100 Members of the Missouri House Demand Mizzou Fire Professor Melissa Click
Kansas City – Melissa Click, an MU professor who famously asked for some “muscle” to move a student journalist away from protestors during anti-racism protests in November, must be fired, a group of more than 100 Republicans in the General Assembly demanded Monday.
In a letter to the MU Board of Curators, the lawmakers called for the immediate firing of Click, an assistant communications professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“As a professional representing our university, Click failed to meet the obligation she has to her supervisors, fellow professors, university students, and the taxpayers of Missouri,” the letter said.
Instead of promoting a safe and stable learning environment, Click’s actions “served to inflame an already caustic situation that was clearly out of line.”
Click already has resigned a courtesy appointment at MU’s School of Journalism. But the lawmakers want her gone altogether.
Her actions amounted to a “completely disregard for the First Amendment rights of reporters,” the letter said.
It was signed by more than 100 House members and 18 senators.
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It may be a new year, but there’s still room for an old story – especially when it never reached a satisfying conclusion.
Remember Melissa Click? Of course you do! Your blood hopefully still boils when you hear her name. But just in case, here’s a refresher:
Meet Melissa Click, a professor of Mass Media. Yes, an employee of the school…who teaches in the Communications department. A department that, according to their website, has “faculty members (whom) are keenly aware of our role in helping students appreciate and effectively negotiate the complex communication processes they encounter.”
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And what ended up happening? She resigned…no, not from the school. Not from her job. From her “courtesy appointment” at the Journalism school. She’s still there in her role in the Communications department, cashing paychecks, molding young minds. 99% of the time the internet witch hunts and the bloodsport of hating on people over social media is wayyy over the top and reckless, but in this case it was all totally justified, and I was absolutely shocked it didn’t lead to her firing.
Thank God the Missouri House is there to clean up the mess.