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UC Berkeley has become a violent flashpoint for political demonstrators of all stripes in recent months as right-wing speakers like Ann Coulter have announced plans to speak on the famously left-leaning campus.

And the university has had enough. Buried in the debate has been the schools argument that it cant accommodate every speaker on the exact day student groups want, particularly when the requests come in late, because it has limited venues and security concerns. No more.

Now, Berkeley is rolling out a draft of a policy which when you cut through the wonkiness is an attempt to get ahead of possible disputes in the future and bring certain groups (ahem, Berkeley College Republicans) in line.

College Republicans recently invited the conservative speaker Ben Shapiro to campus in the fall and are framing the invite as yet another fight for free speech. This week, Berkeley told the student organization it hasnt been able to identify an available venue for the day and time the group requested, but still wants to work with students to bring Shapiro to campus while keeping everyone safe. In response, the club released a statement entitled Berkeley blocks Ben Shapiro.

It is important for policies to explicitly address procedures for responding to a new set of security concerns that have recently emerged, reads a note announcing the new draft policy.

From a PR perspective, its not a bad move. It gives the school a politically neutral policy to point at.

But if the draft holds, student groups will have some serious hoops to jump through. Groups will be asked to request space eight weeks or more prior to major events and submit publicity materials to an adviser for review at least five weeks before the event. If university police think an event requires substantial security, the student organization hosting it will have to meet with the UC police at least six weeks ahead of the event.

Of course, the draft doesnt say so, but the implication is clear: The school doesnt want Berkeley College Republicans, or any other group for that matter, springing an event on administrators at the last minute and spinning any issues into a broader controversy.

The policy is set to take effect in January after a period of public comment, which is sure to be contentious.

Read more:
After Ann Coulter controversy, UC Berkeley rolls out new policy for inviting speakers - The Mercury News

Ann Coulter has suggested she was targeted and forced to move seats on a Delta Airlines flight for political reasons.

The right-wing commentator sent a series of tweets to the airlines on Monday after being moved from an aisle seat with extra legroom to a window seat, claiming she was not offered an explanation for what happened.

And on Tuesday, the conservative shared a text conversation she claims to have had with a Delta employee, in which it appears Coulter is told someone noticed her and just wanted to be a jerk and make her life miserable.

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BEWARE OF @DELTA REPUBLICANS. Texts from a flight attendant: It was political. @Delta still won't give a reason, she wrote, sharing the messages she said she screen-grabbed.

In a flurry of tweets following the July 16 incident in which Coulter was moved, she claimed the airlines Twitter feed was run by social justice warriors and suggested the cabin crew acted like prison guards, also griping about being offered a $30 refund for her ticket.

$30! It cost me $10,000 of my time to pre-select the seat I wanted, investigate type of plane & go back periodically to review seat options, she wrote on social media.

But Coulters suggestion that Republicans in particular should be wary of using the airline is somewhat surprising, given Delta CEO Edward Bastian has previously donated money to the GOP.

According to Campaign Money, in 2016, Bastian donated money to the Republican Party of Georgia, the Delta Political Action Committee and several GOP candidates campaigns, although he also supported several Democrat candidates.

In addition, the company PACs donations were split 60/40 in favor of the GOP during the 2016 election cycle and 66/34 in favor of the GOP during 2012, according to data from Open Secrets.

Coulters argument with Delta appears to have split opinion, with some on social media backing the commentator and stating no one should be moved out of their assigned seat, while others questioned the validity of a screen shot as proof she had been targeted by the airline.

Delta Airlines and Ann Coulter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More:
Ann Coulter Accuses Delta Of Moving Her Seat 'For Political Reasons' Despite CEO Previously Donating Money To GOP - Newsweek

"Captain America" star somehow doesn't believe that conservative commentator spent $10,000 picking out the plane seat she was removed from

Tim Kenneally, provided by

Chris Evans Trolls Ann Coulter Over Delta Flight Claim

Ann Coulters claim about her experience with Delta just isnt flying with Chris Evans.

Captain America star Evans took time out of his Monday to razz conservative commentator Coulter, after she claimed she had spent $10,000 worth of her time choosing the seat she was eventually moved from.

It cost me $10,000 of my time to pre-select the seat I wanted, investigate type of plane & go back periodically to review seat options, Coulter wrote on Sunday.

Also Read: That Time Ann Coulter Called for Deportation of United Passenger Dragged From His Assigned Seat

It took Evans a little while to hit Coulter with a zinger, but when he did, it was well-landed.

I totally get it. It costs me 75k to brush my teeth, Evans shot back. I must pre-select a brush, investigate types of paste, and periodically spit bulls.

Coulter went ballistic on social media over the weekend after she was moved from the aisle seat on a flight from New York to Palm Beach, Florida, to a window seat in the same exit row.

Also Read: Delta Fires Back at Ann Coulter for 'Unacceptable' Insults to Passengers, Crew

The commentator and best-selling author had tweeted a photo of the passenger who was seated in her pre-booked seat for an unexplained emergency and ripped the passenger in another tweet as the dachshund-legged woman.

Hey @Delta, Coulter also tweeted on Saturday. You mind telling me why it was an emergency to move someone else into the seat I had carefully chosen in advance and booked?

So glad I took time investigate the aircraft & PRE-BOOK a specific seat on @Delta, so some woman could waltz at the last min & take my seat, she added.

