Posted on 10/23/2023 10:09:19 AM PDT by John Semmens
These were the words Columbia Professor Joseph Massad used to describe the Hamas murder of over a thousand Jews in its October 7 raid on a music festival and surrounding neighborhoods. More than 30,000 people signed a petition calling for his removal from the University's teaching staff.
Thus far, Columbia President Nemat Shafik has rebuffed this demand, saying "our professors should have the right to say anything they wish without fear that it could result in any retaliation against them. This is called 'academic freedom.' Without it the whole university system would collapse. Obviously, from time to time what a professor says may offend someone, but this is the price we must pay for freedom of speech."
Dr. Shafik was quick to point out that "of course, freedom of speech is not an absolute right. If Professor Massad had criticized the University's pandemic policies mandating all students get vaccinated for covid or been seen wearing a MAGA cap things would be different. Spreading misinformation contradicting the accepted science proclaimed by the CDC and Dr. Fauci would be grounds for dismissal. Publicly showing support for the domestic terrorists who tried to overthrow our democracy would be a more serious deviation from the mainstream of political opinion than voicing approval of one side of a dispute in the Middle East."
If you missed any of the other Semi-News/Semi-Satire posts you can find them at...
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,515593.0.html
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