The summary dismissal of Professor Steven Salaita from a tenured faculty position at the
University of Illinois is the single most brazen attack on freedom of speech in American
universities in my lifetime. It is, unfortunately, not the only such instance, but it demands all
our attention because of the shocking and unapologetic contempt displayed by the University
of Illinois for fundamental constitutional values. The First Amendment of the US Constitution
protects the freedom of speech, and that means, in particular, as the courts have said again and
again and again, it prohibits the government, including a state university, from punishing
individuals for expressing their views on matters of public concern. Prof. Salaita has that right,
as does every citizen of the United States. That First Amendment right does not come with a
caveat to the effect that only “civil” or “respectful” expression is actually protected. The
Supreme Court of the United States could not have been clearer on this point than in its famous
1971 case, Cohen v. California, holding unconstitutional the conviction of Mr. Cohen for
wearing a jacket in a public courthouse emblaonzed with the words, “Fuck the draft.” As
Justice Harlan, a conservative member of the Court from an earlier era, astutely observed in
that case:
[M]uch linguistic expression serves a dual communicative function: it conveys
not only ideas capable of relatively precise, detached explication, but otherwise
inexpressible emotions as well. In fact, words are often chosen as much for their
emotive as their cognitive force. We cannot sanction the view that the
Constitution, while solicitous of the cognitive content of individual speech, has
little or no regard for that emotive function which, practically speaking, may
often be the more important element of the overall message sought to be
communicated.
This has been settled constitutional law since 1971, yet the Chancellor and the Board of
Trustees of the University of Illinois have acted as though they have a right to punish speakers
who say, “Fuck the draft,” or “Fuck America,” or “Fuck Israel.” But they have no such right, and
we must now count on the courts to rectify this injustice.
The University of Illinois will try to argue, as we have seen, that the expression of moral
outrage on Twitter at the carnage in Gaza this summer and at those who would rationalize it,
somehow raises questions about Prof. Salaita’s fitness to perform his duties in the classroom.
We may hope the courts will treat this argument with the derision it deserves. Perhaps the
University of Illinois really wants to go on record as being the first university in the United
States to admit that it evaluates teaching competence based on 140 character Tweets, but if
they do, they will only further damage their already sullied reputation. Prof. Salaita went
through all the normal procedures for a faculty hire, including evaluation of his actual teaching
record, his scholarship, and his service, and received a tenured appointment to the University
of Illinois. The University treated him as a tenured faculty member in every way, from helping
him find housing, to scheduling his fall classes, to inviting him to orientation for new faculty—
until, that is, he exercised his First Amendment rights this summer. What happened to Prof.
Salaita is both illegal and a moral outrage, and it is a threat to the integrity of public discourse
and to the freedom of inquiry and debate essential to university life.
It is my pleasure to introduce to you Professor Steven Salaita.