On November 9, 2015, University of Missouri communication professor, Melissa Click, made national headlines for attempting to suppress student journalists covering a campus protest, adding to the flurry of media attention already surrounding a major controversy.While participating in student demonstrations against the university administration’s alleged indifference toward reports of racism on campus, Click had attempted to eject student reporter, Tim Tai, from a “safe zone” created by protesters. As a result of her errant behavior, Click eventually faced suspension, a misdemeanor assault charge, and official dismissal from the university. The personal repercussions of Melissa Click’s actions extended beyond institutional reprimands. A video of the professor’s attempt to expel the student journalist, which included a vivid call for “muscle” to help in the removal, quickly went viral, inciting a firestorm of vitriolic attack against Click via her personal Twitter account as well as through the newly created feed #FireMelissaClick. One tweet called her “a complete disgrace and embarrassment to her profession.” Another argued that “she deserves to be ridiculed and disgraced.” Even more hateful threats flooded Click’s university e-mail inbox, threats that were later released as a matter of public record. One person, for example, emailed her the following invective: “I plan to belly laugh when someone shanks you or sets you on fire.” Another person wrote: “I hope you are gang-raped by some of the very animals with whom you’re so enamored.” Various journalists also chimed in, albeit in a much less hostile manner, to suggest that Click was a poor representative of the academic profession because of her seemingly blatant disregard for First Amendment rights of free speech and press. After a long process, Click was eventually fired by the University of Missouri in February of 2016 and hired that same year in September by Gonzaga university to a one year lecturer appointment.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Defeasibility, Good Intentions
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Transcript
Melissa Click’s Official Statement:
Sources
Ex-Mizzou professor Melissa Click, Fired over protest clash, Gets new job (2016, September 4). NBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-mizzou-professor-melissa-click-fired-over-protest-clash-gets-n642711
Huguelet, A., & Victor, D. (2015, November 9). ‘I need some muscle’: Missouri activists block journalists. New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/university-missouri-protesters-block-journalists-press-freedom.html
Kingkade, T. (2015, November 10). Mizzou professor Melissa Click gets death And rape threats. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/melissa-click-death-threats-mizzou-journalism-school_us_56424266e4b0307f2caf39b2
Stein, K. A., Barton, M. H., & Paul, W. B. (2017). 140 characters to say “I hate you”: Melissa Click, racism, and the media circus at Mizzou. Relevant Rhetoric, 8, 1-15.
