Identity of Speakers
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Ron McNinch
Faculty/Staff
OtherProfessor of public administration and chair of public administration and legal studies
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Faculty publication
University-sponsored lecture/address/panel
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Faculty sanctioned
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
University of Guam Professor, Ron McNinch, was punished for speaking on his opinions regarding Guam’s election with students, colleagues, and the media. McNinch asked candidates to attend a political forum at the university, which he organized. Furthermore, he stated that he would participate if a candidate did not attend. He preceded to criticize candidate who were absent, stating “who ever does not show up will not win this election.”
The President of the University punished McNinch for his approach and stated that he was using University resources in an unsuitable manner. Following this, he released an official warning upon McNinch requiring him to prepare a plan to avoid future violations. This brought up questions of whether this was violating his First Amendment Right, given the amendment protects “hateful political expression.” The University’s ban on faculty expression in many instances is considered to be a violation of First Amendment protections, having resulted in statements that the University should lift the punishment placed on McNinch.
