A racial slur was shouted on campus. The school condemned it. The writer argues the university should apply the same standards to faculty who endorse or celebrate violence and targeted harassment.
Louisiana Tech condemned a viral incident in which a white, intoxicated person shouted the N-word on campus and promised disciplinary action.
The author says some faculty have publicly celebrated violence or encouraged vandalism and remain employed under the label of academic freedom.
A social-media exchange exposed local disagreement about whether student racial abuse and faculty calls for violence are treated equally.
A viral video showed a white, intoxicated individual walking around Louisiana Tech University's campus and shouting the N-word. The university issued a statement condemning the language and pledged a full investigation and harsh discipline for the student involved.
The piece is written by an alumnus who welcomes disciplinary action against the student but says the university's response should also include scrutiny of some faculty members. The author names several behaviors by professors that he says have gone unchecked: celebrating when prominent conservatives died, cheering on the man who nearly assaulted Senator Rand Paul, encouraging harassment of conservatives, and urging students to vandalize statues in Claiborne Parish.
The author's main claim is that administrators defend faculty under the rubric of academic freedom, allowing public statements and social-media posts that the author views as calls to violence or harassment. He contrasts that treatment with the "harsh" disciplinary tone toward the student in the video and asks whether the university will apply the same standards to faculty speech.
After posting his concerns on Louisiana Tech's Facebook page, the author received about 100 likes and a mix of responses. He reports being attacked by many commenters who accused him of defending the student or conflating different kinds of speech. The author disputes those accusations and contends that some critics had celebrated Charlie Kirk's death on their own pages. A pointed question that stopped replies To force a direct answer, the author asked: is a professor encouraging vandalism, violence, and death less repugnant or equally repugnant to a student screaming the N-word? He said the question ended the online argument, with no substantive replies.
The incident prompted a clear institutional response when a student used a racial slur publicly. The author asks whether that response will be equally applied to faculty whose public statements, he says, call for violence or harassment. The debate unfolded on social media and ended, according to the author, with critics not answering a direct comparison question.
Charlie Kirk’s death put campus censorship back in the spotlight. In Texas, FIRE found plenty of it—much of it was from the right.
Louisiana Tech University issued a statement condemning a viral video featuring racial slurs and pledged to conduct a full investigation into the incident.
Public universities should skip land acknowledgments and make sure that administrators acknowledge the Constitution.
Yesterday afternoon I got sucked into following the judicial hearing at the 19th Judicial District Court in downtown Baton Rouge where a host of college athletes, most notably former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris and former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quon Wright, both of whom will play for LSU this year if they’
It might make for good politics, but it’s bad law and devalues education for politicians to support efforts, encouraged by Louisiana State University, to allow professional athletes to play their sport at Louisiana institutions of higher learning. As college football has begun, much attention has focused on the efforts
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