4 November 30 - December 6, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Silenced in the Court Professor’s free speech lawsuit delivers win for Collin College. BY SIMONE CARTER C ollin College has carved out a win in a free-speech lawsuit filed by one of its former his- tory professors. Michael Phillips had claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when he was let go over his criticism of the college’s COVID-19 policies and for suggesting that students wear masks. He also alleged he’d been retaliated against after co-authoring an op-ed that advocated for the dismantling of Dallas’ Confederate monuments. Phillips’ contract, which the school opted not to renew, ended in May 2022. Greg Greubel, an attorney with the Foun- dation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the jury’s verdict “very disappoint- ing.” Jurors found that the choice to not re- new Phillips’ contract had been motivated by protected speech, but that the school “would have made the same decision in the absence of that speech,” he explained. Regardless of the outcome, Greubel be- lieves that Phillips did the right thing. “He stood up for what he believed in and he continued to stand up for what he believed in — all the way through getting a decision from a jury, and that’s a really courageous thing that he’s done,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud to represent him and to have repre- sented all the other professors as well.” Phillips declined the Observer’s request for comment. Several other former Collin College em- ployees have claimed that the school has vio- lated their constitutional rights. Former Collin history professor Lora Burnett’s FIRE- backed case ended in her favor; she accepted the school’s offer to pay her $70,000 plus at- torneys’ fees. Burnett had alleged that she’d been fired in part for posting mean tweets about then-Vice President Mike Pence. And FIRE helped Suzanne Jones get re- instated at Collin College after the educa- tion professor claimed she was terminated for criticizing the school’s pandemic re- sponse, among other alleged constitutional infringements. FIRE has gone to bat for faculty across the ideological divide, including by calling on the University of Texas at Dallas to drop an investigation into a professor who sug- gested in a tweet that “we ... try to find a cure for homosexuality.” Reached for comment about the Phillips case, a Collin College spokesperson sent a statement explaining that the school had long “vehemently disagreed” with the his- tory professor’s version of events. “We respect the judicial process and are extremely pleased that the jury in this case agreed with the position of Collin College and other defendants,” the school wrote. “Despite repeated attacks by the plaintiff, his supporters, and various advocacy groups with their own agendas, this case resulted in a legal victory, including affirmation that the college’s policies are not unconstitutionally vague as alleged.” For the past three years running, Collin College has been named one of FIRE’s 10 worst schools for free speech. In May, the American Association of Uni- versity Professors formally censured Collin College after it determined that “egregious” academic freedom violations had been lev- eled against Phillips, Burnett and Jones. Greubel said there were opportunities for Phillips to try to settle the lawsuit but that it was important for him to attempt to hold the school accountable. “And the best way to do that was through a jury verdict,” he said. Attacks on free expression continue to un- fold across the country, Greubel continued. If professors take a position that’s at odds with their administration, they sometimes will be ordered to refrain from talking about it pub- licly. To FIRE, that’s a major problem, but it’s one that can’t be solved overnight. The way Greubel sees it, Phillips should be commended for his bravery, particularly given the political realities of Texas today. “Like I said, we lost on the same-decision defense, but it doesn’t take away the fact that there at least was a finding that protected speech did motivate the decision,” he said. “And I hope that it inspires other folks to stand up for themselves.” ▼ CITY HALL WHAT’S IN A NAME SHOULD JIM MILLER ROAD BE RENAMED AFTER SANTOS RODRIGUEZ? BY JACOB VAUGHN A n effort to rename a portion of Jim Miller Road for Santos Rodriguez was rejected by a Dallas city plan commission committee. According to The Dallas Morning News, the plan was to rename nearly 6 miles of Jim Miller Road in honor of Rodriguez, a child who was killed Russian-roulette style by a white Dallas police officer 50 years ago. That proposal was denied by the City Plan Commission’s subdivision review commit- tee earlier this month, in part due to the lo- cation of the proposed change. Most