Straws in the Wind - Part 148

From Inside Higher Ed: A student and law professor are the latest to face punishment from academic institutions for their public remarks about Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist who was assassinated last month. Earlier this month, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock fired Felicia Branch, who was hired as a law professor there over the summer, Reuters reported. Branch was first suspended in September after posting on Facebook that people should not be criticized for celebrating that “an evil person is no longer on this earth causing immense suffering.” The post sparked outrage from some state lawmakers, and after an investigation, the university fired her in a letter dated Oct. 13. 

“I cannot see a pathway where you could remain in your position at the Bowen Law School without compromising the trust and confidence of your students and colleagues,” Christina Drale, UA Little Rock’s chancellor, wrote in the letter.

Then, [last] week, the Oxford Union Society, a prestigious debating society in London, ousted its incoming president after he posted, “Charlie Kirk got shot loool,” on Instagram, the BBC reported. George Abaraonye, who is a student at University College, had debated Kirk about toxic masculinity at an event in May. After the debating society voted no confidence in Abaraonye’s leadership following his comments about Kirk, Abaraonye disputed the validity of the vote. Since Kirk’s death, numerous higher education employees have been fired for their comments about Kirk. Some have sued for wrongful termination, and at least one has been reinstated.

Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/10/23/more-higher-ed-ousters-over-charlie-kirk-comments.

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From Inside Higher Ed: While seven of the nine universities originally invited to join the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” have formally rejected the agreement, Valley Forge Military College wants to sign on to the proposal, as first reported by Fox News. President Donald Trump extended the invitation to all colleges after initial rejections from institutions that objected to provisions in the compact that would limit academic freedom.

The compact would require universities to suppress criticism of conservatives on campus, cap international enrollment at 15 percent, freeze tuition, overhaul admissions and hiring practices, and make various other changes in return for preferential treatment on federal research funding.

...It is unclear how Valley Forge, which does not have a research focus, would benefit. The college is also much smaller than the first invitees, enrolling 86 students in fall 2023, according to federal data. Valley Forge is now the third institution to publicly express interest in signing the compact since the invitation was expanded, following Grand Canyon University and New College of Florida.

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/10/31/valley-forge-military-college-wants-sign-compact.