Washington State University - The Modern-Day Ministry of Truth?
Are we living 1984?
“Academic Freedom – the freedom to speak freely in teaching and scholarship -- is a vital and essential component of democracy and “is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned.”
Keyishian v. Bd. of Regents, 385 U.S. 589, 603, 87 S. Ct. 675, 683-84, 17 L.Ed.2d 629, 640 (1967).
“Look your children and grandchildren in the eyes. Did you do that? Good. Now, fight! Fight for their future. Don’t stop fighting until the truth wins.”
-Dr. Renata Moon
Silent Majority Foundation has filed a complaint on behalf of Dr. Renata Moon against Washington State University (“WSU”) for violation of her First Amendment rights. Dr. Moon has been an Associate Professor for Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine (“ESFCOM”) at WSU since its inaugural class in 2017. However, after testifying at Senator Ron Johnson’s roundtable event regarding the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for children on December 7, 2022, the medical school decided to investigate her for spreading “misinformation” and “disinformation.” In addition, they reported these activities to the Washington Medical Commission which also opened an investigation against her. Ultimately, the school chose not to renew her contract. Both of these investigations have made it more difficult for Dr. Moon to find work, even after practicing for 25 years as a pediatrician with a completely clean record. It also caused her to lose her pension, which would have vested in another year, and to lose her health insurance.
WSU has a history of limiting Dr. Moon’s free speech. In 2021, the school removed her from her normal teaching schedule because a few students took umbrage with her paraphrasing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech during a discussion of racism. These same few students also objected to her asking important questions about the COVID vaccines as they were being granted Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) status. During this episode, only the few students who complained were interviewed. The students who rated Dr. Moon highly were not interviewed despite the fact that they were direct witnesses to the events. This, too, was a violation of Dr. Moon’s free speech, a violation that escalated in 2023 with the refusal to renew her contract.
Key Facts Related to the Case
WSU itself has a policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment where speech is explicitly protected across the university system.
“WSU recognizes and is committed to the principles of free inquiry and free expression and understands that discussion and debate are fundamental to the University. WSU further recognizes that some hateful or discriminatory speech may be used to communicate ideas, beliefs, or opinions, and therefore may have first amendment protections. With limited exceptions, WSU does not limit or prohibit speech in an employee’s private capacity, unless that private speech impacts WSU’s operations. . . .
This policy does not restrict the academic freedom of faculty within their instructional content and method, or in the communication of ideas relating to their subject matter.”
Dr. Moon was integral to the founding of the medical school at WSU. In October of 2015, only one month after the appointment of the inaugural dean of ESFCOM, Dr. Moon began meeting with Radha Nandagopal, MD, FAAP, Clinical Assistant Professor. From 2016 – 2019, Dr. Moon served on the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Admissions Committee, as well as other committees during the formative years of the medical school.
Dr. Moon was disciplined for speaking about racism from the vantage point of Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ I still have that dream too . . . should the color of our skin matter when people judge us?”
Compare this viewpoint on racism to the cherry-picked and biased use of Dr. King’s “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” used by Kirk Schulz in a 2021 email commemorating MLK Jr. Day. The University cannot, either based on the First Amendment or its own policies, punish Dr. Moon for disagreeing with the Administration, even the president in this fashion.
Defendants’ basis for disciplining Dr. Moon was a vague policy that allowed ad hoc and subjective determinations by Defendant Haney. Consistently vague statements were issued by Mr. Haney regarding what wrong (other than speech) was committed by Dr. Moon. These subjective statements include: “I am unsure if I would describe the occurrences as ‘mistreatment’ but it is clear that the learning environment that Dr. Moon’s actions created is not consistent with our expectations.” There is no explanation of what “expectations” had been breached. Despite this fact, Dr. Moon was investigated without the option to address the allegations prior to being required to remediate.
