Free speech group says assignments do not violate First Amendment, however
Two pro-Palestinian professors face accusations of “compelled speech” and “viewpoint discrimination,” following their assignments on Israel and Gaza.
StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department accused two academics at Santa Monica College of pushing “anti-Israel political propaganda,” with different assignments, according to a legal letter sent to the school.
The pro-Israel group told The College Fix “students should be encouraged to think critically” in the classroom, but that should not include pushing a particular viewpoint.
The group is in contact with the community college according to a July 12 email to The Fix.
Co-founder Roz Rothstein told The Fix via an earlier media statement that “educational institutions can encourage respectful debate about important topics, including a variety of perspectives on Israelis and Palestinians.”
But different viewpoints were not allowed in these two situations, according to the group’s letter.
Ethnic Studies Professor Elias Serna required “students to write an assignment adopting his personal political point of view as objective truth,” according to the letter’s allegations.
Specifically, the California community college professor asked students to write on the “ongoing destruction and genocide by Israel in Palestine,” according to the letter, which quoted the assignment.
Other questions also centered on the conflict in the Middle East from a pro-Palestinian view.
Art history Professor Ali Ahmadpour asked students to write how they would “visually educate” the Santa Monica community about “the ongoing conflict on Gaza on the occupied Palestinian lands.” The legal letter includes a copy of this assignment.
Ahmadpour did not respond to two emailed requests for comment sent in the past three and a half weeks.
Serna (pictured) expressed interest in commenting on July 10. However, he has not responded to multiple follow up attempts to set up an interview or obtain comments since then.
The Fix asked both academics to respond to the allegations and provide any additional context and information.
Ahmadpour is slated to teach one course in the fall 2024 semester, but Serna is not on the schedule, according to a College Fix search.
Campus counsel Robert Myers, the recipient of the letter, also did not respond to two email requests in the past three and a half weeks. The Fix asked for a comment on the letter and the general practices of the university when it comes to discussing these hot-button topics in the classroom.
Rothstein, the co-founder of StandWithUs, said there are several Supreme Court cases supporting “a clear First Amendment right for students on public college campuses.”
She cited Tinker v. Des Moines, which held that “students have First Amendment rights in public schools,” according to her.
She also cited West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled against mandatory participation in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Free speech groups says there are no ‘clear violations of the First Amendment’
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says that First Amendment law supports the professors, at least based on what it can tell from the accusations.
“Based on the facts provided in the letter sent to the college by StandWithUs, there do not appear to be any clear violations of the First Amendment in the two assignments,” Program Officer Jessie Appleby told The Fix via email in late June. “Professors generally enjoy academic freedom when it comes to how they teach their subjects.”
“Merely requiring students to study or discuss materials with which they disagree as part of their academic coursework does not implicate First Amendment rights against viewpoint discrimination and compelled speech,” she said. “What instructors cannot do is require students to accept or profess a particular belief or viewpoint.”
“Instructors also cannot punish students or assign students bad grades for expressing particular views,” Appleby told The Fix. “But students can be asked to make an argument on behalf of a position they oppose or required to recite information about a topic to demonstrate their knowledge, even when they disagree.”
She said further:
In this case, the Santa Monica College art history assignment asks students to approach the assignment from the view of a person creating art exhibits in support of the campus encampments. This is a legitimate academic exercise. Based on the facts described in the letter, students are not being asked to profess their personal support for the encampments. Likewise, the Santa Monica College ethnic studies professor is not violating the First Amendment simply by asking students for their thoughts on “the ongoing destruction and genocide by Israel in Palestine.”
“But the professor would be crossing the line if he failed or punished a student because they answered by saying they did not believe Israel was committing genocide in Gaza,” Appleby said.
Appleby also wrote an analysis of the situation after providing comments to The Fix. StandWithUs wrote a response to FIRE, disputing the free speech group’s analysis.
MORE: Harvard reverses decision to suspend pro-Palestinian protesters
IMAGE: Elias Serna/LinkedIn
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