Nearly a Year Later Fallout

Tanner, Matthew, Lindsay, Philip, & Lauren

Author: Beth McMurtrie

Beth is a senior writer for The Chronicle of Education (a news source
for college faculty members and administrators)
She has her masters in Journalism from Columbia University School
of Journalism
Her writing focuses on campus culture
Problems of binge drinking on college campuses, challenges
faced by Catholic colleges, and ways that scholars are
influencing public policy
The purpose of McMurtries article is to address the issues and
restraints that college professors experience when it comes to
posting personal thoughts and opinions on social media (She uses
Steven Salaitas story as the basis of her argument)
She writes about the possibility of providing more free speech
protection for professors

Authors Claim and Reasons

The authors claim is that there should be more protections for the
professors at universities to speak their minds, but these professors
should also think about what they post in this day and age on social
media.
The reason that the author feels this way is because in recent
years there have been several cases of professors voicing their
opinion on social media which has lead to controversy.
The reason that the author holds this position is because in the
past this was not a problem until the invention of the internet
and modern social media because the internet has amplified
the number of people that can see it and people do not fear to
 speak out because they are safe behind a keyboard and screen
name.
Another reason that the author holds this position is because
there needs to be a set of rules that are universally understood
in the university system for professors to voice their opinion
without being blasted on the internet.

The Audience for the Article

Place of publication? The chronicle of higher education
Who are his readers? Some readers to this article consist of past
readers looking for a follow up on Steven G. Salaita legal case
against the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, other
university administrations, other professors, students in general.
other clues as to who will care? I believe that with the issues
brought up in this article regarding social media; that anyone who's
trying to get a job or start their career would be interested in this
article. This is because this article serves as a prime example as to
how one moment or one quote on twitter, facebook, etc. can affect
one's entire life. Especial how the world is becoming more socially
web based, employers tend to looks at applicant's social media
profiles before taking them into consideration for the job.

The Genre and Conventions of the Article

What Kind of Article? This article is an informative article. It discusses
the recent controversies of college professors voicing their offensive
opinions.
Style? The author of the article uses a lot of examples and stories to
keep the reader engaged, and to provide enough information for the
reader to understand the importance of the topic. The author gives off
a serious tone to express the significance of the topic and show that
offensive comments do not have a place on social media.
 Format? The format is much like any other article you will read. It has
a title, a picture(s) related to what the article will discuss,
sub-headers, and a lot of information and examples throughout the
whole article.

Other existing perspectives on the issue that the author

acknowledges

In her article, Beth McMurtrie, acknowledges other existing

perspectives on the issue. Some of these perspectives include
the American Association of University Professors (AAUP),
Claire Potter, Michael LeRoy, Mr Salaita, and a few other.

McMurtrie acknowledges the American Association of

University Professors perspective based on the responses of
its Chairman, Henry Reichman. He believes that the actions of
the University were unnecessary and remarks on how the
repercussions such as boycotting the university will set a
standard for others.
Another perspective acknowledged by McMurtrie is that of
Claire Potter, who believes that this story will lead to
Universities cracking down on professors internet speech. She
also believes that people should be more prepared for criticism
from all sides.
Michael LeRoys perspective points to the unofficial rulings of
the universities, due to the fact that they have no written legal
standing or boundaries for professors use of social media.
Therefore he feels that problems such as this will continue until
a standard or ruling is established.
 Key Words

Inflammatory
Academic Freedom
Social Media
Legal Case
Constitutional rights
Political Speech
Personal Speech
First Amendment