In fact, student evaluations about Dr. Moon show that 5 of 8 students agreed or strongly agreed that she was an effective teacher. The evaluations from students expressing discontent with her teaching were based on a difference of opinion, not on whether there was discrimination or “microaggression” taking place. The investigation that ensued ONLY included the students that ranked Dr. Moon in the two lowest categories without talking to the majority of her students who attended the same small groups and were therefore witnesses to the events at issue in the complaints. For example:
“Dr. Moon is always encouraging us to think outside the box and dig deeper into conversations. I’ve never left an APM session without feeling like I learned something or understood a concept better by the end.” Osborne Decl. Ex. 12, at 3.
“She is very thoughtful and always cares for our learning experience.” Osborne Decl. Ex. 12, at 3.
“Dr. Moon is great! I love her stories and she helps to create a comfortable zoom class environment.” Osborne Decl. Ex. 12, at 3.
Despite a finding that Dr. Moon’s actions did not rise to the level of student mistreatment, Defendant Haney proceeded to discipline Dr. Moon. Dr. Moon was never allowed to respond to actual complaints before being asked to remediate and being pulled from teaching.
Dr. Moon appealed to Defendant Chermak, seeking assistance to resolve Defendant Haney’s actions against her. Despite Defendant Chermak’s admission that she self-censored for fear of student complaints and disciplinary action, and agreeing that the process used was inadequate, no help was provided to Dr. Moon.
Dr. Moon was allowed to return to teaching but was reduced to a facilitator rather than teacher and required to parrot only the chosen “expert’s” viewpoints to students while leading small groups. Professors were instructed to use only viewpoints provided by the University in “the session guides prepared by directors of the Health Equity and Ethics curriculum who are invited to share their expertise on these topics.”
Dr. Moon’s constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech, freedom to petition and freedom of assembly were violated by WSU. WSU refused to renew Dr. Moon’s contract in retaliation for exercising her Free Speech rights, her right of petition, and her right of assembly. On December 7, 2022, Dr. Moon testified before Senator Ron Johnson in Washington D.C. with other colleagues from around the country at a roundtable event entitled “Covid-19 Vaccines: What They Are, How They Work, and Possible Causes of Injuries.” (Dr. Moon’s testimony begins at 2:22:43 in the link above). Dr. Moon spoke at this event unaffiliated with WSU and this point was expressed in the press release ahead of the December 7th, 2022, Senate hearing. However, outside of her control, and without her knowledge or consent, the chyron displayed by the High Wire included that she was a “Clinical Associate Professor, WSU College of Medicine.” Dr. Moon did everything in her power to show that she was attending and speaking at the event only as an individual citizen but was investigated and her contract not renewed without forwarding any information to her regarding the investigation. WSU’s complaint then prompted the WMC to open an investigation on Dr. Moon on August 1, 2023.
This case is about more than Dr. Moon’s right to speak to students and her government. It is about the right of each of us to speak, to peaceably assemble, and to petition our government when we see issues that concern us. The desire to censor all of us for anything deemed “misinformation” is rampant across our nation, a nation founded on the principles of freedom and liberty. Without the ability to have robust conversations and debates, especially as it pertains to our health, we are at the mercy of others who cannot know our individualized needs and do not have our best interest at heart. The right of free speech includes the rights to hear dissenting opinions in order to allow true informed consent. Our government is instituted not to be our parent or guardian, but to protect our rights. The freedoms of speech, peaceable assembly and petition are fundamental to our Democratic Republic and cannot be surrendered to experts who have never met us and cannot provide for our individual needs. Such surrender is to submit unreservedly to tyranny.
Dr. Moon is fighting for the American people. For our present and our future!
“When do we get to the part where they arrest us for simply speaking the truth? When will they come after YOU? We are fast approaching an historic fork in the road. Either this stops now or we end up living in the worst kind of nightmare. You decide. Sitting silently allows the madness to win.”
-Dr Renata Moon
Stand with Dr. Renata Moon to stop the madness. Please support her battle for each of us and our posterity by donating at the link below:
Dr. Moon Podcast
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When: 4:00 PM Central Time on Saturday, September 28th and 11:00 AM Central Time on Sunday September 29th.
Where: Worldviewweekend.com (Clickable Link)
God bless you, Dr. Moon and SMF.