Image Credit: Austin Peay State University | Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Dr. Logan Smith and Austin Peay State University (APSU) in Clarksville have “mutually agreed to end employment, effective immediately,” as Smith’s recent hiring sparked student protest after an activist watchdog organization circulated allegations of Smith’s affiliation with a website supposedly promoting “Nazism, racism, and hate group activity.”
A website titled Sunlight Anti-Fascist Action (Sunlight), which claims to be, “ a collective of anti fascist researchers dedicated to exposing Nazis, racists and fascists wherever they hide,” initially publicized the alleged connection between Smith and what they call “far-right” social media groups.
The collective lists several of their guiding principles on the “About” page, including “avoiding any public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events,” and agreeing, “not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.”
The thread regarding Logan Smith shows images and posts alleging a user named Levi Smith promoted white supremacist and racist ideas and also shows photographs of a man it claims are the same person as Logan Smith.
The thread’s author also randomly inserts content such as a Wikipedia screenshot defining a supremacist term they attempt to correlate to Levi and also often superimposes personal speculation and opinions onto the posts throughout.
They also attempt to link Levi Smith with Turning Point USA, which they label as an antagonistic organization that aims to “trigger libs…to make Antifa look like aggressors.”
The user of the social media accounts claims that Levi Smith is not his real name, so Sunlight is unable to definitively prove Levi and Logan are the same person, it merely provides supposed evidence based on Sunlight’s in-depth tracking of several social media pages and websites spanning multiple years.
Overall, while the content of some of the posts could certainly be considered questionable and “hateful”, it is ultimately only speculation that marks the connection between Levi Smith and Logan Smith, with no outside or additional sources positively confirming the identity of the user.
After the allegations were brought to the attention of school leadership, APSU President Dr. Mike Licari sent an email to the university body emphasizing, “that acts of hate, discrimination, and intolerance have no place at Austin Peay.”
He also reminds students there is a “challenging balance between respecting individual freedoms protected by the First Amendment and ensuring our community feels welcome and heard. While we must uphold constitutional rights, including individuals’ rights to free speech and assembly, we remain focused on providing a welcoming and inclusive community on campus.”
Licari’s email also declares the university will be making changes to their hiring process, including requiring candidates to, “disclose past activities that could damage the reputation of the University and utilizing third-party professional services to conduct social media checks on applicants.”
The APSU administration maintains that Smith’s standard hiring process, including background checks and reference letters, yielded “no cause for alarm”. On September 11, roughly a week before Smith’s departure, APSU’s official X account confirmed this hiring practice and stated leadership was aware of the allegations but unable to confirm them.
Supposedly, after initially maintaining innocence, Logan Smith conceded to an unnamed former student that he had been part of social media groups in the past that had gotten “out of hand” several years ago, but he has not issued an official statement or responded to requests for comment from any media outlet.
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.
One Response
Well another dent in the armor of free speech….why is it that liberal universities are so afraid to FIRE leftist for their ignorance, perversions (aka Vanderbilt Professor who regularly sends kissy face emoticons to women), and leftist ideals, yet they are so quick to FIRE a conservative for their opinions…maybe it is because the universities themselves are SOCIALIST and LEFTIST. The university system is a breeding ground for anti-free speech if you are a conservative, but they just love their leftist, Anti-American ideologues!