,
17 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
‼️Liberty University/Jerry Falwell Jr. Dictatorship thread‼️
From the inside: Written by a former student/school paper editor
How Jerry Falwell Jr. silences students and professors who reject his pro-Trump politics
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/0…
From the inside: Written by a former student/school paper editor
How Jerry Falwell Jr. silences students and professors who reject his pro-Trump politics
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/0…
I’d spent the previous three years watching the university administration, led by President Jerry Falwell Jr. (who took a very micromanaging interest), meddle in our coverage, revise controversial op-eds and protect its image by stripping damning facts from our stories.
when my team took over in fall of 2017, we encountered an “oversight” system — read: a censorship regime — that required us to send every story to Falwell’s assistant for review
Any admin or prof who appeared in an article had editing authority over any part of the article;
Any admin or prof who appeared in an article had editing authority over any part of the article;
they added and deleted whatever they wanted.
Falwell called our newsroom on multiple occasions to direct our coverage personally. Weeks before the 2016 election, he read a draft of my column defending mainstream news outlets and ordered me to say whom I planned to vote for.
Falwell called our newsroom on multiple occasions to direct our coverage personally. Weeks before the 2016 election, he read a draft of my column defending mainstream news outlets and ordered me to say whom I planned to vote for.
I refused on ethical grounds, so Falwell told me to insert “The author refused to reveal which candidate he is supporting for president” at the bottom of the column.
Eventually I quit, and the School of Communication decided not to replace me, turning the paper into a
Eventually I quit, and the School of Communication decided not to replace me, turning the paper into a
*cult*
faculty-run, student-written organ and seizing complete control of its content. Student journalists must now sign a NDA that forbids them from talking publicly about “editorial or managerial direction, oversight decisions or info designated as privileged or confidential.”
faculty-run, student-written organ and seizing complete control of its content. Student journalists must now sign a NDA that forbids them from talking publicly about “editorial or managerial direction, oversight decisions or info designated as privileged or confidential.”
The form also states that the students understand they are “privileged” to receive “thoughts, opinions, and other statements” from university administrators. #Cult #brainwash
It was one example of an infrastructure of thought-control that Falwell and his lieutenants have
It was one example of an infrastructure of thought-control that Falwell and his lieutenants have
introduced into every aspect of LU life.
Faculty, staff and students on the campus have learned that it’s a sin to challenge the sacrosanct status of the school or its leader, which mete out punishments for dissenting opinions This “culture of fear,” worsened during my 4 years
Faculty, staff and students on the campus have learned that it’s a sin to challenge the sacrosanct status of the school or its leader, which mete out punishments for dissenting opinions This “culture of fear,” worsened during my 4 years
The school’s methods became even more aggressive after Falwell endorsed Trump early that year. “The closer you get to the president’s office, the worse it becomes.”
Falwell’s staff now operates masterfully to squash challenges to his views and his rise in national political
Falwell’s staff now operates masterfully to squash challenges to his views and his rise in national political
influence.
Liberty, founded on principles of fundamental Christianity, is now a place that has zero tolerance for new questions and ideas. Those who harbor them must remain silent, or leave.
nytimes.com/2018/04/17/mag…
Liberty, founded on principles of fundamental Christianity, is now a place that has zero tolerance for new questions and ideas. Those who harbor them must remain silent, or leave.
nytimes.com/2018/04/17/mag…
Falwell said he’d removed a Champion op-ed criticizing Trump’s “locker room talk” defense because there was simply not enough room on the page. (The piece was already laid out on the page when he pulled it.) In fact, much of Falwell’s message control has to do with safeguarding
Falwell seemed to have acted on his own when endorsing Trump #PoolBoy Against all advice
washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli…
washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli…
One cause of perpetual insecurity at Liberty is the school’s refusal to award tenure to any faculty member (outside the law school). Instructors are instead hired on year-to-year contracts; during the spring semester, they find out whether they will be coming back the next fall.
Guess what guarantees their jobs? Yup, drinking the kool-aid, loving Trump, listening only to Falwell.
Ask yourself, what kind of kids are coming out of that school? What kind of parents send their kids their?
rawstory.com/2019/07/reveal…
Ask yourself, what kind of kids are coming out of that school? What kind of parents send their kids their?
rawstory.com/2019/07/reveal…
