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Some people don’t deal well with disruptors. Possibly among those: California educational board member John Corkins.
At a Kern Community College District Board of Trustees meeting on December 13, the group discussed troublesome opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The District funds various social justice initiatives; and according to The College Fix, tenured Bakersfield College History Professors Matthew Garrett and Erin Miller aren’t fans. Hence, they help head the school alliance Renegade Institute for Liberty (RIL).
From BakersfieldCollege.edu:
The Renegade Institute for Liberty is a coalition of…faculty dedicated to the free speech, open inquiry, critical thinking to advance American ideals within the broader Western tradition of meritocracy, individual agency, civic virtue, liberty of conscience and free markets. These ideologies underpin the American Experiment, long serving as the nation’s primary bulwark against the political and ideological tyranny of both individuals and of the masses. As an advocate for intellectual literacy and diversity, the Renegade Institute for Liberty reaffirms civil, religious, and economic freedom upon which the academe and the nation must stand or fall. Through intellectual exploration and reason, the Institute works to preserve each of the above virtues as necessary for a free people and to advance the cause of liberty in America.
Per Kern County’s KGET, the Institute has caused some students to feel unsafe:
Faculty and community members came together at [the meeting], claiming students of color are being targeted at Bakersfield College by [RIL].
“I did not feel safe in that room, I was silenced, I was ignored, I was unwanted, something needs to be done,” said Bakersfield College student Jordan Davis.
[Jordan] told the Kern Community College District Board of Trustees what attending an Equal Opportunity and Diversity Advisory Committee meeting was like.The committee meeting included a Racial Taskforce that looked into results that show Bakersfield College students of color are more likely to experience racial microaggressions and physical and verbal attacks.
Bakersfield College English Professor Dr. Paula Parks — “founder of…a program designed to increase the success and retention of African American students” — was on Jordan’s side. She told the Board RIL had targeted her students under the guise of free speech.
In a statement to TCF, Board Vice President John Corkins recounted the meeting’s intensity:
“[S]everal African-American faculty, students and statewide representatives…bravely shared their feelings of fear based on the actions of a small group of faculty members and their feelings of disappointment in the District for allowing these actions to continue.”
All that led John to make quite the public statement at the meeting…
“I appreciated your comments on that. … We’ll let the investigation go on and so forth. I was glad to hear what we heard today, as far as people stepping up. … I think there’s a segment, as there is in everything, in every company and every business, a small percent of people that are…disrespectful…
John knows how to solve such situations:
“[T]hey’re in that five percent that we have to continue to cull. Got ’em in my livestock operation, and that’s why we put a rope on some of ’em and take ’em to the slaughterhouse. That’s a fact of life with human nature and so forth. And I don’t know how to say it any clearer than that…”
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If the District’s general condition is problematic, he said, “[W]e’ve got to get the bad actors out of the room.” John lamented it’s “hard to get rid of” them when they’re staff.
Hard, indeed: As noted by The College Fix, “In 2021, after [RIL Professors Matthew and Erin] were threatened with termination [for questioning] use of grant money to fund social justice initiatives…they filed a federal lawsuit against the district.”
As for his cattle comparison, VP John has since issued an apology to The Fix:
“I apologize to anyone who felt threatened or was offended. My intent was to emphasize that the individuals who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting have my full support.”
At the meeting, Professor Paula laid out the difference between free speech and hate speech:
“Free speech has to be something you have a reasonable belief is true, but [Renegade Institute for Liberty is] saying things that they know are lies, and they are trying to incite anger and create an unsafe environment…”
Was John’s speech hate speech? Possibly not, it would appear, if he truly believes in his slaughter-centric analogy. And given the non-retracting nature of his mea culpa, he seems to.
-ALEX
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