{"id":1068753,"date":"2021-11-30T13:45:05","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T18:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1068753"},"modified":"2021-11-30T13:45:10","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T18:45:10","slug":"theater-professor-reinstated-after-school-suspended-him-for-criticizing-students-who-cried-racism-after-seeing-names-on-a-white-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theater-professor-reinstated-after-school-suspended-him-for-criticizing-students-who-cried-racism-after-seeing-names-on-a-white-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Theater Professor Reinstated After School Suspended Him For Criticizing Students Who Cried Racism After Seeing Names On A White Board"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftheater-professor-reinstated-after-school-suspended-him-for-criticizing-students-who-cried-racism-after-seeing-names-on-a-white-board%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1068753&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A professor who was suspended from teaching after he criticized students who mistakenly claimed racism after seeing the names of students of color written on a white board has been cleared to return to teaching next semester.<\/p>\n<p>The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/victory-after-public-outrage-coastal-carolina-university-reinstates-theater-professor-who-criticized-student-protestors\/\">reported<\/a> that Coastal Carolina University (CCU) theater professor Dr. Steven Earnest can return to teaching next semester, but the university insisted that he was not suspended for politely disagreeing with overly sensitive students who jumped to racial conclusions about writing on a white board.<\/p>\n<p>CCU had originally decided to terminate Earnest, FIRE reported. Earnest was helped by FIRE\u2019s legal defense fund set up to defend professors from universities caving to woke mobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout the help and leadership of FIRE, I am certain that I would have been forced out of my career of over 25 years,\u201d Earnest told the outlet. \u201cFIRE\u2019s strong support and guidance helped me to survive the mob attack with which I was faced and allowed me to move forward from a very difficult situation. University faculty are often placed in a defenseless position and FIRE\u2019s support allows protection against cancel culture and the enemies of free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CCU claimed that Earnest agreed to the university\u2019s suspension, a claim Earnest and his attorney deny.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how quickly CCU backed off their indefensible position when FIRE got involved,\u201d said Earnest\u2019s attorney, Ruth Smith. \u201cI\u2019m proud to work to defend free expression here in South Carolina, and will continue to work with FIRE to defend free expression where it is threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, CCU verified that Earnest was on the schedule to teach the spring semester, but at the same time it claimed he had never been punished and that he was merely suspended \u201cbased on University need\u201d only.<\/p>\n<p>As The Daily Wire previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/students-of-color-wrote-names-on-whiteboard-other-students-claimed-the-list-was-racist-a-professor-now-faces-termination\">reported<\/a>, the situation began on September 16, when a visiting artist was talking to two students of color after class. One of these students said it would be nice to connect with other students of color in the theater department, and the visiting artist suggested it might be good for the non-white students to meet as a group.<\/p>\n<p>This visiting artist, who has not been named, wrote out names of non-white students on a whiteboard while the small group brainstormed ideas. The students and visiting artist left the names on the whiteboard when they left the room, leaving the list to be discovered by the next class.<\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s \u201coutrage first, think never\u201d culture, students in the incoming class saw the names and jumped to the conclusion that the list of non-white students must have something to do with racism.<\/p>\n<p>As FIRE reported, the Department of Theatre\u2019s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee spoke with students and faculty involved in the incident, later determining that the names on the whiteboard were not there due to malice, but as \u201ca resource for newer students who are looking to be in community with other BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] students.\u201d Even though the protesting students were clearly wrong about the source of the whiteboard, the DEI committee apologized to them for being offended. In an email, the committee wrote that the \u201cfaculty and students involved as well as the Theatre Department as a whole are deeply sorry to anyone who was affected by this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The visiting artist also apologized for her actions, calling them \u201cthoughtless and careless,\u201d even though, again, she did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Following this, Dr. Steven Earnest, a theatre professor and former Fulbright Scholar, responded to the email from the DEI committee by writing: \u201cSorry but I dont think its a big deal. Im just sad people get their feelings hurt so easily. And they are going into Theatre?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was instantly criticized for his remarks, and he followed up by saying he was \u201cjust defending our guest artist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earnest was then accused of being \u201cracially insensitive and dismissive of students of color,\u201d according to FIRE. As is often with these cases, students started demanding Earnest be fired and stopped going to theater classes, claiming it was because they were offended by Earnest\u2019s emails.