US professor felt unsafe on campus due to MAGA-aligned students

Maisha Wester, an associate professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, found her office door marked with an unclear scribble, a symbol she soon understood meant she had been singled out. This marking, along with similar incidents affecting colleagues, was reportedly initiated by students aligned with the MAGA movement, supporters of former President Trump. These students allegedly target instructors who teach "unpatriotic" material. Wester, whose specialization is the study of racism in literature and film, found herself among those targeted.

The intimidation extended beyond the marked door. Students reportedly taunted her with racist remarks and comments. A colleague who categorized Make America Great Again as a movement pursuing "white supremacy" faced suspension after a student complained to a member of the Indiana State Senate. This colleague was accused of violating a state law requiring "intellectual diversity" in public education. Although reinstated, her lectures had to be recorded, and her contract was ultimately not renewed.

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You can no longer criticize the government at any level at my university.

Wester expressed a sense of impending threat, stating, "You can no longer criticize the government at any level at my university." She noted the suspension of programs in Black Studies, Gender Studies, and Latino Studies pending curriculum reviews. The university, she explained, now aims to create space for certain opinions under the guise of "diversity of viewpoints," rather than allowing criticism of potentially racist statements in lectures.

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Black people are more prone to crime; You are only here thanks to diversity policies.

She shared personal experiences, recounting students openly making statements like, "Black people are more prone to crime," and "You are only here thanks to diversity policies." She also heard that the N-word was circulating again among students. Wester described a sense of solidarity among humanities faculty, but noted their small presence compared to the large Business School, where some professors also deem certain courses too "woke." Indiana's conservative political climate, she observed, has turned the university into a "microcosm of a violent macrocosm," with armed individuals and "racists with guns" visible on her commute.

Her decision to explore opportunities abroad, like the "Tulp" project in the Netherlands, stemmed from these experiences. "When a colleague told me it was no longer safe in the US, I wondered if I would be arrested," she said. The state of Indiana has increasingly stringent requirements for academic programs, demanding proof of graduate income potential, which she finds nearly impossible to meet. Similar trends in the United Kingdom also cause concern.

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When a colleague told me it was no longer safe in the US, I wondered if I would be arrested.