LIU: Gun-Free or Thought-Free?

Apparently, some university administrators are not content with just making their campus a gun-free zone. “In another shot to individual rights on college campuses, administrators at Long Island University Post called a student to a mandatory meeting after he posted photos and videos to Facebook showing him legally holding unloaded firearms at an off-campus event hosted by Cabela’s, the popular outdoor sporting goods chain,” according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is acting as an advocate on the student’s behalf.

The intrepid administrator who questioned the lad–Anand Venigalla–wanted to investigate what they saw as a pattern in his behavior. “During Venigalla’s meeting with LIU, the director also brought up an essay he wrote for a class on war, terrorism, and justice in November 2017,” according to FIRE. “Venigalla mentioned in the essay that political violence against authorities, but not civilians, can be justified in certain situations, citing the Boston Tea Party as an example.”

“It is not clear how the administration obtained the essay. The director also questioned Venigalla about a Facebook comment expressing disappointment over losing an election for a student government position, in which Venigalla said the Greek life system wields too much political power on campus. For LIU administrators, apparently three examples of constitutionally-protected speech somehow warrant a mandatory meeting with administrators.”

One last question: is it possible that Venigalla knew about the Boston Tea Party and the administrator didn’t?

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