ASHE SCHOW: When Feels Matter More Than Facts.

Copeland recounted a story about how he was investigated for violating Title IX because he once hurt the feelings of a female student. Copeland was coordinating rehearsals for a play, and “spoke sharply,” according to Heller, to a female student, who ran out of the room. Copeland wanted to make things right and meet with the student and the department chair. The student requested he leave the room so she could speak to the department chair.

Copeland was later called to meet with the school’s dean of arts and sciences. Copeland had allegedly created “a hostile and unsafe learning environment” because he “verbally berated” that student. He was told he couldn’t be told which students complained or the specifics of the complaints. He was asked to sign a document acknowledging the complaints.

“I’m thinking, Oh, God! I’m cast in one of my least favorite plays of all time, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller!” Copeland told Heller.

Copeland gave the dean a list of students that could confirm he never “berated” anyone. The dean brushed it off, apparently telling Copeland: “What matters is that the student felt unsafe.”

Get that? It didn’t matter what the facts were, what matters is that someone’s feelings were hurt.

As a purely strategic matter, people on the right would probably be well-advised to stand back and let lefty institutions eat themselves. But I don’t think people can stay silent in the face of this injustice.