Trump officials honor Charlie Kirk at Kennedy Center vigil
Trump officials mourned Charlie Kirk at a vigil at the Kennedy Center, remembering his impact on the MAGA movement.
- The University of Tennessee is suspending and pursuing the firing of an assistant professor following a critical social media comment about Charlie Kirk.
- The comment used an expletive to refer to Kirk and was shared by a prominent conservative social media activist.
- UT System President Randy Boyd said the flagship campus is “actively investigating the matter” and will take “decisive action to ensure it is addressed.”
The University of Tennessee System suspended and is pursuing the firing of an assistant professor at the flagship Knoxville campus who criticized conservative activist Charlie Kirk on social media after he was shot to death.
Assistant anthropology professor Tamar Shirinian posted the comment in response to a post about Kirk’s killing. “The world is better off without him in it,” her comment said. It also referred to Kirk with an expletive.
UT campus leaders suspended Shirinian on Sept. 15 and initiated termination proceedings, spokeswoman Kerry Gardner told Knox News in an email.
“The university has taken swift action against a faculty member who has failed to meet our expectations for civil engagement. Her actions endorsing violence and murder do not represent the university or our values,” Gardner said.
The university’s full statement was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, just after 1 p.m. Sept. 15.
“Teaching and shaping the lives of young people is core to the mission of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,” the statement said. “We have a great responsibility as educators of America’s future leaders to make sure students have a healthy educational environment in which to learn, wrestle with difficult issues, and express themselves civilly. We take that responsibility seriously.”
Shirinian’s comment was picked up by and shared Sept. 14 by conservative social media activist Robby Starbuck with his nearly 845,000 followers. He called for his followers to contact the university and UT System President Randy Boyd to ask them to “act now.”
Boyd took to social media – both his personal and UT System accounts – Sept. 15 to share a statement: “Celebrating or advocating violence and murder is reprehensible and has no place at the University of Tennessee. UT Knoxville is actively investigating the matter and will take decisive action to ensure it is addressed with the full weight and attention it deserves.”
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On his accounts, Boyd shared a new statement at 1:08 p.m.: “I support Chancellor Plowman’s swift action. Our responsibility is to educate and shape future leaders in an environment grounded in respect and decency. That responsibility is one we will always uphold on behalf of our students and the people of Tennessee.”
Knox News couldn’t find the original post or comment on social media, but UT confirmed the professor’s identity. Starbuck received the post in his direct messages, according to an X post he made Sept. 14.
Comment is not the first to lead to disciplinary action in Tennessee
Shirinian taught cultural anthropology at the Knoxville campus with research areas including queer theory, feminist theory and geopolitics. Her ethnographic research was based in Armenia and focuses on LGBTQ+ and feminist organizations, along with grassroots initiatives and right-wing nationalist movements.
Her profile page was removed from UT’s website earlier today before noon.
Other faculty and staff members of Tennessee universities have been fired or suspended after posting on social media about Kirk’s murder. Last week, Middle Tennessee State University fired an assistant dean and Cumberland University fired two employees. East Tennessee State University suspended two employees.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has been at the forefront of calling for the firing of university employees who criticized Kirk, reposting screenshots of comments and urging leadership at these universities to fire them. In the case of the UT assistant professor, both Blackburn and U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett have weighed in.
“Another lunatic, left-wing radical who should be fired immediately,” Blackburn posted at Sept. 14. Around the same time, Burchett responded to users saying he’s “on it” and that he “already delivered the message.”
Other social media users have commented and shared the post by Starbuck calling on the university to fire the assistant professor, with some employing homophobic and racist rhetoric and calling the professor “demonic” or “evil.”
Social media users have unearthed and publicized criticism of Kirk
Shirinian’s comment was under a post from another user about unfollowing people who were critical of Kirk after he was killed. Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative political nonprofit that focuses on mobilizing college students.
“The world is better off without him in it. Even those who are claiming to be sad for his wife and kids …. like, his kids are better off living in a world without a disgusting psychopath like him and his wife, well, she’s a sick fuck for marrying him so I dont care about her feelings,” according to the screenshot from Starbuck of the comment.
It’s the latest round of social media users taking it on themselves to find people who made disparaging comments about Kirk, report it to their place of work and then celebrate when the person is fired.
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
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