Constitutional law scholar Ilya Shapiro recently joined Georgetown Law School as executive director and senior lecturer of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. But a couple of tweets from Shapiro shortly before he was to join the school evidently offended some of the law students:
"Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid prog & v smart. Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American," Shapiro tweeted on January 26. "But alas doesn't fit into the latest intersectionality hierarchy so we'll get lesser black woman."
In a following tweet, Shapiro added that if Biden will only consider a black woman to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Supreme Court:
"[His nominee] will always have an asterisk attached. Fitting that the Court takes up affirmative action next term."
Following the blowback, Shapiro – who was placed on administrative leave by the university – apologized and deleted the tweets. However, National Review reported "student activists were unsatisfied" by the school's move – and that one of them even insisted that students be given a designated place on campus to cry:
"I don't know what it would look like, but if they want to cry, if they need to break down, where can they go? Because we're at a point where students are coming out of class to go to the bathroom to cry."
According to Breitbart.com, university administrators "reportedly took this inquiry seriously."
AFN sought reaction from Christian commentator and cultural analyst Janice Crouse. She reports an administrator quickly complied by offering to find such a place.
"And then they [the students] went on to say, Well, we also need food," Crouse reported. "And then the academic dean stepped up and said, Oh, we will reimburse for any food that you order in. So, this thing has escalated to the point that it's just hysterical, actually."
Crouse feels the unjust outcry about Shapiro's views and students' juvenile demands for a "cry room" is evidence America is becoming a nation of "snowflakes."
"If they're going to be successful in life, they cannot be crybabies," she said. "And if they want to have a successful career, they're going to have to buckle down."
'Toxic' campus environment
In the aftermath, some conservative students at Georgetown Law School have gone public with their criticism of the "cancel culture" on campus, one describing it as "very toxic."
"I've never raised by hand and said anything [about] by conservative viewpoints. I don't feel comfortable in it. My professors have been tweeting anti-conservative rhetoric. There's no space for a conservative to speak," a third-year student told Fox News.
Said another student: "Seems to me as a conservative student that I was already hesitant to share my views in class, especially larger classes. I think the administration's response has sort of shown that caution to be justified."
Janice Crouse is author of "Children at Risk."
