Professor Against Free Speech He Disagrees With
Robert Shibley of campus free speech defender FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights In Education) writes at The Daily Caller about a professor who has a problem with free speech when it's not quite the speech he'd like:
Students at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Texas found this out the hard way yesterday when they erected a "free speech wall" -- a recently popular way for students to highlight the importance of free speech in which students put up a freestanding wall covered in paper, upon which anyone can write anything they want. Students jumped on the chance to participate. To cite a few examples: "Don't hate against Gays ...," "If you make less than $200,000 Republicans don't care about you," "Life's not a bitch, Life is a beautiful woman ...," "Han Solo Shot First," "My boyfriend is a liar!," "Legalize Weed!!!," and "NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF!!!"But just hours in, the free speech wall was vandalized by a professor -- yes, a professor! -- who was offended that someone had written "FUCK OBAMA" on the free speech wall. Students being students, the "F-word" was written on the wall many times about many different topics, but apparently the only expletive that offended this professor enough to take action was the one referring to President Obama.
The professor, whom students identified as Joe Kirk, demanded that the student groups sponsoring the wall -- including Republicans, Democrats, libertarians and socialists -- cover up only the Obama statement. They refused. He then told them that he would come back with a box cutter and cut it out of the wall himself, which he then did. You can see the before and after pictures at thefire.org.
Shocked that a professor would do this, the student organizers got in touch with the campus police. When the police arrived, they interviewed the students and the vandalizing professor. Then came the surprise: The police told the students that since Prof. Kirk was offended by some profanity on the wall, the students were engaging in "disorderly conduct," a misdemeanor, and had to cover up all the swear words on the wall or take it down. Realizing that this would make a mockery out of the purpose of a free speech wall, the students simply disassembled the wall. Thus ended SHSU's several hour-long experiment with free speech.
...Prof. Kirk does not appear to have been offended by the F-word itself, however -- only at its use in an insult against the president. That's the only one he cut out, after all. But the right of Americans to insult their leaders is just as protected as the right to use four-letter words. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), the Supreme Court made clear that the First Amendment requires that "[d]ebate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and ... may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials." And in Rankin v. McPherson (1987), the Court found that the First Amendment protected a deputy county constable's expressed hope that if another attempt were to be made on President Reagan's life, that it be successful. If that extreme statement constitutes protected speech, there is no question the words "FUCK OBAMA" are as well.
What kind of Mr. Precious thinks he has a right to not be offended -- and on a college campus, to boot?
Leftists (liberals, progressives, socialists, fascists, Marxists) have always had a different way of looking at civil liberties than Americans do. In 1917, shortly after the Communists violently took control of Russia, Marxist theorist Nikolai Bukharin said:
"We asked for freedom of the press, thought, and civil liberties in the past because we were in the opposition and needed these liberties to conquer. Now that we have conquered, there is no longer any need for such civil liberties."
Ken R. at October 24, 2011 1:31 AM
Well now, if offence is all that is required to charge another with disorderly conduct, how long until someone claims offence at anything written by this professor? And how long until a lawsuit is filed against the campus cops for refusing to apply such a bullshit edict evenly
lujlp at October 24, 2011 1:33 AM
"Well now, if offence is all that is required to charge another with disorderly conduct, how long until someone claims offence at anything written by this professor?"
Lujlp, the part you're missing is that it's not simply offense. It's also important who is offended.
Old RPM Daddy at October 24, 2011 4:58 AM
Private Universities can, and do, get away with this. Public Universities cannot. FIRE will win the lawsuit. Unfortunately, this will have no impact whatsoever on Professor Kirk.
I think part of the settlement should include a public apology by the professor.
MarkD at October 24, 2011 5:33 AM
Academics are typically some of the most peevish and illiberal people that you're going to meet.
henry at October 24, 2011 6:45 AM
notice how instead of writing his own opinion about the Big O... he instead insisted on taking away someone else's voice? It isn't about having your own opinion but the "correct" opinion.
OI, just Oi.
SwissArmyD at October 24, 2011 9:12 AM
Actually, most private universities cannot, and don't, get away with such things either. This is because most private universities promise free speech and must uphold their promises.
I don't know if SHSU will ever reveal the fate of Prof. Kirk. But coerced apologies are also problematic from a free speech perspective.
AA, thanks for posting about SHSU! This is a case about which the campus libertarian, Democrat, Republican, and democratic socialist clubs all agree!
Adam at October 24, 2011 9:27 AM
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=111643
Check out his rating from students. Tenure should be abolished.
Brit at October 24, 2011 9:55 AM
Hey Ken R.,
This leftist, liberal, progressive, and situational socialist (mostly when I drive on publicly funded roads) think Prof Kirk was in the wrong and needs a remedial education on the First Amendment.
So please, do the interwebs a favor- take your agenda and shove it up your tiny fascist sphincter.
