A Cal State Fresno professor sent a tweet, calling the late Barbara Bush “an amazing racist,” that ignited a furor and calls for her firing. Professor Randa Jarrar who teaches creative writing said she was tenured and protected by the First Amendment. Her tweet concerned a political issue, was made as a private citizen since she was on leave and had no disruptive effect on her workplace. Some legal experts believe her free speech rights should prevail in this instance. (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 18, 2018, by Katherine Mangan)
The professor’s tweet was one of a number of free speech controversies recently in Fresno. Another Cal State professor said on Twitter that Trump should hang to protect our democracy. He no longer teaches at the school. Another professor scrubbed out students’ anti-abortion messages. A Clovis Unified substitute lost his job for wearing a Black Live Matter pin to school. Students at Buchanan High School protested a long-standing dress code that banned boys from wearing earrings and long hair. (Fresno Bee, April 18, 2018, by MacKenzie Mays)