A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) was sentenced to three years probation, 108 hours of community service, and 10 hours of anger management for her assault on a pro-life teen and vandalism of a pro-life group’s display.
Associate Professor Mireille Miller-Young was also ordered to pay a small fine and restitution of nearly $500.
Miller-Young, who teaches feminist and black cultural studies courses, including classes on pornography and sex work, and specializes in “queer theory,” pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges of grand theft, vandalism, and battery in July for her actions in March.
The professor had loudly confronted 16-year-old Thrin Short and her 21-year-old sister, Joan, who were distributing pamphlets for the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, a nonprofit pro-life group, on the school’s campus. Miller-Young ridiculed the girls, called them names, and then destroyed some of their group’s signage. Finally, she assaulted Thrin, causing her minor injuries.
The Short sisters recorded a video of Miller-Young physically pushing and swinging her arms at Thrin and posted it on YouTube.
As reported by Christian News Wire, Thrin and Joan were in court for the sentencing with their mother, Katie Short, Life Legal Defense Foundation Legal Director.
“While Miller-Young submitted a written apology to the court for taking and destroying the sign, the sincerity of that apology is undercut by other letters she submitted from colleagues, several of which attempt to shift the blame onto the pro-lifers,” said Katie Short. “Regardless of the actual level of her remorse, her conviction on three misdemeanor charges will undoubtedly be sufficient to dissuade her from any repetition of her outrageous conduct.”
“The prosecution itself should have disabused her of the notion that she could victimize pro-lifers with impunity, an attitude clearly on display in the video,” she added. “We hope that anyone else who might consider violence or vandalism against pro-life advocates will take note.”
According to Christian News Wire, Miller-Young has not apologized for her attack on Thrin, nor has the university condemned its employee’s criminal actions.
Though Miller-Young continues to be listed as a faculty member at the university, FoxNews.com reported that UCSB spokesman George Foulsham said, “Professor Miller-Young is not currently teaching any courses and is not scheduled to teach any courses during the fall quarter.”
Following the incident, Miller-Young claimed she had a “moral right” to physically attack the pro-life young people, stating that she viewed herself “like” a “conscientious objector.” The professor also blamed the young pro-lifers for forcing her to viciously attack them, claiming Thrin had “triggered” her.
Miller-Young received support from a group of her students. Breitbart News reported in April that UCSB theater and feminist studies student Katherine Wehler told The College Fix that young pro-life girls attacked by leftist professors “are domestic terrorists, because the definition of a terrorist is someone who terrorizes.”