Marta at October 24, 2011 9:58 AM
Leftist: "I believe in free speech!*"
*"As long as I agree with what is being said."
a_random_guy at October 24, 2011 9:59 AM
LOL. Um no, read above.
Marta at October 24, 2011 10:09 AM
Forget the apology, I was re-watching Life of Brian, and am reminded of the scene where the centurion had Brian write "Romas go home" 100 times all over the wall.
Have the Prof do that.
Personally, I considering it's college students, I'd hope for some choice bumper stickers to adorn the profs car.
Joe J at October 24, 2011 10:31 AM
Brit,
Good link. The poor reviews go all the way back to January of 2003.
How bad does someone have to be before tenure doesn't apply?
Goo at October 24, 2011 10:33 AM
Goddamn those Leninists from 1920. And, of course, goddamn their fellow travelers, their bedmates, those weak sister liberals from 2011. Yup, that's the problem, those liberals. They're not Americans.
Andre Friedmann at October 24, 2011 11:36 AM
I wish that they hadn't taken it down. Why not leave it up, as a mockary of free speech, since that is obviously the position of the university? People should know exactly how the university feels about "free" speech.
Lyssa at October 24, 2011 12:03 PM
The problem isn't tenure - which exists, among other reasons, precisely to protect free speech. The problem arises when someone is hired as a professor, despite the fact that they cannot teach. Too many universities have forgotten that their core mission is to teach.
The other problem, in this case, arises when progressives take control of an institution. Too often, progressives have the attitude that free speech is great, but only as long as they like what you have to say.
a_random_guy at October 24, 2011 12:35 PM
> This leftist, liberal, progressive, and
> situational socialist
That's a thick set of loyalty credentials for someone who's about to claim to be a freethinker. Obama, he of the famous dislike of resistance and childish resentment of critique, is your tribe's proudest siren. Why wouldn't you be expected to align with this educator?
> take your agenda and shove
Again, Marta, the virtue by which you presume authority to mock others as "fascist" has, as its foundation, exactly what? (Here: _____________)
Nat Hentoff says expression is nowadays under greater threat from left than right... He can be trusted. He has a body of work, y'know?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at October 24, 2011 12:50 PM
Meanwhile....
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at October 24, 2011 1:03 PM
SwissArmyD, nicely said.
cornerdemon at October 24, 2011 1:18 PM
Do campus police have any authority to charge students with misdemeanors?
Cat at October 24, 2011 1:42 PM
A favorite passage: "academics are not tuned to political reality either. They tend to be unworldly".
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at October 24, 2011 1:57 PM
Question:
Do you think that you are done, merely because you have said something, however publicly?
I ask because speaking is not a solution by itself, and far too many appear to be satisfied when they think they are heard.
Radwaste at October 24, 2011 3:13 PM
"I wish that they hadn't taken it down. Why not leave it up, as a mockary of free speech, since that is obviously the position of the university? "
Lyssa, I was thinking along the same lines... I would have been tempted to get a bunch of stickers made with the words "CENSORED BY SHSU" printed on them in big red letters, and stuck them in random places all over the wall.
Cousin Dave at October 24, 2011 5:53 PM
> The problem isn't tenure - which exists, among
> other reasons, precisely to protect free speech.
A 19th century solution for a 19th century society. We don't need blacksmiths any more, either.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at October 24, 2011 6:28 PM
There is a big "It depends," as the answer. Some campus police departments are nothing more than security (armed or unarmed) that have nothing more than campus policies to back them. Others are actual law enforcement that is deputized on campus grounds and have the right of "hot pursuit". A very few are full up and include detectives, etc. Those are very rare.
Jim P. at October 24, 2011 6:51 PM
Google link above burned out. Sorry. Two short, glorious Posnerian 'graphs are found here.
G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at October 24, 2011 10:53 PM
Some speech is freer than other?
Patrick at October 24, 2011 11:49 PM
SHSU is my alma mater, and what I always loved about it was the diversity - of skin pigment, culture, thought, religion, and otherwise. During my history MA I had on my committee a liberal femnist gender/sexuality professor as well as two conservative military historians. It was a great experience, and I think this wall was a fabulous idea.
I also think Professor Kirk belongs somewhere else if he can't handle thoughts that are not identical to his own.
Jessica F. at October 25, 2011 8:59 AM
"Freedom has ceased to be a birthright; it has come to mean whatever we are still permitted to do." Joseph Sobran.
Ken R at October 25, 2011 9:24 PM
What do I recommend? Why not send Mr Kirk some emails with the message FUCK OBAMA! Just because we can...Yes, a little childish to load this guy's email but we have free speech in this country. What are the campus cops going to threaten us with?
To Mr Kirk..just because we can!
Here is the douchebag's email address
mth_jek@shsu.edu
Dragonslayer666 at October 26, 2011 7:42 PM
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