Hope Walz, who is the liberal daughter of Minnesota’s Democratic governor and former vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, is taking a stand by announcing that she’s not doing something. 

The 24-year-old on Saturday posted a video on TikTok bragging that she got accepted to graduate school but decided she was not going to attend. Ms. Walz declared that as a “privileged white woman,” she just couldn’t do it because the school is being unfair to anti-Israel students.

“I got into grad school. I will not be attending starting this fall, though, and I will no longer be attending the university that I originally applied for,” she said. “I’m a privileged white woman. I’m not going to put myself in a position where I’m giving money or supporting institutions that don’t support their students.”

She told her 435,000 followers she would not name the institution, adding “given recent events, I am not going to give my money or go into debt to support institutions that don’t support their students and the right to protest and speak out for their communities. That’s just not where I’m at.”

Ms. Walz told her followers she’d likely take a year off and “do a little bit more research going forward, making sure I’m applying to schools that align with my values, and then maybe start in a year, which is OK. I’m not really in a rush. Just figured I’d update you all on that.”

Tim Walz’s daughter announced that she was accepted into a graduate school but has decided not to attend, stating that as a “privileged white woman,” she does not want to support institutions that fail to protect student protesters. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/F995YVHPrl

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) March 30, 2025

As one can expect in this day and age, critics flooded the comments section of her TikTok and social media platforms, accusing Ms. Walz of “performative activism” and “virtue signaling.”  

“White women privilege is getting into college but being rich enough to decide not to go… how noble,” one TikToker wrote. Others were less charitable. “If virtue signaling paid well, she’d be a millionaire,” another said.  

Ms. Walz’s online announcement lands amid free speech protests on campuses. Since spring 2024, pro-Palestinian protests have rocked American universities, sparking firm responses from both administrators and law enforcement.

The Trump administration introduced strict policies targeting what it described as “illegal protests,” referring to pro-Palestinian demonstrations as acts of antisemitism. President Trump even slashed $400 million in government funding from Columbia University, demanding the institution overhaul its protest policies — or face lasting financial consequences.

Columbia quickly folded. Not only did the university implement new rules for handling protests, but 36 officers were hired expressly to arrest students violating the new regulations. The university’s compliance drew condemnation from groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union, which called the move a blow to academic freedom and free speech. 

“Columbia’s capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide,” the executive director of the NYCLU, Donna Lieberman, said in a statement.  

It’s not just Columbia feeling the heat. Secretary of State Rubio announced that more than 300 student visas have been revoked for international students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.