A “massive influx” in the number of cases of US university staff and students being punished for sharing their views after the killing of Charlie Kirk is being driven by direct interventions from politicians, experts have warned.
Critics have claimed that the Trump administration and Republican state senators are using the?death of the right-wing activist at Utah Valley University?to clamp down on free speech on campuses.
Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar on global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), said her organisation was responding to a “massive influx in cases” of students and academics being punished for comments made about the shooting, perceived by some as distasteful or offensive.
“Academics and students have always gotten in trouble for things they have posted on the internet, but the scope of this is certainly new, and the extent to which it is being led by legislators is also very notable,” she told?探花视频.
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“This is a First Amendment issue. You cannot just expel students because they say something that you consider offensive. If it’s protected speech, students have the right to say it, and similarly, for professors at public universities, you can’t just fire them because they say things you don’t like.”
Clemson University fired three employees for their posts on social media about the shooting – among dozens of staff facing retaliation for their comments, according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). This came after pressure from Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina.
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“[Academics] know that if they say something that a local politician or even the vice-president or the president of the US doesn’t like, they may be a target next,” said McLaughlin.
“I think they’re absolutely feeling the chill of this moment and are operating knowing that their name and face might be all over social media as the next target of a firing campaign.”
Other incidences of university staff finding themselves in trouble occurred at the University of Arkansas, Florida Atlantic University, Ball State University and Cumberland University, among others. Several students in Texas were also expelled after appearing to mock Kirk’s death in viral videos.
The posts involved ranged from one saying the death was a “reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed” to another that said: “karma is beautiful”.
“What we are already seeing are state politicians bringing pressure on university officials at public universities to punish professors or other university employees for what they regard as improper speech,” said Robert George, professor of politics at Princeton University.
“This is itself improper where the speech in question is constitutionally protected, no matter how vile it may be.”
The incident is reminiscent of last summer??on social media after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Despite the protection offered by the First Amendment, Lara Schwartz, a senior professorial lecturer at American University and director of the Project on Civil Discourse, said speech on campus is under threat.
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“Many institutions – from universities to state legislatures and the federal government – have dropped any pretence of honouring the First Amendment and are engaging in a campaign of targeted punishments for dissenters.
“If there was ever a time for principled defence of our foundational American freedom, this is it.”
Kirk’s Turning Point USA?organisation,?which is credited with mobilising thousands of young college voters for the Republican party,?is continuing on without its founder and is set to return to college campuses this week.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel was suspended from his late-night talk show by parent company Disney over what it called “ill-timed and thus insensitive comments” – but reinstated following a large outcry.
David Primo, professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester, said the reaction gives him hope that those on the right who are concerned about ideological homogeneity on college campuses will “realise that silencing speech is not the solution to what ails college campuses”.
“My hope is that a new commitment to free speech and civil discourse comes out of this terrible moment for higher education,” added Primo. “My fear is that both the left and the right will use this tragedy as a wedge to further divide the country.”
While there may be efforts to lean on college administrators, Ken Paulson, the director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, said the constitution should protect the free speech of students – but staff have less leeway around speech proven to be badly disruptive to university operations.
“Public outcry, outrage from officials and thousands of calls and emails would typically be seen as disruptive. Faculty members should have more latitude because of academic freedom, but they’re still vulnerable if their remarks are far afield and the disruption is substantial.”
And George said students and faculty on the left may “gain a new appreciation of the importance of freedom of speech” due to the incidents but some of them will in the process reveal themselves to be hypocrites.
“For years, even decades, conservative and even some centrist faculty members have been afraid to express their opinions publicly for fear of retaliation by their liberal and left-wing colleagues and university administrators. Many who have spoken their minds have experienced precisely that retaliation.”
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