Recently, Texas A&M archeology professor Filipe Castro garnered attention from social media users and the university for since-deleted Facebook posts about members of the Republican Party.
The brunt of his Facebook comments were directed toward President Donald Trump and his administration, as well as government officials in Texas such as former presidential candidate Herman Cain. Cain passed away from COVID-19 on July 30 and shortly after, Castro posted a comment that read, “COVID kills the poor. It also kills some stupid, like Herman Cain.”
Many of Castro’s posts regarding the president addressed his disapproval of Trump’s presidency and his treatment of minorities and women, addressing another post to conservatives.
“To the right, as long as African Americans and women are treated like shit, everything is fine,” a post from Castro read.
Castro’s posts have garnered the attention of conservative media outlets around the country such as CampusReform, The Blaze and Breitbart. In another post directed toward Trump and other Republicans such as Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Castro stated his discontent.
“We have a moron as president and every day he paints the walls of the Oval Office with his own shit, and the republicans, including Lying Ted and Corny Cornyn, clean the walls and the carpet, wipe the drool of his mouth and pretend that he is normal,” the post read.
Other posts from Castro express happiness with Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert’s COVID-19 diagnosis and hope that, “Trump and Pence get it too.”
These comments preceded a press release from A&M’s Board of Regents about comments on social media made by members of the faculty and staff.
“First and foremost, the board respects and celebrates the constitutional right to free speech,” the press release read. “We also believe that free speech can – and should – incorporate decency, respect and a good amount of listening.”
The release stated that the Board of Regents fully welcome a debate on the topic; however, they encourage all staff to “engage civilly, appropriately and with mutual respect.”
“The board strongly condemns the recent vulgar, disrespectful and divisive language of a few members of the faculty at the flagship university in Bryan-College Station,” the press release read. “We expect – and know – our faculty to be among the best in the nation and to exercise the academic freedom that comes with being a member of this great university. That freedom, however, does not include speech that is full of hate and serves to destroy our campus community.”
A petition created by Texas First calling for the firing of Castro from A&M has garnered almost 500 signatures at the time of publication.