Category: Academics

Academics, Free Speech, Politics, Society

“We Are Tired”: Duke Law Students Demand George Mason Professor Be Barred From Virtual Panel
“We are tired.” Those three words sum up a great deal of the anti-free speech movement growing on our campuses. Students and faculty have grown tired of free speech. Opposing views are now treated as threats and intolerable for students. A case in point is the effort by half of the law students at Duke to ban Helen Alvaré, a George Mason University law professor, from appearing on a virtual panel discussion about family law. The letter is both well-written and chilling in its call for censorship on campus. It dismisses any notion of free speech protection in allowing dissenting views to be heard on campus. Indeed, it does not even consider such values worthy of discussion. Instead, the students insist that the mere ability of an academic to speak on a panel is an endorsement of her views and a threat to current and future Duke law students. Continue reading ““We Are Tired”: Duke Law Students Demand George Mason Professor Be Barred From Virtual Panel” →
Academics, Bizarre, Politics, Society

Ridiculox: Schools Are Adopting Gender Neutral Alternative To The Gender Neutral “Alumni”
Most colleges and universities have committed themselves to being more inclusive environments in recent years, including the replacement of certain terms with gender neutral alternatives. This effort however appears now to be changing terms that are already gender neutral. Schools like Loyola University, California Institute of the Arts, Rutgers University, the University of California-San Diego, the University of Michigan, College of the Atlantic, Drew University in New Jersey, Swarthmore College, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts have reportedly dumped the word “alumni” to replace it with “alumnx” – much like the move to drop Latino or Latinx. The problem is that “alumni” is already gender neutral but that does not apparently matter in claiming a new gender reform. Continue reading “Ridiculox: Schools Are Adopting Gender Neutral Alternative To The Gender Neutral “Alumni”” →
Academics, Bizarre, Free Speech, Society, Supreme Court

A Tale of Two Amys And One Sorority: Kappa Delta Profusely Apologizes For Congratulating Judge Amy Coney Barrett

We have discussed the growing intolerance for opposing views of politics or the law on our campuses. The most recent example is small but highly illustrative. The sorority Kappa Delta has issued an abject apology. The reason is that the sorority committed the unforgivable sin of tweeting out a congratulations to Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a member of the sorority at Rhodes College, on her nomination to the Supreme Court. One should not have to agree with Barrett’s judicial philosophy to offer a simple attagirl to a sorority sister for her extraordinary accomplishment. However, other members protested that this simple act of civility was “hurtful” and traumatic to them as fellow members. The most notable however was feminist writer Amy Siskind who previously was attacked on Twitter for her own views opposing Black Lives Matter and supporting such political figures as John McCain and Sarah Palin.  It is a tale of two Amys and one is being shunned for defending her long-held views and one is being celebrated for dispensing with them.

Continue reading “A Tale of Two Amys And One Sorority: Kappa Delta Profusely Apologizes For Congratulating Judge Amy Coney Barrett” →

Academics, Free Speech, Politics

“Why Are These Old White People So Upset!?”: Loyola Marymount Students Impeach Latina Senator Over Her Conservative Views
Loyola Marymount University student Stephanie Martinez is exactly what schools seek in admissions. She is politically and socially active. She has been involved in the school’s governance and community, including serving at the government senator for diversity and inclusion. She is also conservative. That last element proved unacceptable recently when fellow students impeached her after a three-hour proceeding because she expressed her opposition to illegal immigration on social media. While a few students protested, other students mocked the outcry and the coverage on sites like The College Fix.  One student is quoted on social media as saying “it’s a f***ing seat on a random student government senate. Why are these old white people so upset!?” The answer is something that is becoming less and less of a concern on campuses: free speech. Continue reading ““Why Are These Old White People So Upset!?”: Loyola Marymount Students Impeach Latina Senator Over Her Conservative Views” →
Academics, Society

Cornell English Department Declares “English” Title To Be Racially Insensitive
Faculty members at Cornell University’s English Department have reportedly voted to change the department’s name as an anti-racist reform. To avoid the “conflation of English as a language and English as a nationality,” the Department will now be called “The Department of Literatures in English.”
Academics, Constitutional Law, Courts, Supreme Court

Turley Speaks At Brookings On Legislative History and Judicial Interpretation

Today I have the pleasure of speaking at Brookings Institution as part of the Washington University’s speaker’s series.  Ironically, the speech is on the use of legislative history, a subject much discussed yesterday in the confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.  I will therefore step away from blogging for an hour to appear virtually. Continue reading “Turley Speaks At Brookings On Legislative History and Judicial Interpretation” →

Academics, Constitutional Law, Politics

Tinkering With Free Speech: Federal Court Rules Against Louisiana High School After Painting Over Student’s Trump Mural

Many of us in the free speech community have long complained that the 1969 case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District is often dismissed in cases addressing the free speech rights of students. The famous decision declared that students “do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Yet, courts have regularly curtailed free speech rights in deference to school officials maintaining discipline and order in their schools, even in the regulation of speech outside of schools. One rare victory emerged this week in Louisiana where a federal judge ruled that Superintendent Frances Varnado and Washington Parish School District board violated the rights of a high school senior by painting over his mural of President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon relied on Tinker and declared the mural to be protected political speech.

