In a statement released Tuesday, the dean of the Journalism School at the University of Missouri announced that assistant professor Melissa Click may lose her “courtesy appointment” with the School of Journalism for her aggressive confrontation with student journalists.
Tim Tai and a colleague were attempting to cover the tent city that housed the students who had gone on a hunger strike over alleged racial slurs on the Columbia campus. Tai and the videographer were surrounded by students, and at least one university staff member connected to the fraternity and sorority system, who proceeded to push them back and shout at them.
It was caught on camera when assistant professor Click shouted for the videographer to leave the area, and when he refused, she infamously shouted for “muscle” to remove him.
Dean David Kurplus made clear on Tuesday that Click is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications in the School of Arts and Sciences. “In that capacity, she holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Journalism. Journalism School faculty members are taking immediate action to review that appointment,” he said.
Kurplus praised student photographer Tai. “The Missouri School of Journalism is proud of photojournalism senior Tim Tai for how he handled himself during a protest on Carnahan Quad on the University of Missouri campus. The media have a First Amendment right to cover public events. Tai handled himself professionally and with poise.”
There is no word if Click will also be disciplined by the School of Arts and Sciences.
Follow Austin Ruse on Twitter @austinruse.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.