Thread by @JeffreyASachs

Allyn Walker, the ODU prof who was criticized for their comments and scholarship on pedophilia, has resigned. They required an armed escort to safely get off campus.

pilotonline.com/news/education…

This is quite the coup for Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, and the rest of that crowd. For weeks now, they'd been hounding Walker and demanding their termination. But here's the reality: scholarship like Walker's is precisely the sort of thing academic freedom exists to protect.

Unfortunately, there has been a HUGE amount of misinformation about Walker's research and commentary. Also quite a bit of transphobia too. In the end, it seems to have been too much.

So here's my suggestion -- and I'm actually serious here and not being glib.

The University of Austin should offer Walker a job.

The closest parallel to this case that comes to mind is Thomas Hubbard, who was likewise accused of condoning pedophilia. He ended up suing students who protested out in front of his house.

insidehighered.com/news/2020/12/1…

But come to think of it, fewer and fewer cases of Fire-this-professor! involve faculty research. Bo Winegard comes to mind (race and IQ), but generally it's been over public commentary or pedagogy.