Continue reading “Tinkering With Free Speech: Federal Court Rules Against Louisiana High School After Painting Over Student’s Trump Mural” →

Academics, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Texas Professor Triggers Free Speech Fight After Calling For The Death Of All Police By Strangulation with the “Intestines of the Last Capitalist”

Midwestern State University in Texas Professor Nathan Jun has triggered a free speech fight in Texas after a series of unhinged, hateful statements on social media. Wearing an Antifa teeshirt on social media, Jun has lashed out at police, capitalists, and politicians.  His views are extreme and offensive. They are also, in my view, entirely protected. Much like the banning of Louis Farrakhan discussed yesterday, Jun is the test of our true commitment to free speech. By supporting this right to speak, we support the right of everyone, including the vast majority who view Jun’s comments as deeply unsettling and obnoxious. Continue reading “Texas Professor Triggers Free Speech Fight After Calling For The Death Of All Police By Strangulation with the “Intestines of the Last Capitalist”” →

Academics, Criminal law, Society

“There Is No Evidence”: Professor Publishes Book On Domestic Terrorism While Denying Antifa’s Involvement In Violence

As we have previously discussed, there has been a bizarre denial in the face of Antifa violence throughout the country. It is particularly difficult to understand since one can acknowledge the violence of Antifa groups while recognizing the violence of far right groups. Yet, that does not fit the narrative in this political environment where every allegation seems to be part of a some zero-sum game of blame.  The latest example is Professor of Criminology and Terrorism Studies at UMass-Lowell Arie Perliger, who told The Lowell Sun, that there is absolutely no evidence of organized violence by Antifa.  The assertion is astonishing given the extensive evidence of such violence for years on the campuses and streets of the country. Continue reading ““There Is No Evidence”: Professor Publishes Book On Domestic Terrorism While Denying Antifa’s Involvement In Violence” →

Academics, Bizarre, Torts

Two Temple Students Seriously Injured In Falling From Roof After Trying To Take Selfies

Two Temple University students were hospitalized after falling four stories while they were allegedly trying to take a selfie at a rooftop party.  The students were at a party around  2 a.m. on Saturday when they fell from the rooftop and landed in an alley.  The management company insisted that there is an ample barrier, but the case could raise some challenging questions in a tort action for both sides.

Continue reading “Two Temple Students Seriously Injured In Falling From Roof After Trying To Take Selfies” →

Academics, Bizarre

“I Was Uninformed, Ignorant And Harm Inducing”: Ohio State Professor Issues Profuse Apology For Saying The Nation Could Benefit From A College Football Season

Ohio State University Higher Education and Student Affairs Professor Matthew Mayhew has issued an abject apology after penning a column entitled “Why America Needs College Football.”  Mayhew argued that the return of college football could get the country through “uncharacteristically difficult times of great isolation, division and uncertainty.” That did not sit well with some at the university and Mayhew published Why America Needs College Football – Part 2 to seek forgiveness for the harm that he caused. The column and its confessional follow-up are unnerving for many in academia in the current debate over free speech on campuses. It is entirely appropriate and commendable for an academic to reconsider his views and retract any statements which he now considers racist or insensitive. However, the retraction of such views as inherently harmful raises questions about the range of acceptable speech today. There are clearly good-faith reasons to favor the return of college football as well as good-faith reasons to oppose it. The question is whether expressing the former is now unacceptable at universities for a professor or student. Despite being a sports fan, I am uneasy about the return of college football during the pandemic. I welcomed the publication of the first column as the start of a possible (and needed) debate on the question and the underlying economic, social, racial and academic issues.

Continue reading ““I Was Uninformed, Ignorant And Harm Inducing”: Ohio State Professor Issues Profuse Apology For Saying The Nation Could Benefit From A College Football Season” →

Academics, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Wisconsin Student Newspaper Fires Columnist After Writing Column Opposing The Defunding Of Police

We have been discussing a crackdown on some campuses against conservative columnists and newspapers, including the firing of a conservative student columnist at Syracuse, the public condemnation of a student columnist at Georgetown, and a campaign against one of the oldest conservative student newspapers in the country at Dartmouth. Now, The Badger Herald, a student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin Madison, has dismissed columnist Tripp Grebe after he wrote a column opposing the defunding of police departments. What was equally disturbing was how the rationale for this raw act of viewpoint intolerance tracked the rationale used by the New York Times in a controversy over the column by Sen. Tom Cotton on the George Floyd protests.

Continue reading “Wisconsin Student Newspaper Fires Columnist After Writing Column Opposing The Defunding Of Police” →

Academics, Politics, Supreme Court

Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children
WhiteHouse.gov (Twitter)

It appears that Judge Amy Coney Barrett has gone from a “cult member” for being a devout Catholic to a possible “white colonizer” for adopting two Haitian children.  Where most of us saw a loving interracial family at the White House ceremony on Saturday,  Ibram X. Kendi, the new director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, saw a possible case of effective baby snatching by “White colonizers.” Continue reading “Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children” →

Academics, Bizarre, Media

Academic Appropriation? Biden Appears To Claim Attendance At A Historically Black College

A tape has surfaced of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden bizarrely claiming that he “started” at a historically black college in speaking to supporters in South Carolina during the primary. Biden has never made any mention of going to Delaware State University and it is not clear why the many reporters in attendance at the event did not ask when he attended a HBCU. Indeed, he would be the first president to claim such a distinction. He might also have been inartfully referencing his start as a politician. Alternatively, this would seem like an academic version of cultural appropriation. It would seem a valid point of clarification for the media.

Continue reading “Academic Appropriation? Biden Appears To Claim Attendance At A Historically Black College” →

Academics, Politics, Society

Harvard Survey: Only Seven Percent Of Incoming Students Identify As Conservative

We have been discussing the rising intolerance for conservative, libertarian, and Republican students and faculty on campuses across the country. Faculties rarely hire conservative or libertarian professors; journals rarely publish studies from conservative authors.  As the number of conservative faculty members diminish or disappear on faculties, schools appear to be carrying out the same bias in student admissions. The Harvard Crimson has finished its annual survey of the incoming class of students and found that the already small population of conservative and Republican students has been cut by roughly half.

Continue reading “Harvard Survey: Only Seven Percent Of Incoming Students Identify As Conservative” →