The University of Chicago school newspaper, The Chicago Maroon, published a piece earlier this month exposing that the school’s president, Robert Zimmer, voted in the 2016 GOP primary.
The major scoop, which published Jan. 3 with the headline “UChicago President Robert Zimmer Voted in the 2016 Republican Primary,” was apparently such a big deal that it was written up by the paper’s editor-in-chief, Euirim Choi.
The president’s political leanings were revealed through public records, as Illinois requires an individual to declare a party affiliation in order to vote in the primaries.
“Zimmer has long been coy about his politics, declining to answer a question on the subject in a 2016 interview with The Maroon,” the piece reads. “In recent years, however, he has become somewhat of a celebrity in conservative circles, earning praise from commentators for publications like the National Review and The Federalist for attacking “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings” as the public face of the University of Chicago’s purportedly pro-free speech stance.”
What’s even more bizarre about the article is that it shows the president seems to be more of an independent.
Zimmer has also led the University as it sent several letters to the Donald Trump administration in opposition to its immigration policies, though at times UChicago has responded to the current administration more moderately than other colleges, opting not to declare itself a “sanctuary campus” and declining to join hundreds of universities in endorsing the Paris climate agreement.
Zimmer voted in a primary election in only one other year since 2000 according to public voting histories, voting in the Democratic primary in 2008. (The Chicago Maroon – emphasis mine)
How dare he vote Republican this time around. Let the public naming and shaming begin.