A Fordham University student is threatening to sue the university after it placed him on disciplinary probation related to two Instagram posts.
The first post on Instagram was a picture commemorating slain retired police Capt. David Dorn with the caption, “Y’all a bunch of hypocrites,†referring to the Black Lives Matter movement which the student dislikes.
The second post on Instagram was an image of Tong holding a legally acquired firearm and the caption, “Don’t tread on me,†along with a hashtag remembering the Tiananmen Square Massacre, posted on the 31st anniversary of the event. Tong himself left China when quite young to escape the Chinese communists.
The letter from Fordham Dean of Students Keith Eldredge didn’t specify anything wrong with the Instagram posts other than the possession of a firearm, referring to social media posts “related to the current racial issues in the country and political issues in China.â€
The refusal to specify what was wrong with them shows even Fordham knows how ridiculous this is, and referring to Tiananmen Square as a “political issue in China†sounds like it’s straight out of a Chinese propaganda handbook.
Fordham found that senior Austin Tong’s posts violated its policies on “bias and/or hate crimes†and “threats/intimidation.†The probation restricts his access to campus, forcing him to finish his degree online, and bars him from participating in extracurricular activities. The university also ordered Tong to complete implicit bias training and to write a letter of apology. Â
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Firenze Sage:  Who is Tong supposed to apologize to?
