10/08/24

Protecting academic freedom: Real solutions for faculty targeted for political beliefs

Imagine getting endless, hate-filled threats on social media. Hearing vile names left on your personal cellphone. Seeing threats land in your email inbox, or watching your photo, with your name in bold lettering, cruise by on a billboard truck accusing you of hate crimes you never committed.

Imagine losing your job. All because you shared an opinion that is unpopular among right-wing extremists targeting faculty like you.

Faculty First Photo credit: Stockbyte/Getty — Photo credit: Stockbyte/Getty

While faculty and academic staff have experienced threats to their research, teaching and public comments before, efforts to shut them down have escalated in recent years. And with the election season upon us and political extremism on the rise, threats have only escalated.

Ultimately, this campaign against faculty and other academic workers is part of a larger attack on higher education and academic freedom.

The AFT is fighting back. Partnering with Faculty First Responders, a peer-to-peer organization that educates and supports faculty experiencing targeted harassment, the union is providing access to resources and information designed to protect our members and their colleagues from attack.

Why, who and how

At an informational webinar Sept. 11, the AFT and FFR offered advice for individuals who might experience harassment and guidance to affiliates who want to defend them in the most effective ways possible. FFR Assistant Director Heather Steffen explained that FFR monitors media outlets that specialize in targeting academics (Campus Reform, College Fix, Turning Point USA, Breitbart News, Daily Caller and others), and it reaches out to faculty members who have been harassed to see if they need support or guidance in how to handle the harassment. It has suggestions regarding online protection, record-keeping, and how colleagues can help.

FFR has found that the issues that draw the most negative attention are the Israel-Hamas conflict; race and racism; diversity, equity and inclusion work; critical race theory; and the 2024 presidential election. Other controversial topics cover everything from Taylor Swift to climate change, biblical interpretation, witchcraft and COVID-19.

What remains consistent is who is attacked: It is disproportionately people from campus populations that are already underrepresented and most vulnerable, including Black, Latino, Asian and other people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. “Whenever we are talking about politically motivated attacks and targeted harassment, we need to remember that those with power on the right wing and at the extremes are coming for those who they perceive to be the least powerful among us,” said Steffen.

Harassment can be “a whole bunch of nasty emails, nasty phone calls,” Steffen continued. Sometimes harassers use robocalls, or they call administrators and family. There may be threats of violence or doxxing, which is publicly sharing a person’s personal contact information and location. Results of these attacks can include feelings of fear, loss of safety at work and home, and a resulting isolation. And there can be reputational harm: “These news stories remain at the top of search results for years,” she said.

More serious outcomes can include employment sanctions, resignations and forced retirement. “We’ve seen a number of faculty, especially contingent faculty, lose their jobs,” said Steffen. Meanwhile, among those who have not been targeted—this time—fearfulness can take over.

“There’s of course an overall chilling effect on teaching, research, speech and activism when faculty and other academic workers need to be concerned that what they’re doing on social media or in their classrooms may be reported, may be recorded, may be policed in some way,” said Steffen. Even more concerning? “The end game for the right-wing actors behind all of these news outlets … ultimately is to just destroy public trust in the academic profession and the project of higher education.”

What now?

A large part of fighting harassment is prevention, and unions can go a long way in providing that. “The goal is really to be prepared before an attack occurs, and one excellent way to do that is to negotiate clear protections for academic freedom in the collective bargaining agreements,” said Steffen. FFR recommends going beyond the employer’s definition of harassment and including a process for handling academic freedom-related conflicts.

Beyond the contract, providing information about academic freedom and principles, the faculty handbook, and any university statements or resolutions, can also be helpful. Protecting one’s digital identity is key. FFR also provides detailed strategies that include banning classroom recordings without the instructor’s permission; stating in your syllabus that your views are you own, not those of your employer; and considering professional liability insurance.

If the worst occurs, FFR recommends, first and foremost, don’t panic. Second, if it is a colleague who is being attacked, trust that colleague rather than the nefarious news outlets that might have started the firestorm. Tap union benefits such as legal advice and trauma or counseling benefits. And publicly support the targeted colleague.

Several organizations directly support academic freedom, and FFR recommends these resources as well:

[Virginia Myers]