No Punishment for Barbara Bush-Hating Professor
by Rick Jensen
Jarrar's disgusting characterizations of the late First Lady Barbara Bush just minutes following the announcement of her passing are indeed protected, as is the right of taxpayer-funded Fresno State to define their university as a bastion of angry, foul-mouthed instructors bent on filling young minds with filth and profanity.
It's also your right to withhold contributions and refuse to enroll at Fresno State.
While Conservatives calling for the dismissal of Fresno State professor Randa Jarrar are wrong, Fresno President Castro was also disingenuous in stating that Fresno State has no authority to discipline Farrar due to "free speech."
"Her comments, although disgraceful, are protected free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, although Professor Jarrar used tenure to defend her behavior, this private action is an issue of free speech and not related to her job or tenure," Castro wrote, adding that the university doesn't have any "justification" to take any disciplinary action.
"Free speech" has nothing to do with the university's ability to discipline Farrar.
As stated on page 10 of the Fresno State Staff Handbook, "The university has the authority to impose discipline on employees which may include suspension, demotion or dismissal. The university encourages progressive corrective action be taken prior to the imposition of discipline. In accordance with Section 89535 of the Education Code, a permanent, probationary or temporary employee may be disciplined for any of the following reasons:"
The list of reasons includes, but is not limited to:
"Immoral conduct."
"Unprofessional conduct."
"Dishonesty."
"Incompetence."
So, it is up to the ironically-named President Castro to decide with his board and legal counsel whether or not Farrar's public profanity-laced rage and personal attacks, which Castro himself described as "... inappropriate and an embarrassment to the university," rises to the level of "unprofessional conduct."
He has obviously decided it doesn't, and any admonition of the professor's statements means absolutely nothing when Fresno State leadership's actions are nonexistent.
What about Castro's tactical defense of claiming Farrar's disgusting and "embarrassing" slobberings are her own, not representing the university?
Nonsense.
Farrar herself incorporated the name of her employer, "Fresno State" in her tweets, thus positioning herself as a Fresno State employee and representative.
At that point, she was certainly no longer speaking as a private citizen, now hiding behind the cloak of university President Joseph Castro, whom she also mentioned by name as a protector from any potential discipline.
So, Farrar did engage in disgusting and profanely unprofessional behaviors in public, was an embarrassment to Fresno State as Castro stated, and identified herself as a Fresno State employee who would be protected from any discipline by President Joseph Castro.
Thus Castro's claim that she was spewing filth as a private citizen, not a Fresno State employee is false.
Castro's claim that he cannot discipline her is false.
Should Farrar be fired?
That's not up to the government... or you, unless you are a member of the Fresno State Board of Governors.
Bottom line: Castro and his team crafted a false narrative to justify keeping Farrar on staff and it's not up to you, me or the government to intervene.
Randa Jarrar is the face of Fresno State's identity.
That's their choice.
After all, if you read Jarrar's tweetstorm, in which she hides behind claims of victimhood following her own unprovoked attacks, you'll notice a lack of grammatical knowledge in addition to her profanity.
Certainly that sinks to the level of "incompetence" for an English teacher.
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Copyright 2018 Rick Jensen, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Rick Jensen is an annoying, award-winning Delaware talk show host and equally annoying national columnist. Email [email protected].