Will Kent State say ‘enough'?

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Yet another tenured professor has abused his position to defame and attack Israel on campus without, it seems, any professional repercussions. Kent State University's Prof. Julio Pino's cry of "Death to Israel," hurled at a visiting Israeli diplomat during a university forum, has made national and international news. The professor's actions have been generally portrayed as beyond the realm of penalty and simply a matter of free speech.

Largely ignored in the focus on the First Amendment is the question of Kent State's institutional regulations and enforcement of its Employee Code of Conduct as it applies to Prof. Pino's disruptive actions and threatening statements. The code requires that every employee of the university must "demonstrate respect for all campus and external community members," refrain from "discourteous treatment of the public," and not "threaten, accost, demean" or use "abusive language." If an employee violates any of these principles, the university has formal disciplinary procedures that are to be enacted.

Pino's verbal assault on Khaldi obviously violates Kent State's Employee Code of Conduct. The question is whether the university will take action.

Free speech expert and attorney David Hudson of The First Amendment Center has commented on the general issue of employee conduct and free speech and notes that "it is acceptable for government employers to discipline employees for speech that undermines the integrity of the office."

Read more at http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/opinion/op-eds/article_5c436dc8-0bc8-11e1-ba41-001cc4c03286.html