We have been following the story of student Austin Tong, who was banned from the campus of Fordham University for posing with a legally owned gun on social media. This is an update.
Campus Reform reports:
EXCLUSIVE: Feds investigate Fordham for punishing student who posed with gunThe U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into Fordham University, about two months after student Austin Tong received notification from the New York City private college that his social media posts violated university policy and that he had been placed on probation. As Campus Reform previously reported, Tong, a Chinese-American student, posted on Instagram in early June a photo of retired St. Louis police officer David Dorn, who was killed while defending a friend’s store from looters amid nationwide, violent demonstrations. The post contained an image of Dorn, who was Black, along with the caption, “Y’all a bunch of hypocrites.” Another post showed Tong holding a firearm pointed toward the ground with the caption “Don’t tread on me #198964” and emojis of the American flag as well as the Chinese flag. The “198964” hashtag referred to the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre, which occurred in China on June 4, 1989. “Of course, this raises questions about the influence of the Chinese government on American colleges and universities,” a Department of Education official told Campus Reform. The Department of Education recently launched a separate investigation into Fordham to determine whether the university failed to disclose foreign funding sources, including gifts from China.Tong received notice from the school that the posts violated its policy and that as a result he would be barred from campus unless obtaining permission from the dean of students. He is required to complete the rest of his courses online. The university said the sanctions are “non-appealable and final.”
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