The California State University-Fullerton anthropology lecturer who was suspended for hitting a member of the College Republicans has several faculty in his corner.
A group of eight CUSF faculty members have started a petition to have Eric Canin reinstated, and it is supported by the CUSF chapter of the California Faculty Association.
The Daily Titan reports the faculty group is portraying Canin’s situation as a reaction to being “harassed by a crowd carrying signs with recognized symbols of race hatred.”
“It is grotesque that the attack on Dr. Canin, the silencing of Dr. Canin and the threat to take away his livelihood is being portrayed as a defense of free speech,” CFA Fullerton Faculty Rights Chair Tyler McMillen said.
On the other hand, the campus Young Americans for Liberty have their own petition regarding Canin — one which calls for the firing of “faculty or staff who infringe on students’ rights.”
The […] petition by the Young Americans for Liberty calls to “ensure all members of the university community” have the right to free speech. The petition was originally concerned with free speech on campus more broadly but was changed when the Canin incident unfolded, said Aaron Van Meter-Jones, president of YAL at CSUF.
Van Meter-Jones said he was present at the protest and is a member of the College Republicans.
“It became personal at that point, so the petition was updated to include terminating professors that violate First Amendment rights, especially assaulting students for their political beliefs,” Van Meter-Jones said.
YAL is planning an event to circulate the petition around Titan Walk on March 22, Van Meter-Jones said. College Republicans club President Chris Boyle said his club is planning on attending future YAL events to help gather signatures.
Canin maintains he did not touch, let alone strike, anyone during the incident. He also accused the College Republicans of lying about what happened.
An internal university investigation determined otherwise.
Rights Chair McMillen said the evidence the university used to make its decision is really “no evidence”: “(The videos) don’t show any wrongdoing on [Canin’s] part,” he said.
The faculty petition reads “That [Canin] can be convicted by the university without essential elements of due process, including a chance to face his accusers, is both unjust and a threat to us all.”
It also says “Canin’s physical well-being has been harmed because of the suspension and implies that the jobs of faculty who ‘favor diversity’ and challenge messages of hatred could be in peril,” according to The Titan.
MORE: Cal State Fullerton lecturer suspended for assaulting member of College Republicans
MORE: Cal State Fullerton lecturer accuses College Republicans of lying about altercation
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