Aubrey Tarbox
Anderson House District 6 Rep. April Cromer and two others advocate for University professors to be fired following their social media comments involving the death of Charlie Kirk.
Over the course of the past week, the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death has unfolded in a series of escalating events involving Clemson professors, students, parents, campus organizations and even state politicians.
On Sept. 11, Clemson College Republicans, along with Clemson’s TPUSA chapter, called out social media posts, reposts and comments in response to Kirk’s death from three different faculty members. Most of the posts have since been deleted or restricted.
According to screenshots posted by CCR on the social media platform X, Newberry, an asbestos program manager in the Division of Finance and Operations, posted on Facebook: “In a world full of Charlie Kirks and Brian Thompsons, be a Tyler Robinson or a Luigi Mangione.”
Villaver, an assistant professor of audio technology and global Black studies, said on X in a now-deleted post, “Today was one of the most beautiful days ever. The weather was perfect, sunny with a little breeze. This was such a beautiful day,” He then responded with “Racism and White Supremacy age you,” to another user’s comment: “He was an old-looking 31.”
Lastly, Bregy, an assistant professor for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, reposted another user’s statement: “It sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic. As Kirk said, ‘play certain games, win certain prizes.’”
“We are deeply disappointed by the university’s weak response and urge immediate disciplinary action,” Clemson’s TPUSA posted in a statement on its social media. Some other University students, alumni and organizations also called for the professors listed to be fired.
Later that day, on Sept. 12, the University released an email statement expressively condemning “any and all expressions that endorse, glorify or celebrate political violence.” The statement emphasized the University’s firm stance on the First Amendment, but that students and faculty should “stop and consider our core values of mutual respect, integrity and personal responsibility.”
Clemson TPUSA and CCR have continued to advocate on campus this past week for the University’s removal of the faculty members with the support of local politicians.
On Monday, a group by the R.M. Cooper Library Bridge promoted a sign reading “Fire Villaver, Newberry, & Bregy: Endorsing or celebrating political violence is unacceptable and has no place at Clemson University.”
Anderson House District 6 Rep. April Cromer joined the efforts, participating in holding the sign along with protesting students.
“We’re here today to support the students and what they’re trying to accomplish, of removing these professors and the employees that are bad actors,” Cromer told The Tiger in an interview.
Cromer said the group hopes to bring “a lot of attention to folks across the nation” and “get back to the core values of our Clemson family.”
Attorney General Alan Wilson also weighed in on Monday, clarifying that under South Carolina law, Clemson has full legal authority to act. Wilson said that the state’s “political firing” status does not prevent universities from terminating employees over posts that glorify violence, threats or other speech that go against public decency and the institution’s mission.
Monday night, Anderson County GOP, CCR and Clemson TPUSA hosted a vigil at the Anderson Civic Center honoring the late Kirk.
“There is no room in South Carolina or this nation to put up with professors who indoctrinate our children and preach hate on our college campuses,” Pamela Evette, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor, said during the vigil.
She advocated for the “termination” of professors and teachers who celebrate the assassination of Kirk. Evette also called to end tenure for all teachers, claiming that “colleges and schools should not be tied to tenure for professors who teach our children.”
Clemson College Republicans tabled Library Bridge on Monday to “honor the memory of Charlie Kirk,” CCR chairman Jack Lyle told The Tiger. “Somebody decided to take his life for standing for conservative values.”
The same day, Clemson University moved forward with disciplinary actions, releasing a statement that one employee was terminated and two faculty members were removed from teaching duties pending further investigation. The University has since confirmed that all three faculty members are no longer employed following that review, but has not explicitly confirmed who the individuals are.
“We are pleased at Clemson University’s decision to terminate the two remaining professors who were under investigation for encouraging political violence by celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death,” TPUSA President Charlie Clontz told The Tiger. “While we are disappointed in how long this process has taken, today’s announcement represents the only appropriate course of action.”
Lyle said the group is devastated by Kirk’s death, as well as concerned that there are people — even individuals at Clemson — who support and condone “that violence.” He’s disappointed by the fact that people “have actually called for greater violence to be carried out against people like us for what we believe.”
Lyle told The Tiger that there have been numerous occasions where the group has been mocked at their table setup outside of Rhodes Engineering Research Center.
“We’ve been told that (Kirk) deserved it,” he said.
“One particular individual decided to come up to us and dance and mock us and sign and talk about how … Charlie Kirk deserved to die,” Lyle said. “If that kind of environment is what certain members of faculty are bringing about here on campus, then we would like to see a change.”
Clontz claimed that the University is responsible for maintaining a “safe, respectful environment for all students, regardless of political affiliation.”
“We will continue to advocate for a campus culture that values open dialogue, intellectual diversity and safety for conservative students and faculty,” Clontz told The Tiger.
Despite actions taken against the professors, some Clemson students maintain the stance that the University’s actions were extreme.
“Melvin promoted positive conversation in his class about the political state of the world,” a student told The Tiger. “No attacking, no cynicism, only love and support for his students’ voices while facilitating calmly.”
Another student explained that Villaver was “extremely involved in enriching and participating in the arts community at Clemson.” The student said they had always seen him treat everyone with “utter gratitude and respect, which translates to the classroom.”
“I’m heartbroken to be losing a professor who had the potential to make huge waves of positive impact for the college,” the student continued.
Supporters of Villaver created a GoFundMe for the former professor, in which the funds support legal expenses to fight for his “right to free speech.” The fundraiser has raised nearly $14,000 to support the cause as of Tuesday, Sept. 16, and is continuing to grow.