The University of Missouri Faculty Council approved a resolution to censure Mun Choi, interim University of Missouri Chancellor and University of Missouri System President, on Oct. 15 for failure to follow faculty promotion and tenure guidelines. The vote comes at a time when professors, including leading journalism professors, have criticized Choi for chilling free speech.…
The following is a letter signed by 15 University of Missouri journalism faculty and sent to University of Missouri System president and chancellor Mun Choi. The letter came after Choi blocked students from his Twitter account. Freedom of expression, scrutiny of public officials and open government are bedrock principles of a democracy and of institutions…
BY JOHN JARVIS / My 26-year journalism career has led to a collection of Facebook friends who either have been, or still are, in the same line of work. Because of this, I came across a post on a friend’s Facebook page a few days ago that grabbed my attention – and the attention of some of my former co-workers, too. My friend’s post noted that the student newspaper at Oklahoma University, the Oklahoma Daily, ran an editorial Oct. 3 titled “KKK rallies shouldn’t be allowed.” The lead paragraph reads: “A Maryland-based Ku Klux Klan group planned to rally at Gettysburg National Military Park on October 5. It’s mind-boggling that KKK groups still have the audacity and will to exist in today’s society, but what’s more surprising is the fact that they were granted a special permit to hold an event there.” The editorial goes on to say that “the KKK should not be allowed to hold rallies for a number of reasons,” including the KKK’s history of hate crimes against blacks and certain religious groups.