East Tennessee State University Veteran Memorial Vandalized with ‘Free Palestine’ Messages

ETSU Sign

A veterans memorial at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) was recently vandalized with anti-Israel messages. University officials reportedly told a local news outlet that they were working to remove the vandalism from the site Friday night.

The top of the memorial statue was vandalized with messages saying “Free Palestine,” “We have failed ourselves,” and “How many must die?”

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Bullied, Targeted, and Harassed: A Turning Point USA Student Shares Her Story of Oppression at East Tennessee State University

Lakie Derrick

Lakie Derrick, now 21, first traveled less than 30 miles to attend East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the fall of 2020. She had always known her hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, to be a relatively conservative city.

In 2016, the two counties that contain Kingsport overwhelmingly voted to elect Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Washington County, where ETSU is located, did the same that year and supported Trump again in 2020. Only two Tennessee counties held blue through the 2022 gubernatorial election.

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Matthew Giffin Details Socialist Group’s Fight with East Tennessee State University over Upcoming Event Featuring Kyle Rittenhouse

Kyle Rittenhouse

Matthew Giffin, reporter at The Tennessee Star and student at Middle Tennessee State University, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a socialist group’s response to an event scheduled at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) next week featuring Kyle Rittenhouse.

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Socialist Students Demand ETSU Restrict ‘Hate Speech’ Ahead of Kyle Rittenhouse Visit

Kyle Rittenhouse

The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has demanded the school makes a specific policy prohibiting “hate speech.” The call comes as the right-of-center ETSU chapter of Turning Point USA prepares to host Kyle Rittenhouse for a February 8 event they’re calling “The Rittenhouse Recap.”

ETSU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) said Rittenhouse’s visit to campus is “in clear violation of ETSU’s supposed hate speech policy” in a Friday Instagram post. YDSA also demanded that ETSU’s president and student government issue a statement condemning the event.

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Tennessee Universities Refuse Comment on How They Will Implement New Intellectual Diversity Law

Public university leaders in Tennessee are staying silent on how and when they plan to follow a new state law that requires them to implement intellectual diversity on their campuses.

Diversity offices, presidents’ offices, and media affairs’ divisions at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Memphis, Tennessee State University and East Tennessee State University have not responded with answers to emails and phone calls from The College Fix over the last 10 days asking about their plans to follow the relatively new law.

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Knox County Schools Approved East Tennessee State University Dual Enrollment Course That Taught Critical Race Theory

ETSU Library

Knox County Schools (KCS) approved a dual enrollment course from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) that has historically taught critical race theory. The KCS board of education approved the course offering, “SOWK 1030: Cultural Diversity,” as part of a larger list of ETSU dual enrollment courses during their meeting last week.

The course is characterized as pre-professional social work curriculum focused on social justice topics such as “diversity within diversity,” referring to intersectionality – a concept coined by preeminent critical race theory scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw.

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Representative Harshbarger Condemns East Tennessee State University Basketball Team for Kneeling During National Anthem

The behavior of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) basketball has caught the ire of their congresswoman. Freshman Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) criticized the basketball team on Thursday after the team’s practice of kneeling in protest to the national anthem was made known. 

ETSU Head Coach Jason Shay supported his team’s decision, stating that the country’s soldiers and people of color have experienced similar levels of “sacrifice, fear, pain, anxiety, [and] loss.” 

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ETSU Student Government Calls for Cutting All Ties with Neighboring Christian University Over Departure of Homosexual Professor

The Student Government Association at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is targeting a private Christian university over allegations that it forced a homosexual professor to resign last spring.

The SGA at the public university on Tuesday voted 17-5 to suggest that ETSU cut its athletics scheduling and financial partnerships with Milligan University and other universities accused of discrimination, the Johnson City Press reported. Milligan is located about five miles from ETSU.

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