In case the name Melissa Click doesn’t ring any alarm bells, she’s the (former) University of Missouri assistant communications professor who went in search of “muscle” after failing to frighten off a student reporter who dared ask questions within the “media-free zone” set up around a campus protest. (Months later, she would explain she was afraid the student reporter might be carrying a gun.)
It took the school’s board of curators a while, but Mizzou eventually fired Click, claiming her actions were in direct conflict with the university’s core values. After a brief silence, Click is back, blaming “conservative voices” for her firing, which she now says she’s going to fight.
Missouri professor Melissa Click refuses to accept firing https://t.co/RkeCKzqoFB via @CNNMoney
— David Saleh Rauf (@davidSrauf) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/Trend_Hashtag/status/707342183561437184
Mizzou’s #MelissaClick: ‘conservative voices’ got me fired for supporting black students https://t.co/gOCVvU9TsH pic.twitter.com/UJzKpkwICR
— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) March 8, 2016
What were those conservative voices in her head saying? According to a statement she issued, it turns out they were angry that Click was “standing with students who have drawn attention to the issue of overt racism at the University of Missouri,” adding that she would not apologize for her support of black students who experience racism on campus.
What about her threat to have a student reporter physically removed from the site of a protest? She’s apologized for that and is convinced she’s just being used as a “scapegoat.”
Melissa Click has appealed the curators' decision to fire her; says they're using her as a scapegoat. @TheManeater pic.twitter.com/MrpcPDq7Me
— Taylor Blatchford (@blatchfordtr) March 8, 2016
Click’s statement, which reveals that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is opening an investigation into her firing, alleges that those conservative voices were determined to tarnish her “stellar 12-year record at MU.” We’d never heard of Click before, but for the record, conservative voices are in favor of freedom of speech and the press; it’s the assistant communications professor in this case who is in favor of “media-free zones” and “safe spaces.”
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Melissa Click's firing surely had nothing to do with her assaulting a student & violating civil rights https://t.co/NTWipS2zYk #moleg
— Ferg (@christoferguson) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/Tomfreeusa/status/707331152131047425
This woman needs blackballed from higher education. #MelissaClick https://t.co/KLZ8hgGbEI
— Soberly Intoxicated (@SIDrunks) March 8, 2016
Melissa Click proves it’s time to demand accountability from professors—especially at publicly funded institutions. https://t.co/RXa9kS9kRQ
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) March 8, 2016
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