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Let's talk about academic freedom and the police.
There are all sorts of third rails in academic discourse. The kinds of topics where if a prof says the wrong thing, his or her reputation, job, or even physical safety might be at risk.
The police is one of those third rails.
There are all sorts of third rails in academic discourse. The kinds of topics where if a prof says the wrong thing, his or her reputation, job, or even physical safety might be at risk.
The police is one of those third rails.
Nathan Jun is a prof at Midwestern State. Shortly after George Floyd's death, Jun changed his Facebook cover photo to a black "Abolish the Police" banner.
Ever since, the death threats have been pouring in.
(h/t @EmmaJanePettit & @MeganZahneis) https://www.chronicle.com/article/these-scholars-denounced-the-police-do-their-universities-have-their-backs
Ever since, the death threats have been pouring in.
(h/t @EmmaJanePettit & @MeganZahneis) https://www.chronicle.com/article/these-scholars-denounced-the-police-do-their-universities-have-their-backs
Local far right activists disseminated Jun's personal information (phone #, address, etc), as well as that of his family. His house has been vandalized four times in the last two months. A swastika and racial epithet were spray painted in his garage.
Chillingly, government officials even got in on the act. According to Mark Beauchamp, a local county commissioner, Jun “needs to be put out of his misery asap ... preferably at the barrel of a gun.”
All because of a Facebook cover photo.
All because of a Facebook cover photo.
It's not just Jun. When Jesse Goldberg, an incoming lecturer at Auburn, denounced the police on Twitter last week, a state legislator, a Congressional representative, and thousands of strangers demanded his termination. https://twitter.com/JeffreyASachs/status/1290829301521297409
Many of you know this story and heard about those demands. What you may not have heard about are the rape and death threats.
That's why he agreed to let Auburn reassign him to a research fellowship, by the way. Because of the rape and death threats. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/08/07/lecturer-who-tweeted-about-police-wont-teach
That's why he agreed to let Auburn reassign him to a research fellowship, by the way. Because of the rape and death threats. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/08/07/lecturer-who-tweeted-about-police-wont-teach
By now, a pattern is beginning to emerge: 1) Leftwing prof says something controversial about the police on social media; 2) Rightwing media and law enforcement get wind of it and whip up a mob; 3) Death threats and demands for termination pour in; and most alarmingly...
4) The professor's university does not have his/her back. Goldberg got shivved by Auburn. Midwestern's president tried to censor Jun. And give a round of applause to Kirkwood Community College, which didn't even wait 24 hours before firing Jeff Klinzman. https://twitter.com/JeffreyASachs/status/1165027846953283585
Of course, for sheer absurdity, nothing can beat the saga of Joshua Clover (UC Davis), whose anti-police comments aroused so much controversy last year that an actual bill was tabled in the California legislature demanding he be fired. https://twitter.com/JeffreyASachs/status/1107641743560921088
Which raises a salient point. In each of these cases -- Jun, Goldberg, Klinzman, Clover -- Republican government officials got involved. Makes sense. No conservative politico ever lost votes for attacking some egghead anti-police prof.
Most of the time, all they want is for the professor to be fired. Occasionally, they'll suggest that perhaps he or she be murdered as well. There's a range. Regardless, it's an entirely foreseeable result of the demonization of academia. https://arcdigital.media/campus-free-speech-under-threat-from-the-right-8d4a8506a056
There are others. Jamie Riley (UA) lost his job for criticizing police last year. @JosephWMead (Cleveland State) was denied tenure. And remember Melissa Click? Guess why she was really fired by Mizzou. It wasn't just for yelling at a student reporter.
https://www.aaup.org/report/academic-freedom-and-tenure-university-missouri-columbia
https://www.aaup.org/report/academic-freedom-and-tenure-university-missouri-columbia
The dynamics in these cases are always very interesting. First and foremost, universities feel they need to have good working relationships with law enforcement. If local police make a fuss (as they did with Clover and Click), it puts enormous pressure on admins to act.
Then there's the Culture War angle. Pro-police sentiment is something that unites mainstream conservatives, MAGA folk, and the far right. If you're an aspiring GOP politician, that's energy you want to harness. Mo Brooks is just one especially craven example.
Anyway, read this piece by @EmmaJanePettit and @MeganZahneis. It's excellent. You'll see a side of the campus free speech debate we very rarely hear about, one that is sure to grow more prominent in time. https://www.chronicle.com/article/these-scholars-denounced-the-police-do-their-universities-have-their-backs
And tip o' the hat as always to @adamsteinbaugh of @TheFIREorg for intervening on Goldberg and Jun's behalf. I hope it ends up helping.
