After a raucous protest disrupted a student Federalist Society event at Stanford University, one of the school’s deans directed students who were “traumatized” by the incident to seek “safety and mental health” support from the Dean who participated in the protest.
As earlier reports from The Daily Wire noted, Fifth Circuit appellate judge Kyle Duncan was scheduled to speak. When he called for a school administrator to manage rowdy protesters, he got Tirien Steinbach, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — and she joined the crowd in verbally attacking him.
According to a report published Sunday by the Washington Free Beacon, Stanford Law School Associate Dean Jeanne Merino sent an email to campus Federalist Society leadership hours after the event transpired. In the missive, Merino revealed that some Federalist Society members had voiced concerns for their own safety, and she suggested several resources that they might utilize while processing the day’s events.
“Dr. Alejandro Martinez, a clinical psychologist with 30+ years at Stanford, is available to counsel students who are not feeling safe,” Merino wrote. “He can read social media interactions and direct communications to assess whether the implied or actual threats are likely to become a reality.”
Merino went on to suggest that students who “would like support or would like to process last week’s events” should reach out to her directly or to other staffers — including DEI Associate Dean Steinbach.
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley reacted to the news, saying that it was particularly “tone deaf.”
“In what may be the most tone deaf response to an academic scandal in history, Stanford is advising students upset by the canceling of a conservative event that they can “reach out” to DEI Dean Tirien Steinbach who condemned the event …” Turley tweeted.
…It is akin to the Oscars telling Chris Rock that Will Smith is available as an emotional support coach. You know what is emotionally therapeutic for those denied free speech? Free speech.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 13, 2023
“It is akin to the Oscars telling Chris Rock that Will Smith is available as an emotional support coach. You know what is emotionally therapeutic for those denied free speech? Free speech,” he added.
Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez offered an apology to Judge Duncan following the incident, saying in part, “Staff members who should have enforced university policies failed to do so, and instead intervened in inappropriate ways that are not aligned with the university’s commitment to free speech.”