where he was sworn in as a student senator.
The mask allegedly went unnoticed until The Sunflower, WSU’s student newspaper, posted photos of the ceremony, the Eagle reported. The student newspaper was the first to identify McCrory.
Students expressed their displeasure, and called on WSU to condemn McCrory and for him to resign his position.
McCrory told the Eagle that he wore the mask to push back against the “modern left,” which he accused of hating white people.
“I’m not going to be a second-class citizen in my own country,” he said. “People can wear Black Lives Matter masks and nobody cares. But if someone wears a White Lives Matter mask, all of a sudden there’s a huge firestorm.”
The Hill has reached out to Wichita State for comment.
The event came after a jury read the verdict for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges for the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, last May.
Floyd’s death sparked, along with other incidents, sparked months of protests that lasted throughout the summer.