USC Professor Relegated to Remote Teaching after Criticizing Hamas in Front of Pro-Palestinian Students By David Zimmermann
The University of Southern California relegated economics professor John Strauss to a remote-teaching position after he denounced Hamas in front of students.
Strauss, who is a Jewish supporter of Israel, is barred from holding classes on campus for the rest of the fall semester. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is speaking out on behalf of Strauss, so that other professors don’t have to face the same treatment.
“By requiring Professor Strauss to teach remotely for the remainder of the semester, USC has violated its own clear commitments to protect faculty free speech,” FIRE program officer Jessie Appleby told National Review. “Universities are supposed to be places of free inquiry and debate, but debate is impossible without the freedom to disagree and dissent — even when disagreement might be upsetting to others.”
On November 9, Strauss criticized Hamas terrorists as he was walking past pro-Palestinian student protesters for the second time that Thursday. The professor remarked, “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are.”
One of the protesters posted a deceptively edited video which took the last sentence out of context, making it appear as if Strauss wished all Palestinians would die. He attested he wasn’t advocating for that.
A longer clip showed the exchange in full.
The confrontation was preceded by another moment earlier that day when the protesters, who held an on-campus rally as part of the global “Shut it Down for Palestine” movement, accused Strauss of stepping on a printed list of Palestinians who were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Strauss said he didn’t step on the list of names intentionally.
“The fact that some student protesters characterized Professor Strauss’s comments as hateful or threatening does not deprive his speech of protection,” Appleby said. “Students do not get to veto faculty opinions they dislike.”
In response to the incident, USC required Strauss to teach remotely, rather than hold in-person classes, for the next few weeks until the semester concludes. Strauss was originally placed on paid administrative leave, but the university soon reversed that decision allowing him to teach both his doctoral and undergraduate courses online.
In a letter sent to USC president Carol Folt on Monday, Appleby argues the school violated its own faculty handbook, which protects professors’ freedom of expression. Because USC is a private institution, the First Amendment isn’t directly applicable to this situation.
“Just as the First Amendment protects the right to comment on matters of public concern, and restricts public universities from penalizing faculty’s protected speech … so, too, does USC’s academic freedom policy prevent it from penalizing its faculty’s protected speech,” the letter reads.
“USC violated Strauss’s free speech rights by imposing the remote-teaching restriction in response to his protected expression,” it adds.
One petition calling for the termination of Strauss’s employment for “racist and xenophobic behavior” garnered about 6,700 signatures as of Wednesday, while a counter-petition demanding his reinstatement had roughly 9,400 signatures at the time of this writing. A note on the former says signatories “should consider researching this issue before signing.”
FIRE demanded that USC confirm by November 29 that Strauss will return to teach classes on campus and that the university will not pursue an investigation or any disciplinary sanctions against him. USC told National Review that the professor is remaining online for the remainder of the semester.
“We cannot discuss the details of matters that are pending investigation. With that said, USC takes allegations of harassment or threatened violence seriously, and we follow our university policies and processes in investigating them,” a university statement reads, citing its institutional policies that prohibit discrimination.
“In investigating allegations of this nature, the university must also abide by its Policy on Free Speech, as well as the broad First Amendment protections accorded to students under the California Leonard Law,” the statement adds, referring to legislation that protects students’ free speech in private and public schools in the state. The law doesn’t afford faculty the same rights.
“As a general matter, while an investigation is pending, the university may impose interim measures to minimize disruption to the educational environment and ensure a safe environment for all members of our community.”
Appleby believes Strauss’s removal from campus over his moral disagreement with an antisemitic protest “will only chill future campus speech as other professors start to think twice before voicing an opinion.”
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