From our colleagues at DePaul:
Academic Freedom is under attack at DePaul University!
On May 8, 2024 an adjunct instructor at DePaul was fired without notice of a clear appeals process for offering an optional assignment that connected the course content to the atrocities taking place in Gaza. This was not an isolated incident, but is rather part of a wider crackdown on academic freedom at DePaul University. Although this is the first case that ended in loss of employment, at least 3 other adjunct instructors have been subject to investigations for daring to speak about Gaza in the classroom or for wearing keffiyehs on campus. One adjunct instructor was investigated simply for speaking out, outside of class, at the encampment. This is in clear violation of the DePaul Faculty Handbook which protects the rights of students and faculty to make “public statements as a citizen in one’s own name.”
These are only a few recent examples. The encroachment on academic freedom that is taking place at universities across the nation risks undermining the very foundations of the integrity of academic life.
We demand that DePaul do better!
We demand academic freedom!
We demand that DePaul respect the first amendment rights of its adjunct staff who, while being the most precarious group of instructors, teach a bulk of DePaul’s classes.