We previously discussed the disgraceful attack on former swimmer Riley Gaines who was reportedly assaulted when she tried to speak about her views on transgender issues at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Gaines had to be removed to a locked room for hours by police for her own protection. It is now clear why students believed that they had license to engage in such disruptions. SFSU has issued a statement that was conspicuous in its failure to condemn the mob or promise accountability for these actions.
The event was only the latest example of protesters “deplatforming” speakers with opposing views by shouting them down. The mob, however, was so unruly that police had to rush Gaines to safety.
One would think that this would be an easy call for any institution of higher education. Denying free expression and threatening those with opposing views is the very antithesis of core principles.
Instead, SFSU issued a statement that seemed to express sympathy for the protesters and those who were exposed to her views.
After beginning by expressing concern for the transgender community, the statement of Jamillah Moore, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, repeatedly commends students for their protest and says “Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space.” At no point does SFSU express concern for Gaines or the students who arranged for the event. At no point does SFSU promise to hold students responsible for shouting down the speaker or endangering her.
Gaines has objected to the notion that the protest was peaceful.
At best, the statement shows a lack of courage to stand firm in the face of this mob. At worst, it is complicit in the incident by enabling such conduct.
It is reminiscent of events at schools like Northwestern. A Sociology 201 class by Professor Beth Redbird was supposed to examine “inequality in American society with an emphasis on race, class and gender.” To that end, Redbird invited both an undocumented person and a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is the type of balance that is now considered verboten on campuses.
Members of MEChA de Northwestern, Black Lives Matter NU, the Immigrant Justice Project, the Asian Pacific American Coalition, NU Queer Trans Intersex People of Color and Rainbow Alliance organized to stop other students from hearing from the ICE representative. However, they could not have succeeded without the help of Northwestern administrators (including Dean of Students Todd Adams). The protesters were screaming “F**k ICE” outside of the hall. Adams and the other administrators then said that the protesters screaming profanities would be allowed into the class if they promised not to be disruptive.
Of course, that did not happen. As soon as the protesters were allowed into the classroom, they prevented the ICE representative from speaking. The ICE representatives eventually left and Redbird canceled the class to discuss the issue with the protesters that just prevented her students from hearing an opposing view.
SESP sophomore April Navarro publicly rejected that faculty should be allowed to invite such speakers to their classrooms for a “good, nice conversation with ICE.” She insisted such speakers needed to be silenced because they “terrorize communities” and profit from detainee labor:
“We’re not interested in having those types of conversations that would be like, ‘Oh, let’s listen to their side of it’ because that’s making them passive rule-followers rather than active proponents of violence. We’re not engaging in those kinds of things; it legitimizes ICE’s violence, it makes Northwestern complicit in this. There’s an unequal power balance that happens when you deal with state apparatuses.”
No students were ever punished. Similarly, in the outrageous shouting down of an appellate judge at Stanford Law School, the Dean voiced support for free speech but refused to sanction any of the students responsible for the disruption.
The message from these universities is clear: students will not be held accountable for the denial of free speech. That knowledge fuels the sense of license to bar opposing views.
The actions of the students will likely find equal support from many in the California legislature. However, it is the position of the university that will cause the most lasting damage.
Here is the statement:
Dear SF State community, Today, San Francisco State finds itself again at the center of a national discussion regarding freedom of speech and expression. Let me begin by saying clearly: the trans community is welcome and belongs at San Francisco State University. Further, our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own. SF State is regularly noted as one of the most diverse campuses in the United States—this is what makes us Gators, and this is what makes us great. Diversity promotes critical discussions, new understandings and enriches the academic experience. But we may also find ourselves exposed to divergent views and even views we find personally abhorrent. These encounters have sometimes led to discord, anger, confrontation and fear. We must meet this moment and unite with a shared value of learning.
Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space. I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions. I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. These issues do not go away, and these values are very much at our core.
This feels difficult because it is difficult. As you reflect, process, and begin to heal, please remember that there are people, resources and services available and ready to receive our Gator community, including faculty, staff members, coaches and mentors who are here to support you.
Campus resources are also available:
- Equity and Community Inclusion
- Counseling and Psychological Services
- Dean of Students Office
The well-being of the SF State campus community remains our priority.
Sincerely,
Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Riley Gaines is the brave one, not the deranged, brainwashed mob. The polls are more and more correct: College is not worth the expense and employers will need to be very, very selective in hiring if they value productive people.
Hold that thought..
To all the democrats that think we don’t hear you. We do. The problem is what you are saying is stupid.
“We”?
I am a Trump supporter, but I am not part of anyone’s “we”.
Jamillah Moore’s words: ‘..our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own..” appear to represent a dual reality… i.e., these words apply if I agree with you.. if not, you deserve to be brutally attacked, censored and run out of Dodge.. Riley Gaines was speaking in a non-aggressive tone, with courage, conviction and from the heart re: her view about what is happening to her/women’s sports when she was viciously silenced.. . another sad testimony of to-day’s woke disrespect & intolerance….
I guess the school believes women can shut up and get into the back of the bus. Let’s see if the women ALLOW themselves to be treated like that. They must ask themselves if submitting to this treatment IS good enough for them or not. I suggest they not submit to abuse like “good girls”.
Ah yes… ‘Instructors’ praising their new Khmer Rouge, out of fear.
Ah yes… ‘Instructors’ praising their new Khmer Rouge, out of fear.
