Free speech group demands LSU rehire graduate assistant terminated for vulgar voicemail

July 21, 2023 1 min read

Piper Hutchinson
Louisiana Illuminator

Excerpt: A national free speech organization has sent a letter to LSU President William F. Tate that demands the university undo its termination of a graduate assistant who left a vulgar voicemail for a state senator.

In a letter sent Friday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a national First Amendment advocacy organization known for its support of conservatives on college campuses, argued LSU had violated the constitutional rights of Marcus Venable, a grad assistant in LSU’s sociology department. He left a phone message for Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma, after Fesi gave a speech Tuesday in support of a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth.

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