Due to complications caused by Jared Taylor’s speaking engagement, April Fool’s Day was moved from April 1 to May 1 to accommodate the satirical edition of the Criterion.
The Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Board of Trustees passed down this decision after deciding that Jared Taylor’s joke of a speech would be considered satirical if it was in the same edition.
After conferring with the U.S. Committee on National Holidays, the CMU Board of Trustees was granted the power to change the holiday date this one time.
According to committee member Mike Hunt, no consideration was given to the confusion between the name of the holiday and the day of observation
“I trust in the flexibility of the American people to easily accommodate this one-time change,” said Hunt.
“April Fool’s Day is less about the day and more about the spirit.
This decision came after discussions regarding Taylor’s absurd speech about forced segregation in this country being perceived as a joke.
The Criterion staff wanted to make sure it was known that his absurd ideals were in fact quite real and true so moving April Fool’s Day was the easier, more logical option.
It was largely agreed upon that Taylor presented himself as enough of a fool to keep the April 1 date entirely for himself, letting the rest of the nation adjust accordingly.
“We wanted to make sure that people were laughing at Jared Taylor, not with him,” said CMU Trustee Crystal Chandelier.
“Moving the national day of jokes and pranks to another day ensures that his laughable speech was mocked appropriately.”
This move had dual outcomes. For the Criterion Editors, it meant that their satirical articles were the last ones written for the semester.
For everyone else, they got to stand mouth agape as a 75-year-old white man attempted to espouse white supremacist ideology to a school that is nearly a quarter hispanic.
Whether or not this decision will stand for the following year is uncertain, according to the incoming Editor-In-Chief, Seymore Butts.
They said that if another white supremacist gets invited to speak at campus that it may have to happen again.
“Considering Mesa’s recent track record for ridiculous speakers, the shift could become more common,” said Butts.
“Our students deserve to know when white supremacy is and is not a joke.”