Interesting response. Does anyone see any correlation between what was said in January 6th by Trump which prompted a silly Insurrection moniker?
What else could we expect from a city that thinks it’s a state?
Every Democrat is an enemy of the American people.
they oppose the constitution, just like the enemies of the revolution, the confederates who were ALL Democrats, and democrats in 2023.
Confederates didn’t oppose the constitution, you misinformed, ignorant Lincoln-lover. Of course, that’s the Lincoln who did NOT invade the South to free any slave. He was only determined to keep the South’s tax revenue flowing into the filthy coffers of the Yankee Empire. And yes, Lincoln richly deserved that bullet to the head delivered by John Wilkes Booth. And the 2023 ‘Confederate’ writing this is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. By the way, we will be seceding again soon, and this time, it will be successful.
When someone is cutting off debate it is an admission that the case they want to make can’t stand up to debate nor questions. Worse when academic institutions will not defend the open debate of issues. The death of learning is what follows.
And Queers and Trannys wonder why normal people hate them.
San Francisco — Calcutta, American style. Too far gone even for diagnosis. Stay the hell away. Never thought I’d say that about one of my favorite cities. Such a shame.
The VP should be fired, and as a government employee, charged as an accessory to assault and making threats. The President of the school should be fired (unless they fire the VP without prompting). The school should be sued. Until we make it utterly clear this type of behavior by students AND the Admin is unacceptable, it will keep happening. It is unamerican and completely undermines our ideals and values.
With a fully equipped TWO TIER JUSTICE SYSTEM even columns like these matter very little. For example, the classified docs, Impeachments, etc. Doesn’t really matter what the pseudo justifications are anymore. Loved to know also why DOJ officials always need to be on tv.
Let Congress pull all funding from universities until there is a curriculum review, financial review and employment review undertaken. These institutions take money from Congress. Their billion endowments are tax free entities which means we pay. The liberals want universities to push their viewpoint. Conservatives have the right to cut off funding until there is oversight
“SFSU has issued a statement that was conspicuous in its failure to condemn the mob or promise accountability for these actions.” (JT)
After becoming head of the University of Freiburg, the famous German philosopher Heidegger told students: “The Führer is your one and only present and future German reality and law.”
Replace “Fuhrer” with “mob,” and you have the philosophy of the university administrators who aid and abet violence.
“One would think that this would be an easy call for any institution of higher education.” (JT)
If SFSU were an institution of “higher education,” you would be correct. It is, though, an institution of lower propaganda. And propagandists love shock troops.
They are Soulless Lucifarian MudFlaps without a Conscience
“Divergent and abhorrent”.
That said it all.
The beatings will continue till the lib mob has mopped up all it’s enemies to the death camps.
I would recommend avoiding San Francisco like the plague. The population there has lost its mind while the city has descended into madness.
Cancer doesn’t respect borders. You destroy it wherever you find it, or it destroys you. “If events far off don’t concern you, you’ll soon mourn them close at hand.”
How bizarre! The University administration does these students no favor by protecting them from hearing the views of a speaker who dares to present another side of the story. They have done harm to the Institution’s reputation by not condemning violence and incivility. The world is very harsh and unforgiving and outside the university campus and by the fake world that exists because of the recent push by radical activists to radically change our society. Their make-believe world will eventually crumble, like most fads and movements and there will be many people who will wake up from their stupor too late, after the damage has been done and will realize that they they have been duped.
The children’s book “The Emperor’s New Clothes” speaks directly to what is happening.
Why do we keep using the left’s self-serving names for things? Science tells us that no one can actually change their sex; it is physically impossible. Therefore, there simply are no human beings who are “trans.” If there are no “trans”, there are no “trans rights”. The left likes to use made up words and phrases that prejudice the debate in their favor. It is long past time to put an end to this foolishness. In fact, we are dealing with mentally ill people who want to masquerade as a member of the opposite sex. They need professional help, not encouragement from ignorant members of academia. We cannot think clearly if we do not call things by their right names. Let’s start now, before it is too late.
You’re right of course–but there is a term that fits these confused people. It’s the term that was used for a long time: transvestite.
They are people of one sex wearing the clothing of people of another sex. Whether or not they maim their genitals, or take drugs or hormones is irrelevant. They are unstable, mentally-ill cross-dressers–transvestites.
That’s the perfect term.
Mr. Turley, seeing how these “cancellation” events are becoming more common, more tolerated by misguided academicians, more boisterous than common dissent requires and, particularly in this case, more dangerous and potentially criminal, isn’t it time that these events, which are seemingly becoming quicker to escalate into true mob activity, be squelched much earlier in their tempest eruptions.
At what point does the need for security personnel, campus police and/or local law enforcement exercise the power of law to tamp down or outright extinguish these simmering situations ?
Aren’t the restrictions placed on the 1st Ammendment’s “right to peacefully assemble” enough to dissuade these events ?
Perhaps you can address the constitutionality of these disruptions which are quite obviously no longer peaceful, are devoid of the requisite permits to assemble and the threshold which must be crossed before law enforcement can detain, arrest or charge these mobs with enciting violence ?
Will someone have to be assaulted, injured or, God forbid, killed before these “protests” are deemed unlawful and dangerous ?
Can or should law enforcement step in and diffuse these whispers of flames before they erupt into forest-fire like conflagrations ?
Cordially, a concerned and sane citizen.
Whenever someone demands anything above and beyond our inalienable human-rights, what they really want is to trample the human-rights of others.