Academia is often thought to be liberal, but this professor arguably crossed a line.
William Penn teaches Creative Writing at Michigan State University (MSU). He was recently caught on tape calling Republicans “old,” “white” people who are deliberately trying to stop African Americans from voting.
Penn delivered the rant on MSU’s first day of classes.
He said, “If you go to the Republican convention in Florida, you see all of the old Republicans with the dead skin cells washing off them. They are cheap. They don’t want to pay taxes because they have already raped this country and gotten everything out of it they possibly could.”
He continued, “This country still is full of closet racists. What do you think is going on in South Carolina and North Carolina? Voter suppression. It’s about getting black people not to vote. Why? Because black people tend to vote Democratic.”
“Why would would Republicans want to do it? Because Republicans are not a majority in this country anymore. They are a bunch of dead white people. Or dying white people.”
The unsettling video has caused an investigation into the situation. Kent Cassella, a spokesman for MSU, said on Tuesday, “MSU is thankful we’ve been made aware of the situation. We will be looking into it.”
According to the administration, MSU prides itself on creating an environment where students feel comfortable voicing their own beliefs. Cassella said, “At MSU it is important the classroom environment is conducive to a free exchange of ideas and is respectful of the opinions of others.”
Do you think Penn should be punished for his rant? Or was he merely practicing his First Amendment rights? Let us know in the comments section below.
