Seeking Truth and Jutice

For John, BLUF:  The below describes an revered institution of higher eduction that is not reflective.  Otherwise, they would be appalled by their conduct in this situation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Ilya Shapiro resigns from Georgetown following reinstatement after 122-day investigation of tweets

From The Fire, by Ms Sabrina Conza, 6 June 2022.

Here is the lede plus two:

After a more than four-month investigation that led to his reinstatement last week,  Ilya Shapiro resigned today from Georgetown University Law Center.

On June 2, Shapiro was reinstated as senior lecturer and executive director for the Georgetown Center for the Constitution after a 122-day investigation — which began before Shapiro started his first day on the job.  Georgetown investigated Shapiro after he tweeted that Sri Srinivasan, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, would be President Biden’s “best pick” for the Supreme Court.  He continued:  “But alas [Srinivasan] doesn’t fit into latest intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman.”  Shapiro’s “lesser black woman” phrasing gained considerable attention on Twitter and within the Georgetown community, and led Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor to denounce the tweet as “appalling” and “at odds with everything we stand for at Georgetown Law.”

Although Georgetown was correct to reinstate Shapiro, its initiation of an investigation transgressed its purported commitment to “the untrammeled expression of ideas and information.”  Investigations of protected speech produce a chilling effect.  Moreover, Georgetown, in its stated justification for reinstating Shapiro, made little effort to defend these principles, making clear that it is not interested in protecting the expressive rights of faculty and students with dissenting viewpoints.  For this reason and more, Shapiro’s decision to resign from Georgetown is readily understandable — indeed, his resignation letter is mandatory reading for anyone interested in FIRE’s issues.

In her article, including two of the three quoted paragraphs, Ms Conza provides a number of links.  Plus, she publishes Mr Shapiro's letter of resignation.

If my friend Jim Shannon, from Church, were still with us I would tell him how sorry I felt for him, what with his graduation from and affection for Georgetown University.  This is an embzrrassment for Georgetown University, for Higher Education, for the Catholic Church and for the Jesuits.  As a person who has persued a college degree and a post graduate degree, but never associated with Georgetown, I am embarrassed.  As an American I am embarrassed.

As for Mr Shapiro's tweet, it might hurt the feelings of some, but seems a fair assessment of the situation at the time.  Back in the old dsys we would say "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."  Can't we all grow up a little and learn to accept comments and criticism?

The more importnt lesson to be lerned is tht the western tradition of free inquiry, which moves forward science and the humanities, is in jeopardy.  That will be a loss for all of us.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff