I'm a retired academic so I'm out of the game but I really hate to see professors and public servants attacked in order to generate fear and hatred. I'm truly, truly tired of the hatred. Universities have a long history of not doing anything to support faculty who are going through this. If they do anything, it's a "thoughts and prayers" approach. Years ago, after a divorce, I received countless harassing phone calls from my ex but, because the old, outdated phone system did not display any incoming phone numbers, there was no way for me to prove it was my ex. I talked to the head of our IT department and the University's general counsel and they told me that they were sorry, but there was nothing they could do. I also talked to some other female faculty on campus who had also gone through such harassment. I was lucky, because the University went to a new VPN phone system and I was able to get a log of all the phone calls (he used his cell phone) and file a criminal harassment charge against him. I cannot imagine being harassed by multiple people for using my right to free speech. I no longer read the Chronicle of Higher Ed but I doubt if there is anyone doing anything to help faculty who are being harassed. The silence is deafening. FYI: I listened to the panel discussion on When Universities are the Enemy. It was well done and I learned more about what's going on. It was also a bit depressing.
I'm a retired academic so I'm out of the game but I really hate to see professors and public servants attacked in order to generate fear and hatred. I'm truly, truly tired of the hatred. Universities have a long history of not doing anything to support faculty who are going through this. If they do anything, it's a "thoughts and prayers" approach. Years ago, after a divorce, I received countless harassing phone calls from my ex but, because the old, outdated phone system did not display any incoming phone numbers, there was no way for me to prove it was my ex. I talked to the head of our IT department and the University's general counsel and they told me that they were sorry, but there was nothing they could do. I also talked to some other female faculty on campus who had also gone through such harassment. I was lucky, because the University went to a new VPN phone system and I was able to get a log of all the phone calls (he used his cell phone) and file a criminal harassment charge against him. I cannot imagine being harassed by multiple people for using my right to free speech. I no longer read the Chronicle of Higher Ed but I doubt if there is anyone doing anything to help faculty who are being harassed. The silence is deafening. FYI: I listened to the panel discussion on When Universities are the Enemy. It was well done and I learned more about what's going on. It was also a bit depressing.