Also Read: Ann Coulter Tweets Photo of Delta Passenger Who Got Seat She Wanted, Reactions Fly

Coulters Twitter tirade prompted Delta to take the commentator to task on Sunday, saying that her insults about our other customers and employees are unacceptable and unnecessary.

$30! It cost me $10,000 of my time to pre-select the seat I wanted, investigate type of plane & go back periodically to review seat options https://t.co/eaj1QOpvHq

Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 17, 2017

I totally get it. It costs me 75k to brush my teeth. I must pre-select a brush, investigate types of paste, and periodically spit bullshit

Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) July 17, 2017

Read original story Chris Evans Trolls Ann Coulter Over Delta Flight Claim At TheWrap

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Chris Evans Trolls Ann Coulter Over Delta Flight Claim - SFGate

Political commentator and author Ann Coulter attends The Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe at Sony Studios on August 27, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

*After Ann Coulter fired off three dozen angry tweets over the weekend trashingDelta Airlines for giving another passenger a preferred extra-room seat she had booked in advance, The Daily Shows Trevor Noah called her the Airplane Rosa Parks in a segment dragging the right winger all the way back to Jimmie J.J. Walker.

Below, a small sampling of Coulters tweets:

Wow, people, this is the civil rights struggle of our generation, Noah said on The Daily Show after the tweets went viral.

How long will white women be asked to move to the back of the well, not the back, but just like slightly over two seats? Ann Coulter is basically Airplane Rosa Parks, the host added.

Noah then threw to correspondent Roy Wood Jr., reporting from the United Nations headquarters in New York City. He appeared to side with Coulter in a semi-mocking manner.

Ann picked her seat in advance, it was an agreement binding by the Geneva Conventions and all that is holy, Wood said.

Look, me and Ann are as different as night and day, or black and white, as one might say. But in this situation, I stand with my fellow frequent flier, I stand with Ann! All legroom matters, Trevor!

Watch below:

Delta responded to Coulters tweets on Sunday night and said it would refund her the $30 fee for the extra-room seat. The airline did not offer an explanation about why the seat needed to be forfeited, however.

The airline added in a subsequent tweet that Coulters insults about our other customers and employees are unacceptable and unnecessary.

She fired back:

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Trevor Noah Mocks Ann Coulter's Delta Seat Freakout: 'The Civil Rights Struggle of Our Generation' - Eurweb.com

Delta is putting a cap on its feud with Ann Coulter, offering her $30. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@fantasticmrnate) explains. Buzz60

Delta Air Lines is set to post strong profit growth for the rest of 2017.(Photo: Delta Air Lines)

Corrections & clarifications: Aprevious version of this story misstated Tanya Meck's title.

Airlinesare often targets of angry tweets from passengers, but likemost major brands they typically tread carefully with their responses to complaints on social media.

By shutting down a polarizing figurelike conservative commentator Ann Coulter, Delta Air Lines'response became a political statement,whether that was the intention or not. The airlinepushed back at Coulter after she berated it Saturday on Twitter over getting her seatchanged.

Coulter began tweeting about the episode Saturday in which she said the airline gave away an extra room seat she reserved before a flight from New York to Florida departed. Coulter had booked an aisle seat, but got a window seat.

"Any back and forth with a customer, particularly a political commentatorlike this, is going to be viewed through a political lens." said Tanya Meck, partner and managing director ofGlobal Strategies Group, which specializes in strategic communications.

The company's original tweet has been liked and shared more than 150,000 times, but people are responding in defense of both Coulter and the airline.

Delta offeredCoulter a refund, but also hit back at her criticisms onTwitter saying, Your insults about our other customers and employees are unacceptable and unnecessary.

The airline later put out a statement explaining the confusion that lead to Coulter being moved from her reserved seat, and restating their disappointment with Coulter's comments:

"We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for. More importantly, we are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media. Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable.

Just two days earlier, rapper ScHoolboy Q accused United Airlines of putting his dog on the wrong flight, and United's response was much more conventional:

When customers tweet their complaints at most companies, chances are they will get an apology and a request for more information unless of course theyre tweeting at Wendys, in which case theyll get roasted.

Chains like Wendy's and Denny's have mastered building relationships and responding to customers, even complaints, in a lighthearted way.Smirnoff and Reebok have bothtaken the opportunity to poke fun at the Trump administration, much to the delight of social media.

Delta's clapback, however, was met with a mixed response.

"Our response is not that much different than a few days before on another attack," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said in an email, referencing Delta's response to comments made by Qatar CEOAkbar Al Baker's.

Such a strong condemnationcould be viewed as "attacking her and her views simultaneously,"according to Daniel Korschun, an associate professor of marketing at Drexel University in Philadelphia. These views are likely shared by many of their customers.

"Ithink they may have overreacted," he said. "Generally it is in the company's best interest to treat all customers the same."

Korschun said he believes companies can and should be transparent about their political leanings, and that doing so can be great marketing technique. His researchshows that customersexpect companies that prioritize their core values to take a stand on important issues.

The jury is still out on what Delta's response will mean for its image. Meck says that while unpopular stances may incite social media backlash, it doesn't often affect a company's bottom line.

"Americans expect companies to take a stance or respond to an issue or current event, even if the issue is perceived as political as long as the company explains it motivation," Meck said. "In these respects, Delta passed with flying colors."

Contributing: Associated Press

Read more:

'Snakes on a Plane' sequel? Ann Coulter's Delta drama inspires Twitter jokes

Delta passenger charged with assaulting flight attendant

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Delta's response to Ann Coulter doesn't fit its brand - USA TODAY