Welcome to Wisconsin's Judgment on Freedom of Expression Against Marquette University



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Welcome the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday in favor of a professor from Marquette University dismissed for his freedom of expression. According to AP reports, John McAdams was fired after posting a blog suggesting that a conservative student had been unjustly silenced by a speaker at a gay marriage discussion [19659002] Marquette argued that McAdams' post included the student's name. and by email, he has unjustified to online abuse. According to the AP, "the threats were so bad that the university posted a security guard outside of his clbad and [the lecturer] significantly lost weight. The graduate student eventually moved into another university, where she had to repeat three semesters and revise her doctoral thesis "

I have sympathy for the graduate student. She should not have suffered the abuses that followed the professor's post

But here's the thing: McAdams did not call for this abuse, he simply wrote a ticket describing the exchange between her and the student she was supposed to teach. . He has posted his contact information to enable interested readers to respond to their concerns with her. And while Marquette is a private institution not bound by the First Amendment's protections of freedom of expression, his employment agreement with McAdams explicitly guarantees his free academic expression.

This is important because any basic reading and application of the contract to the facts would demonstrate that McAdams's blog was in a category of contractually protected speech: a commentary on an issue of public importance. That being the right of a professor to express his belief that students deserve an education free from disciplinary restrictions on their speech.

It is embarrbading for the Wisconsin court system that this case be brought before the Supreme Court before it is resolved. Still, it's a good day for freedom of expression in America.

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