Steven Shaviro is the DeRoy Professor of English at Wayne State University. According to his university profile, Shaviro teaches courses such as “Introduction to Film,” “Styles and Genres in Film,” and “Historical Topics in Film and Media.”

Shaviro has been suspended after he posted on Facebook that it would be better for people to kill their political opponents than to protest them. In a now-deleted post, Shaviro wrote:

“So here is what I think about free speech on campus. Although I do not advocate violating federal and state criminal codes, I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic, or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them down.”

He added:

“When right-wing groups invite such speakers to campus, it is precisely because they want to provoke an incident that discredits the left, and gives more publicity and validation to these reprehensible views than they could otherwise attain.” 

A screenshot of Shaviro’s now-deleted post can be seen below:

On March 27, 2023, Wayne State president Dr. M. Roy Wilson sent an email to students that said,

“We have on many occasions defended the right of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but we feel this post far exceeds the bounds of reasonable or protected speech. It is, at best, morally reprehensible and, at worst, criminal.” 

President Wilson said the matter had been referred to law enforcement agencies for investigation and that Shaviro had been suspended with pay, effective immediately.

 

Published – April 3, 2023