of the street runs through Pleasant Grove, but Rodriguez lived in what is now Uptown. Some argued that there might be a better place for a Santos Rodriguez Road. The person leading the charge behind the name change is Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez. City Council members Adam Bazaldua and Tennell At- kins also signed on to the effort. Resendez said he’d previously wondered why there wasn’t a street named after Rodri- guez, and that it was his understanding the family didn’t want it to happen. But he re- cently saw a documentary about Rodriguez in which the family said they were upset that there wasn’t a street named after him in Dallas. “That’s kind of what compelled me to initiate this proposal,” Resendez said. It would be a good idea to consider a street name change in a location more relevant to Rodriguez, according to Resendez. But he chose Jim Miller Road because it’s a major road in his district. “I was thinking ‘If I’m go- ing to be the person to propose this, then I should consider a street in the district that I represent,’” Resendez said. “It disappoints me that I grew up in Dallas and didn’t know about Santos’ murder until I was in my early 30s,” he said. So, he wants Rodriguez’s name to be highlighted in a prominent way. He said since his proposal, plenty of people have started asking who Rodriguez was. “So, I think that the proposal has already kind of enlightened some folks about the history be- hind his life and his murder,” Resendez said. In 1973, Rodriguez, a 12-year-old Mexi- can-American boy, and his brother were picked up by police who suspected they had robbed a vending machine. One of the offi- cers tried coaxing the boys into confessing with a Russian-roulette interrogation, spin- ning the cylinder of his revolver before shooting, even though they had already said they did nothing wrong. The first time the officer did this, no bullet was fired. When the cop pulled the trigger the second time, he shot Rodriguez in the head, killing him instantly. Darrell Cain, the now-deceased officer who killed Rodriguez, was later con- victed of murder but spent only about two and a half years in prison. Resendez said the result from the com- mittee was disappointing but that it’s all part of the process. He said the proposal will now go to the full city plan commission, which will likely deny it as well. According to the News, some residents said they had concerns about the financial impact of changing the street name, which would force people to replace checks and driver’s licenses. Others said they were wor- ried about having a daily reminder of a mur- der that happened in another part of town. Resendez said some community mem- bers have expressed support for the change but an overwhelming majority opposed it. “But what I’ve also seen is a lot of support for a street in Dallas being named after San- tos,” he said. “I think it’d be important for the city of Dallas to reckon with its past as it relates to Santos and his murder and memo- rialize him in this manner to honor his life and remind us of the injustices of the past while keeping us vigilant for our future.” Mike Laux, an attorney for the family, couldn’t be reached for comment. However, he said after the meeting that while the fam- ily was disappointed with the committee’s ruling, they understood the points raised by the opposition. Hadi Jawad, who helped form the Santos Rodriguez Coalition, said the latest effort to rename a street after Rodriguez came as a surprise to him and colleagues. He said the story of Santos Rodriguez is a dark one, but it’s one the city shouldn’t forget. He’s been trying raise awareness about the story for some ten years now. Jawad was involved in efforts to have a recreational center re- named for Rodriguez. He was involved in the placement of a statue of Rodriguez in Pike Park, and he and others produced a documentary about Rodriguez. “So, we’ve been in the struggle to make sure that this tragedy is not forgotten,” Jawad said. Despite his work with the Ro- driguez family, Jawad didn’t have any ad- vance notice about the proposed name change. He said he just happened to be on NextDoor when he saw people talking about it. The next morning, he called Resendez’s office to ask why they didn’t reach out for help on the proposed name change. “We had to build a community to get all this stuff done,” Jawad said. “They just kind of by- passed that whole process. … We were shocked. I was quite shocked that a City Coun- cil member would initiate an effort like that without building community support first.” He believes that if Resendez had reached out to activists about the effort it might have received more support from the committee. Either way, he thinks it’s | UNFAIR PARK | Mike Brooks Former Collin College professor Dr. Michael Phillips >> p6
