Image Credit: MTSU
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Amidst a slew of firings from colleges and universities across the state for distasteful and mocking words about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) associate dean is the latest to protest her dismissal through a lawsuit against the school.
Laura Sosh-Lightsy’s career as an Associate Dean of Students and English/Creative Writing Professor at MTSU spanned over 20 years before she was fired for a social media post where she expressed a lack of sympathy for Kirk and mocked the manner of his death based on Kirk’s espoused views of the Second Amendment and gun control.
“Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence. Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy,” Sosh-Lightsy wrote on Facebook. She later attempted to justify her first post after receiving negative attention and comments, saying she was being misunderstood and “not celebrating the loss of Charlie Kirk’s life. Violence is not the answer. I am celebrating the loss of his message of violence, in an increasingly violent world, which is partially because of him.”
The school promptly fired her, saying her “callous and insensitive comments” were the opposite of what was expected from university staff. “Speech can have consequences and her thoughtlessness and lack of empathy mean that no one walking into her office can see her as an objective arbiter of facts,” said MTSU President Sidney McPhee at the time of the incident.
In return, Sosh-Lightsy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university last week, alleging her rights to free and protected speech were violated. The complaint states Sosh-Lightsy’s comments were made as a private citizen speaking on a matter of concern, making them protected speech under the First Amendment.
The filing also alleges she was fired even though her speech did not interfere with her job performance or any other university operations. Furthermore, Sosh-Lightsy blames third parties, like Senator Marsha Blackburn who publicly called for her immediate termination, for putting pressure on the school to fire her.
Sosh-Lightsy believes the school is guilty of allowing politics to interfere with work, not the other way around. “Who can’t do their job because of politics? Because I believe MTSU may have fired me because of politics,” she told local media. “You fired me because the institution is biased. You are being bought out for political maneuvering.”
The school maintains her comments rendered her unable to objectively “resolve any conduct student matters, particularly those involving students whose opinions align with Mr. Kirk’s.” MTSU also said her words caused a general “disruption and interference with University operations”, bolstering their determination that her termination was legal and did not impede her free speech.
Melody Fowler Green, Sosh-Lightsy’s attorney and member of Nashville Public Radio’s board, thinks “the termination itself sets a dangerous precedent for the First Amendment and Tennesseans’ rights to voice their opinions. It’s very dangerous that we have legislators who are targeting individuals for their speech.”
Belmont law professor David Hudson, who has done extensive work on First Amendment issues per his school bio, stated the case will likely rely on context. “It’s a gray area, right? So public employees do not lose all their First Amendment rights simply because they accept public employment,” he said.
But he also noted that employees do surrender some of those rights in taking a position as a public employee. And in this case, Sosh-Lightsy must show she was speaking as a private citizen, a prospect Hudson believes likely given the post was made to a personal page. She must also prove her speech touched on a matter of public concern, which Hudson also believes is probably true, and dispute that her speech was disruptive enough to the university to warrant a dismissal.
Sosh-Lightsy has also reportedly filed a grievance complaint with MTSU which is still in the early stages, and she is the fourth educator to file suit against the school or district from which they were fired for comments about Charlie Kirk.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
4 Responses
This person should remember she is speaking to her students and representing her school. It’s time these “professors” stop thinking they have the right to say whatever they think just because they are “so important” when they are not.
Suppose this was a Christian professor and stated their thoughts and feelings about their beliefs? The outcry would be deafening!
She should be fired and never allowed to teach again. It’s time to stop the antagonist in society. It’s time to stop the hate they create and call it the other person’s fault. They are to blame and that is where the buck stops!
Amen. You are spot on. Pretty much sums up what I wrote about another useless professor spouting off at the mouth.
“When you are employed by some company or individual. You are part of that company. If they think you have tarnish their reputation, they can fire you. Just because you make an idiotic statement on your own time doesn’t make you exempt from firing or removing you from your position. Just because we have the First Amendment doesn’t allow us to say anything we want. For example yelling “Fire” in a movie theater. In my opinion they should’ve fired her a long time ago. Just for the useless class she teaches and the salary they are paying. “During her five years at UT, Shirinian taught numerous classes including Queer Anthropology, Feminist Anthropology, Decolonization, and Ethnographies of Trauma. She has authored “Scholarly & Creative Works” like “The Gender and Sexuality of Armenia”, “Objects of Struggle: Woman, Environment, Colonialism”, and “A Queer Plea for the End of the Nation”. She was making $89,808 as an assistant professor as of Nov. 1, 2024.” Really! I wonder how many students actually took those classes.”
Proverbs 15:1 NIV
1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 29:20NIV
20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
Matthew 12:36,37 NIV
36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
In God we trust not government or man.
Have a blessed day.
Yup, one of lucifer’s accursed, worse’n useless, sueage dimmercrap indoctrinators.
Precedent in At-Will Employment and Social Media PoliciesTennessee is an at-will employment state, and most universities (including MTSU) have policies allowing termination for off-duty conduct that harms the institution. Her posts violated expected standards for administrators, similar to cases where employees were fired for insensitive remarks making coworkers “uncomfortable” or demonizing political groups.
MTSU’s Free Speech Center director confirmed the firing was legal, distinguishing it from protected pure speech.
No university policy violation was needed beyond reputational harm. Under public employee speech rules (e.g., Pickering v. Board of Education), disruption to workplace operations can outweigh First Amendment protections, especially for high-level administrators. Legal analysts noted that while private citizens might be protected, her role made the comments unprofessional and terminable.