Melissa Click Fired for Violating Photographer’s Rights During Protest
It seems the Melissa Click saga has come to an end. A few months after being filmed confronting a photojournalist during a student protest at the University of Missouri, the mass media professor was fired yesterday for infringing on the student’s rights.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the university’s Board of Curators voted 4-2 in favor of the termination, which was being demanded by over 100 Missouri state lawmakers, even though over 100 university faculty voiced their support of Click.
Chairwoman Pam Henrickson, who herself voted against the firing, shared the news in a prepared statement:
“Dr. Click was not entitled to interfere with the rights of others, to confront members of law enforcement or to encourage potential physical intimidation against a student,” the statement says. “…when she interfered with members of the media and students who were exercising their rights in a public space and called for intimidation against one of our students, we believe demands serious action.”
“Her actions in October and November are those that directly violate the core values of our university,” says Interim Chancellor Hank Foley.
Click now has the right to file an appeal in response to her termination.
