In a victory for both free speech and common sense, Ilya Shapiro will be returning to his job at Georgetown Law tomorrow:
It's over – going to work at @GeorgetownLaw @GUConstitution tomorrow!
Statement to follow.
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) June 2, 2022
Long overdue but better late than never. https://t.co/wXhnIRkOSk
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) June 2, 2022
This is definitely encouraging news.
Wooohoo! https://t.co/0jL7CC1ldu
— Jackson Richman (@jacksonrichman) June 2, 2022
Finally!
— Rachel Jessica Wolff (@RachelJessWolff) June 2, 2022
It's about damned time! Congratulations
— Jewish Policy Center (@thejpc) June 2, 2022
— Whitney Westerfield (@KyWhitney) June 2, 2022
So glad to read this! Go get ‘em!!
— Rafael A. Mangual (@Rafa_Mangual) June 2, 2022
Shapiro, if you’ll recall, was placed on administrative leave over “racist” tweets about Joe Biden’s sex- and raced-based criteria for a potential nominee to replace SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer:
Ilya Shapiro’s racism and sexism is his own problem, but for @GeorgetownLaw to hire him into a leadership role is really disgraceful pic.twitter.com/HtrP5g4y9f
— poorly hidden account (@poorlyhiddenact) January 27, 2022
Shapiro landed in hot water over those tweets thanks in no small part to the efforts of Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, who was basically on a one-man crusade to get Shapiro not just fired from Georgetown Law, but canceled.
Obviously, Stern’s plan didn’t exactly work out the way he hoped it would, but it’s important to understand Shapiro may not be out of the woods quite yet.
It took FOUR MONTHS of @GeorgetownLaw forking over my tuition money to overpaid investigators for them to determine that @ishapiro was not employed by the school at the time of the tweet. This is a clown school. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/rKk3mc49qY
— Rachel Jessica Wolff (@RachelJessWolff) June 2, 2022
“Clown school” is an understatement. You can actually picture Georgetown Law Dean Bill Treanor typing that email hidden away in a dark room somewhere, hoping and praying that the Outrage Mob will be satisfied for the time being.
This is truly one of the most pathetic emails I have ever read. No waxing poetic about “freedom of speech” like when I brought up my concerns about a speaker who threatened violence against students. No defending their employee from truly atrocious attacks on his character.
— Rachel Jessica Wolff (@RachelJessWolff) June 2, 2022
No standing up to student activists with absurd demands like free food as reparations and rooms to cry in. No expression of appreciation for Shapiro’s patience. No defense of students who were alienated by their classmates for speaking out in support of an unpopular position.
— Rachel Jessica Wolff (@RachelJessWolff) June 2, 2022
Somehow, the email still makes Ilya Shapiro out to be the bad guy here. It’s gross. Craven.
Georgetown Law seems intent on destroying its reputation as a top law school and producing graduates who feel no loyalty to an institution that won’t stand for truth. Pathetic.
— Rachel Jessica Wolff (@RachelJessWolff) June 2, 2022
And what makes it even more pathetic is that it all comes off like a vague threat that Shapiro’s job could still be at risk:
122 days to determine that @ishapiro wasn't an employee of the school when he tweeted -something which could have been ascertained in 30 seconds. But this conspicuously leaves open the possibility that they will discipline him the next time a tweet upsets the wrong people. https://t.co/psyTBHVyUk
— jeremysenderowicz (@senderowiczj) June 2, 2022
Shame on Georgetown Law.
