Update: A previous version of this article mistakenly reported that Mark Tykocinski, the President of Thomas Jefferson University had been fired. Instead, he apparently is being publicly rebuked by the CEO of the University. Joseph G. Cacchione. It is not clear if he is going to be fired at this time.
This article has been edited to correct that error and we apologize for it.
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Folks, there’s a lot of awful to unpack here. A few days ago, the hall monitor weenie brave and courageous reporter Susan Snyder told the world that Mark Tykocinski, the President of Thomas Jefferson University (in Philadelphia), used his twitter account to ‘like’ unapproved tweets.
Thomas Jefferson president has ‘liked’ tweets critical of COVID-19 vaccines, among other controversial topics https://t.co/OpUBeq7xYz
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) April 29, 2023
From the article:
Mark Tykocinski, the president of Thomas Jefferson University and dean of its medical college, has used his Twitter account to ‘like’ tweets that question the science of COVID-19 vaccines, call gender reassignment surgery ‘child mutilation,’ and are critical of diversity offices on college campuses, among other controversial topics.
So, get ready for the horrors:
‘Two years after their introduction, the mRNAs Covid vaccines have proven to be what we all should have expected,’ said a Dec. 11 tweet by Alex Berenson, once called ‘the pandemic’s wrongest man’ by the Atlantic. ‘Another in a long line of overhyped, rushed, profit-driven Big Pharma flops with weak long-term efficacy and a lousy side effect profile. …’
That was one of nearly 30 Berenson tweets in the last year that Tykocinski, 70, a Yale-educated molecular immunologist and academic leader who was elevated from provost to president July 1, ‘liked,’ using his account, which identifies him as president of Jefferson and dean of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
Referring to a case that’s become a cause célèbre for attacks on gender reassignment surgery for children, Tykocinski liked this tweet by Donald Trump Jr. that said: ‘Doctors lied and coerced a 13-year-old into an irreversible ‘gender affirming medical procedure.’ Now she is fighting back and suing them. Donate here to support the lawsuit and help stop child mutilation.’
And he’s liked a tweet that linked to a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal titled, ‘Diversity Czars Always Need to Find New Oppression.’
Against all odds, the controversy gets even dumber than that when several paragraphs in, we see a very obvious defense offered by Mr. Tykocinski:
In response to Inquirer questions raising the criticism, Tykocinski, who has worked at Jefferson for 16 years, said in a statement that he ‘liked’ tweets to bookmark them, ‘to learn more about the subject matter or the particular viewpoint.
‘As a scientist, educator and administrator, I firmly believe that productive discourse is a foundational element of science, growth and education,’ he wrote. ‘What I did not understand was that by liking a tweet, it could be interpreted as endorsement of the thought expressed or the person expressing it. … I certainly had no intention of endorsing the content of individual tweets or the person tweeting.
Anyone who has used Twitter as long as we have knows that this was the original purpose and function of ‘liking’ a tweet: To bookmark it, possibly for later reference or reading. So, he is not being attacked for endorsing any of these views, but for merely bookmarking them so he can consider whether or not they have a valid point. Apparently, even intellectual curiosity is double plus ungood, or something.
Mr. Tykocinski’s only mistake, respectfully, was apologizing. He should have come back with a strong defense of freedom of inquiry. An apology is a tacit admission you did something wrong and he did not.
Still, apparently Ms. Snyder has had some success successful in her quest to stomp out intellectual curiosity at this university because she stirred enough controversy to get Mr. Tykocinski publicly rebuked:
Daily News | Thomas Jefferson president ‘should have known better,’ says the CEO in a note to the system’s community https://t.co/o55ijfqAOu
— Philly Daily News (@PhillyDailyNews) May 1, 2023
Mind you, the university runs a hospital, so if you end up being a patient there, bear in mind that your doctor apparently is not allowed to consider all information when forming his or her conclusions. Therefore, you might take your business elsewhere or at least get a second opinion by someone who is allowed to be open-minded.
Meanwhile, one of those horrifying Science-questioners mentioned in the article reacted to the news:
HOLY MOLY.
