Even when faculty engage in hateful acts on campus, however, there is a notable difference in how universities respond depending on the viewpoint. At the University of California campus, professors actually rallied around a professor who physically assaulted pro-life advocates and tore down their display.
When these controversies arose, faculty rallied behind the free speech rights of the professors. That support was far more muted or absent when conservative faculty have found themselves at the center of controversies. The recent suspension of Ilya Shapiro is a good example. Other faculty have had to go to court to defend their free speech rights.
Furman University should be clear on its scope of its assertion of authority over such political expression outside of the school. Where does the university draw the line? Many faculty view Trump rallies or even the GOP as inherently racist and even violent. Others condemn leftist associations with Antifa and other groups as supporting violence. Will the university now investigate all such associations?
Free speech and academic freedom demand bright-line rules to avoid the chilling effect of ambiguity. Political associations outside of the school should not depend on the permission of the majority at a university. Whatever the trauma produced by this picture, the lasting damage to the university will be far greater if faculty and students are now subject to the monitoring and the approval of the university for political expression or associations.
(via Instapundit)
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