The Outstater
Let’s Fire Them for Cause
GOOD JUDGMENT like common sense is a trait considered too banal for this generation of human resource managers. Rather, decisions such as firing someone for justifying the assassination of a man for his opinion must involve an exercise in pearl-clutching and legalese.
Thus, Ball State University’s carefully worded response to a posting by its Director of Health, Promotion and Advocacy is a pluterperfect example of the art:
“The administration at Ball State University is aware of social media posts by two university employees. Both posts were on the employees’ personal accounts, and the posts do not reflect the culture on our campus nor the enduring values of the university,” the university said in a Friday statement. “The administration is gathering additional information about the posts in order to determine what discipline, if any, is appropriate and permissible under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”
No, the employees can be summarily ridden off campus on a rail. The BSU director made the simplistic defamation that the assassination of Charlie Kirk was a result of “the violence, fear and hatred that he sowed.” That is both arguable and rude; it demonstrated a shallowness of thought unworthy of a university. Again, we once just called that bad judgment. Waitresses were dismissed for less.
That the powers at Ball State University, with its huge staff of personnel and communications experts, couldn’t bring themselves to make such a decision without the most agonizing institutional appraisal tells us what we need to know about the management of modern higher education. —tcl
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