PROFESSOR PETER KIRSTEIN HAS BEEN PUNISHED by St. Xavier University for his email. I’m not actually sure that I approve of this — I think Kirstein should be shamed, not punished — though most of this punishment consists of shaming, it’s true. And, I suspect, had Kirstein sent an equally abusive email to a student from a black college the punishment would have been at least as severe. Still, I don’t believe in punishing people, especially academics, for their opinions, however lame and loathsome. But, of course, my expansive views of free speech have not held sway with university administrators for some time.

UPDATE: Here’s Kirstein’s apologia.