The president of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia may be about to lose his job. Dr. Mark Tykocinski is a 70-year-old immunologist with an spotless academic record.
His crime appears to be liking my tweets.
Academic freedom is dead.https://t.co/nDEu339Txk
— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) May 1, 2023
This kind of thing is why we don’t put much truck in liberal claims to believe in ‘academic freedom.’
This is absurd. Shame on the CEO and board of trustees of Thomas Jefferson University!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2023
Thomas Jefferson was a champion of free speech. That university should change its name.
— TJ Roberts (@realTJRoberts) May 2, 2023
If they are this woke, they probably want to change the name of the university, anyway.
Universities are just Marxist hatcheries.
— Real Nowhere Man 🇺🇸 (@DavidBugnon) May 2, 2023
— ThePeynuta (@ThePeynuta1) May 2, 2023
«Jefferson spokesperson Angela D. Showell said: “Jefferson intends to use this opportunity as a teaching moment regarding the understanding, impact, and prudent use of social media.”»
😂😂😂
— Einar Solheim (@einarso) May 2, 2023
I am pro-vaccination but this is still too much.
— Steve Yang🇺🇸⬆️🇺🇦 (@yangsteve) May 2, 2023
There is indeed a world a difference between having an opinion on an important public debate, and believing no one can even question it. Mr. Yang gets that distinction.
thats why unfortunately I dont use my real name on this platform bro..I feel like I wouldn't be able to fully open up and be myself..I am frankly, afraid of being based 🤷🏼♂️✌🏻
— EpicAI (@EpicAI_) May 2, 2023
Pseudonyms were good enough for founders like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and frees people to speak honestly without consequence. We wish Mr. Musk understood that.
One person also had an excellent suggestion for how Twitter could improve.
Can you get rid of the like tab? Obviously, people misuse it to spy on other people and make horrible assumptions or they use it to mind other peoples opinions. The man in this story was hurt badly. Trust is gone. I hope he sues the university. @elonmusk
— Jen X 🚀🧝♀️Foxfur🍀Clover🍀 (@JenXIsWaving) May 2, 2023
Honestly sometimes I be liking everything down the feed! God knows what I been liking. I sure don’t know lol. I’m being real too!
— Simon Wu (@sisisimon) May 2, 2023
This is 1st Amendment violation and sets a dangerous precedent https://t.co/F8vuQF8tmM
— Progressive_Einsteinia (@Prog4_1st_Amend) May 2, 2023
It’s a private university, so unless he can argue successfully that this is somehow government action (which is not impossible, but it is difficult), it would not violate the First Amendment. But it does show that they are unsuited to call themselves a university.
Give him a job, Elon. https://t.co/krmUz0Mn0W
— purebloodrebel (@purebloodrebell) May 2, 2023
Endorsed.
Universities are becoming little more than incubators for mindless groupthink — exactly the opposite of their stated purpose. https://t.co/ag2Rep8Qa6
— Tom Naughton (@TomDNaughton) May 2, 2023
What a stupid world we live in https://t.co/DSYJDijKqJ pic.twitter.com/xmMejEQsDD
— The Dank Knight 🦇 (@capeandcowell) May 2, 2023
Some called out the hall monitor reporter:
This is also an indictment of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Susan Snyder actually takes credit for tattling on Dr. Tykocinski, who has decades of research experience related to gene therapy, cancer therapeutic development, and other molecular biological research including a research…
— Wide Angle Info (@WideAngleInfo) May 2, 2023
who's paying @PhillyInquirer to lead the inquisition? https://t.co/8ZhfWcCSMF pic.twitter.com/AnLRkdFW02
— Nuell posts (@TimothyNuell) May 2, 2023
And one person seemed to predict where this nonsense would go:
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a liker of the Covid Vaccine Tweets?" https://t.co/fz57xriNJC pic.twitter.com/gF9rUkwi9R
— Joel Grus 🤠 (@joelgrus) May 2, 2023
It’s funny because it is true. But it’s also kind of not funny for the same reason, if you get our meaning.
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