Angie Hunt, the News Service Director with Iowa State University, released the following statement about professor Rita Mookerjee’s racist and inflammatory tweets about “whyte people,” among other things.
“Iowa State University condemns racism of any kind as being abhorrent and inconsistent with the university’s Principles of Community and the values we expect on our campus. The university fully embraces its role as a First Amendment campus and is deeply committed to constitutional protections of free expression. When speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, a public employee’s speech is protected by the First Amendment and employees cannot be disciplined by the university for exercising their First Amendment rights. Employees are, however, subject to discipline if they commit acts of discrimination against students or their fellow employees in their role as an employee.”
The Iowa Standard detailed Ms. Mookerjee’s tweets here and we highlighted that she has locked down her account here.
Ms. Mookerjee is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, within the LAS Sociology Department.
