‘An Embarrassment’

Professor Keeps Job After ‘Disgraceful’ Barbara Bush Tweets

Randa Jarrar mocked former first lady’s death.

The controversial Cal State Fresno professor who sparked a free-speech debate after mocking the death of former first lady Barbara Bush will keep her job and avoid any disciplinary action despite school officials calling her comments “disgraceful.” Randa Jarrar provoked widespread anger when she called Bush, wife of President George H.W. Bush and mother of President George W. Bush, an “amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal.” In a letter posted on Twitter, Cal State Fresno President Joseph Castro condemned Jarrar’s comments as “disgraceful” and “an embarrassment to the university,” but said they weren’t in violation of school policies. The letter noted Jarrar was acting as a private citizen when she posted the comments online and that her comments were protected under the First Amendment. “Therefore, the university does not have justification to support taking any disciplinary action,” wrote Castro.