The Basis for Particular person Rights and Expression (FIRE) (Jessie Appleby) wrote about this final week (as did the Educational Freedom Alliance):
The College of Southern California has barred economics professor John Strauss from instructing on campus for the remainder of the semester in response to anti-Hamas remarks he made to pro-Palestinian protesters final week. Strauss will end out the semester instructing programs on Zoom.
On Nov. 9, college students held a protest on the USC campus as a part of a worldwide “Shut it Down for Palestine” motion. Whereas strolling previous a bunch of protesters gathered on the Tommy Trojan statue, Strauss engaged with them over what he perceived to be anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments.
The kerfuffle began when protesters accused Strauss of stepping on a printed checklist of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes. (Strauss says that stepping on it was unintentional.) When Strauss handed the protest once more later, he stated one of many protesters yelled “Shame on you, Professor Strauss. Shame on you.” In response, he yelled “No, shame on you. You people are ignorant. Really ignorant. Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are.”
A viral video circulated on social media during which Strauss might be heard saying, “Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are.” However the clip was shortened in a means that ignored the essential context that Strauss’s full remark made clear he was referring solely to Hamas, not all Palestinians, when he stated “every one should be killed.”
Greater than a dozen college students and school filed complaints with the college about Strauss’s remark. Some protesters stated they felt threatened, whereas one pupil organizer stated the remark was hate speech. He “threatened us as students,” she claimed to USC Annenberg Media, “making us feel unsafe in our academic environment.”
On Nov. 10, USC issued a temporary assertion that it was conscious of the video on social media and was wanting into the scenario. However that very same day Strauss obtained a name from the affiliate dean of the school, who advised him the provost had positioned him on paid administrative go away for the remainder of the semester.
Initially, the affiliate dean advised Strauss he would solely be capable of educate his doctoral-level course remotely whereas on go away, however not his undergraduate course. By Monday, the college backtracked, permitting him to show each programs remotely. On Tuesday, Nov. 14, the college advised the pupil newspaper Strauss was not on administrative go away however can be instructing his programs remotely for the rest of the semester.
The “bedrock principle” underlying freedom of expression is that speech is probably not restricted on the premise that others discover it offensive.
A petition demanding Strauss’s termination for “racist and xenophobic behavior” had greater than 6,200 signatures as of Nov. 17. A competing petition demanding his reinstatement had garnered greater than 8,100 signatures.
On November 20, FIRE wrote USC, calling on the college to permit Strauss to return to his regular in-person instructing duties on campus.
USC could also be a non-public college not sure by the First Modification, however its insurance policies decide to defending college speech, so “[w]hen they speak or write as citizens, [faculty] should be free from institutional censorship or discipline[.]” As we defined within the letter, the “bedrock principle” underlying freedom of expression is that speech is probably not restricted on the premise that others discover it offensive: “As a Nation we have chosen … to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.” Nowhere is upholding this precept extra essential than on a college campus, the place debate, and consequently dissent and battle, are widespread.
The truth that some protesters characterised Strauss’s feedback as “hate speech,” and even threatening to college students, doesn’t deprive them of safety underneath USC’s insurance policies. The requirements for punishing speech as a true menace or harassment are excessive, and Strauss’s remarks to a bunch of protesters fall far quick.
Saturday’s L.A. Occasions (Matt Hamilton) stories on the scenario, and primarily confirms FIRE’s factual account of Strauss’s precise assertion:
The economics professor’s interactions with college students that day ended with the 72-year-old Strauss, who’s Jewish, declaring: “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.”
As his remarks raced throughout the web, his condemnation of Hamas was typically excised, leaving solely his “hope” for “all” to be killed. Captions and feedback on-line framed his demand for “every one” to be killed in myriad, at occasions misleading, methods. One Instagram put up shared to hundreds of thousands of customers claimed falsely that Strauss advised the scholars, “[I] hope you get killed….”
PEN America, a writers’ freedom group, additionally criticized USC’s actions:
Completely barring a professor from campus due to a passing remark like this can be a stunning overreaction. No matter Professor Strauss’s intent, he’s entitled to his views and the proper to share them. It’s little doubt a difficult time for campuses and we acknowledge that phrases might really feel particularly menacing on this setting. However it’s precisely due to rising tensions that universities should resist the urge to put limits on speech or dole out punishments for feedback that don’t rise to the extent of clear threats or incitement. Censuring professors for his or her political beliefs is extremely inappropriate and runs the chance of chilling free expression in larger training, for all. What USC has completed runs counter to the college’s obligation to foster dialogue and debate.