<\/p>\n<p>On September 20, the dean of CCU\u2019s College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Claudia Bornholdt, told Earnest to send her his syllabus and not to teach his classes. It was effectively a suspension. FIRE sent a letter to CCU to defend Earnest\u2019s Free Speech rights. The school instead decided to launch a termination process against Earnest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was upsetting to be accused of racism by students and others with whom I have never interacted,\u201d Earnest told FIRE. \u201cBut it was even more upsetting to have these false accusations ratified by a university that I have called home for over fifteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A professor who was suspended from teaching after he criticized students who mistakenly claimed racism after seeing the names of students of color written on a white board has been cleared to return to teaching next semester.The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reported that Coastal Carolina University (CCU) theater professor Dr. Steven Earnest can return to teaching next semester, but the university insisted that he was not suspended for politely disagreeing with overly sensitive students who jumped to racial conclusions about writing on a white board.CCU had originally decided to terminate Earnest, FIRE reported. Earnest was helped by FIRE\u2019s legal defense fund set up to defend professors from universities caving to woke mobs.\u201cWithout the help and leadership of FIRE, I am certain that I would have been forced out of my career of over 25 years,\u201d Earnest told the outlet. \u201cFIRE\u2019s strong support and guidance helped me to survive the mob attack with which I was faced and allowed me to move forward from a very difficult situation. University faculty are often placed in a defenseless position and FIRE\u2019s support allows protection against cancel culture and the enemies of free speech.\u201dCCU claimed that Earnest agreed to the university\u2019s suspension, a claim Earnest and his attorney deny.\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how quickly CCU backed off their indefensible position when FIRE got involved,\u201d said Earnest\u2019s attorney, Ruth Smith. \u201cI\u2019m proud to work to defend free expression here in South Carolina, and will continue to work with FIRE to defend free expression where it is threatened.\u201dEarlier this month, CCU verified that Earnest was on the schedule to teach the spring semester, but at the same time it claimed he had never been punished and that he was merely suspended \u201cbased on University need\u201d only.As The Daily Wire previously reported, the situation began on September 16, when a visiting artist was talking to two students of color after class. One of these students said it would be nice to connect with other students of color in the theater department, and the visiting artist suggested it might be good for the non-white students to meet as a group.This visiting artist, who has not been named, wrote out names of non-white students on a whiteboard while the small group brainstormed ideas. The students and visiting artist left the names on the whiteboard when they left the room, leaving the list to be discovered by the next class.In today\u2019s \u201coutrage first, think never\u201d culture, students in the incoming class saw the names and jumped to the conclusion that the list of non-white students must have something to do with racism.As FIRE reported, the Department of Theatre\u2019s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee spoke with students and faculty involved in the incident, later determining that the names on the whiteboard were not there due to malice, but as \u201ca resource for newer students who are looking to be in community with other BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] students.\u201d Even though the protesting students were clearly wrong about the source of the whiteboard, the DEI committee apologized to them for being offended. In an email, the committee wrote that the \u201cfaculty and students involved as well as the Theatre Department as a whole are deeply sorry to anyone who was affected by this incident.\u201dThe visiting artist also apologized for her actions, calling them \u201cthoughtless and careless,\u201d even though, again, she did nothing wrong.Following this, Dr. Steven Earnest, a theatre professor and former Fulbright Scholar, responded to the email from the DEI committee by writing: \u201cSorry but I dont think its a big deal. Im just sad people get their feelings hurt so easily. And they are going into Theatre?\u201dHe was instantly criticized for his remarks, and he followed up by saying he was \u201cjust defending our guest artist.\u201dEarnest was then accused of being \u201cracially insensitive and dismissive of students of color,\u201d according to FIRE. As is often with these cases, students started demanding Earnest be fired and stopped going to theater classes, claiming it was because they were offended by Earnest\u2019s emails.On September 20, the dean of CCU\u2019s College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Claudia Bornholdt, told Earnest to send her his syllabus and not to teach his classes. It was effectively a suspension. FIRE sent a letter to CCU to defend Earnest\u2019s Free Speech rights. The school instead decided to launch a termination process against Earnest.\u201cIt was upsetting to be accused of racism by students and others with whom I have never interacted,\u201d Earnest told FIRE. \u201cBut it was even more upsetting to have these false accusations ratified by a university that I have called home for over fifteen years.\u201dThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1068753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1068753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1068753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1068753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1068753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}