You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
A professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School has removed his entire Twitter account and apologized for a tweet about Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The tweet, according to Above the Law, was about the leaked draft this week of a Supreme Court decision. Frank Buckley, the professor, tweeted, “So the question is, why was it leaked. Because doing so makes it harder to persuade one of the members of the majority to pull a Roberts. So which was it—a crafty conservative or a stupid Latina?”
Ken Randall, the Allison and Dorothy Rouse Dean of the law school, sent an email to the law school in which he said, “Last night one of our colleagues, Professor Frank Buckley, sent a tweet from his personal account that uses language not reflective of the law school’s or the university’s values. I have received many emails expressing upset, hurt, and concern. Many of us found the language discourteous and racially insensitive at best.”
He said, “The executive team is meeting and fully reviewing this matter.”
Randall also said Buckley had apologized for the tweet: “I regret that my foolish remarks have caused great sadness. I fully support the principle of inclusion and respect for every student.”
The president of George Mason, Gregory Washington, sent a campuswide email that did not name Buckley. “Earlier today, a member of the Mason faculty shared a personal opinion on Twitter that does not represent the inclusive community that we as a university should strive to achieve at all times. We appreciate, foster, and welcome diversity of background and perspectives, and dialogue that builds on the merits of a civil society, makes us stronger as individuals, and allows us the great successes we have achieved so far. Definitive divisive language does the opposite and will tear down our efforts to be part of something greater than ourselves, and our ability to create something greater for society,” Washington said.
Via email, Buckley told Inside Higher Ed, “I agree entirely with the beliefs about diversity and inclusion expressed by the president of my university and very much regret any pain caused by my thoughtless comment.”
