Dive Brief:
- A Florida State University senior lecturer has resigned after using profanity and a gay slur in a Facebook posting.
- Deborah O’Connor, a lecturer at the university’s College of Business, made the post criticizing another Facebook user who praised U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to investigate the police shooting of a 12-year-old boy with a toy gun in Cleveland.
- While the university has no policies governing what faculty members can say on social media, O’Connor said she was encouraged to resign, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Dive Insight:
Social media outbursts by faculty members are forcing colleges and universities to examine whether they need to enact policies, and if so, how they can practically regulate speech without infringing on academic freedom. Another recent example includes the anti-NRA rant that led the University of Kansas to take action.
In the Florida State controversy, O’Connor said she “learned my lesson about Facebook” and that she decided to resign so she wouldn’t drag herself and Florida State “through this kind of mud.” Judging from the Facebook comments quoted by the newspaper, O’Connor isn’t a big fan of President Obama. Florida State officials have declined to comment on the resignation.
