Oberlin College has undermined free speech on campus

Oberlin College has just fired English professor Joy Karega for making anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments on Facebook.Among other penetrating insights on the current world scene, Karega posted on Facebook that the ISIS terrorist group actually is a "CIA and Mossad operation" and that Israel was behind the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. And of course, "Israeli and Zionist Jews" carried out the 9/11 terrorist attack. Until she lost her job, Karega was an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at the school. It speaks badly of Oberlin that she was hired in the first place. Was she really the best-qualified applicant when the job came open? But it also reflects poorly on Oberlin that the school has failed to uphold the principle of academic free speech and has fired Karega.College professors need to be able to express controversial opinions and go where their research takes them. And when it comes to political opinions, it's not always easy to draw the line between charlatan and sage. The Intercept has reported that Frank Gaffney is providing advice to Donald Trump's transition team. (In fairness, a Trump spokesman denies that Gaffney is part of the team.)Among other opinions, Gaffney has said that Barack Obama is "still" a Muslim and that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie committed treason by naming a Muslim lawyer to a state court. Maybe he and Karega should get together to trade insights. For that matter, some people think that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have said things that actually aren't true. It's not a good idea for alumni and college boards to begin scouring academic departments for doubleplusungood thoughts. And conservatives who rejoice over Karega getting the boot should worry about conservative professors being purged for thought crimes, making left wing campuses such as Oberlin even less diverse. Joy Karega