Coconino News

The embattled former Arizona State University administrator fired for allowing right-wing speakers to speak on campus is a heroic champion of free speech, Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R-Surprise) said in a social media post this week.

Smith's Twitter post came about a month after an op-ed by Ann Atkinson, former executive director of Barrett Honors College's T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development, was published in the Wall Street Journal. The op-ed ran under the headline, "I Paid for Free Speech at Arizona State."

Atkinson is a hero for "speaking out against the lack of urgency to protect the first amendment rights of ASU staff and students," Smith said in his Twitter post Tuesday. "I encourage more staff to come forward to the legislature who’ve experienced similar situations." 

In her op-ed, Atkinson said ASU fired her for organizing an event that featured Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager.

Smith's Twitter post linked to a letter from now former ASU Cultural Affairs Event Operations Manager Linda Blake to the Arizona Board of Regents. In that letter, Blake said she adhered to standard procedures when booking events at ASU Gamma and had consistently received commendation for her job performance. However, in the weeks preceding her termination, she experienced discrimination and harassment. The controversy arose between Blake and her colleagues due over events organized by Atkinson that were allegedly subjected to religious discrimination and involved claims of featuring "white supremacist" speakers, according to Blake's letter.

One of the events organized by Atkinson and the Lewis Center went forward at Barrett Honors College in February, according to reporting by 12 News. Following the event, a letter circulated among dozens of Barrett faculty members to the dean of the honors college expressing their disapproval. Atkinson was subsequently fired but ASU maintains that her termination was not related to freedom of speech or the event, but rather a consequence of the Lewis Center's cancellation of funds, 12 News reported.

"And then finally, a big part of the story is that the Honors College participated and the attempts to suppress this free speech, even despite ASU, used very strong policies on free speech," said Atkinson during an episode of the podcast Breaking Battlegrounds. "So they took down our marketing. They tried to limit what the speakers were allowed to say. They wanted me to read a warning statement to the audience at my open during my opening remarks, and that that is directly in congruence with the robust free speech policies that ASU should be providing to all of those in its community."

Smith also sent a letter to ASU Board of Regents, demanding an investigation into the University regarding free speech and the termination of both Blake and Atkinson. 

"I am writing in my official capacity to express my concern regarding the disturbing trend of apparent free speech suppression at campuses in your charge," Smith's letter said. "The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, and the free speech protections guaranteed under article 2, section 6 of the Arizona Constitution are even more robust than the First Amendment."

In her own Twitter post, Atkinson expressed her gratitude to Smith.

"Thank you @azaustinsmith," Atkinson said in her Twitter post. "Colleagues and students should not need to go to these lengths to try to fix what is broken at ASU. But, alas, here we are. So far, ASU has done nothing. Thank you for stepping in and taking action!