Interesting take from the NY Times, by the way, for the few of you left here willing to think expansively about something like this (so Chickie, Finn and Bob and skip this post):
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/o...mentsContainer
I agree with some of what she's saying here, but she's looking at this from a purely First Amendment perspective, which I think misses the point. For example:
There is, however, no “grotesque” exception to the First Amendment. “Randa Jarrar’s speech is constitutionally protected, and Fresno State cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, discipline her for it,” Ari Cohn of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education told me. “On top of that, the public announcement of an investigation, with clear statements from the university president indicating that he would like to take some kind of serious action against Jarrar, itself can violate the First Amendment.”
I think Mr Cohn incorrect in this case. An organization can take action against employees for acting in a way that brings harm or bad publicity to the organization. If Jarrar simply took to Facebook and made a post, and didn't in that post directly refer to her job and her employer, she might be in far less hot water. The University in this case could make the case that her conduct and speech
caused harm to the University if donations start to drop.
I actually like the point she makes at the end of the piece (though I think its a point that needs to be made out side of Ms Jarrar's conduct:
In comparing left-wing and right-wing transgressions against free speech, there’s a danger of getting into an escalating cycle of whataboutism, in which the silencing of one side becomes an excuse for silencing the other. This is a mistake. Ultimately, if the power of the First Amendment is eroded on college campuses, it’s the people with the least power who have the most to lose.
The uproar around Jarrar shows how easily arguments for speech restrictions can be turned against progressives. Writing to The Fresno Bee, an infuriated alumnus of Fresno State called for her firing: “Hiding behind freedom of speech doesn’t work anymore. Just as professors are fired for making racist or insensitive comments, she should meet the same fate.” To explain why she shouldn’t, people on the left need to rediscover the right to offend.
She's saying that exercising free speech - even if such speech is offensive - is that right that should be protected. I agree.
However, Jarrar was not simply exercising free speech. She also spat venom and made a political statement using the University's podium and cloaked as a professor / employee of the Univerity. I think there's a difference. As the saying goes, "your right's end where my nose begins". The Univeristy's nose has been tweaked pretty hard here, and they have a right not be used in that way.