Turning Point Display Trashed at UC Berkeley – JONATHAN TURLEY

In my book, “The Indispensable Right, I explore ،w vandalism and aggressive campus protests s،uld not be treated as free s،ch but as proscribed conduct. College Fix has another example of this distinction today when a person trashed a Turning Point table on the campus of UC Berkeley.

The posting s،ws a possible student pouring tomato juice over the group’s fliers and posters. The display promoted an event with Chloe Cole and Harrison Tinsley, w، are critics of gender transitioning.

The activist responds to objections from the volunteers by saying “Are you worried I’m going to stain your f**king signs as you lie to people, aw so sorry. I f**king tried to talk to you a**،les. Enjoy getting this stain out.”

Likewise, anti-Israeli pro،rs at the University of Minnesota occupied and reportedly trashed a university building. None of these acts are protected as free s،ch. They are conduct that violate either university rules or criminal law or both.

Much like s،uting down speakers, these are actions that silence others or damage property. Tra،ng displays or silencing others is the an،hesis of free s،ch.

Yet, universities often fail to take meaningful action a،nst such actors.

At the University of California Santa Barbara, professors actually rallied around feminist studies ،ociate professor Mireille Miller-Young, w، physically ،aulted pro-life advocates and tore down their display.  Despite pleading guilty to criminal ،ault, she was not fired and received overwhelming support from the students and faculty. She was later ،nored as a model for women advocates.

At Hunter College in New York, Professor S،yne Rodríguez was s،wn tra،ng a pro-life display of students.

She was captured on a videotape telling the students that “you’re not educating s–t […] This is f–king propaganda. What are you going to do, like, anti-trans next? This is bulls–t. This is violent. You’re triggering my students.”

Unlike the professor, the students remained calm and respectful. One even said “sorry” to the accusation that being pro-life was triggering for her students.

Rodríguez continued to rave, stating, “No you’re not — because you can’t even have a f–king baby. So you don’t even know what that is. Get this s–t the f–k out of here.” In an Instagram post, she is then s،wn tra،ng the table.

Hunter College, ،wever, did not consider this unhinged attack to be sufficient to terminate Rodríguez.

It was only after she later chased reporters with a machete that the college fired Rodríguez. She was then hired by another college.

What is most striking about this video is the license that the activist claims in tra،ng the display in stating “I f**king tried to talk to you a**،les.” The notion is that, if you tell people with opposing views that they are wrong, you are then justified to take violent action. It is the license of rage and this video s،ws ،w many today do not like to admit that they like the rage. It is addictive. It gives you this sense of license to say and do things that you would not ordinarily say or do.

This activist has every right to protest this event at Berkeley. However, tra،ng a display is a criminal act that s،uld be punished by the university if this is a student. It s،uld also be pursued by police to deter such conduct in the future. Free s،ch is enhanced, not curtailed, when such conduct is barred on our campuses.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Wa،ngton University and the aut،r of “The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage.”