North Pima News

Ann Atkinson, the former Executive Director of The Lewis Center at Arizona State University, expressed her criticism of the university's hiring and defense of what she called "radical activist professors." Atkinson's disapproval comes in the wake of a physical altercation involving an ASU professor, a reporter from Turning Point USA, and a cameraman from the same organization.

The incident was captured on video and shows Turning Point USA reporter Kalen D'Almeida attempting to engage in a discussion with ASU Professor Danny Boyles. Boyles, who teaches English at the university, is also the co-founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona, an initiative that involves drag queens reading books to children in public settings. According to NBC News, D'Almeida asked Boyles about his involvement with Drag Story Hour and minors, but Boyles refused to answer.

"Our TPUSA Frontlines reporter tried to ask self-professed 'sex education obsessed' queer ASU Professor David Boyles a few simple questions," Turning Point USA stated in a post on the X platform. "Refusing to answer, our cameras caught the exact moment Mr. Boyles assaulted, pushed, and clawed at our cameraman. The reporter then attempted to remove Professor Boyles from our cameraman, which caused Mr. Boyles to fall and scrape his face on the ground."

In the video, Boyles can be seen getting increasingly agitated before lunging toward the camera, causing it to fall. The video ends abruptly at that point. Boyles claims that the men assaulted him, while ASU President Michael Crow issued a statement supporting Boyles and criticizing the actions of the individuals associated with Turning Point, according to NBC News.

"At Barrett Honors College, ASU hires and defends many radical activist professors," Atkinson stated in a post on the X platform. "ASU President Crow was quick to issue a statement defending this professor, who clearly hit first. Physical violence is never okay. Death to Israel rallies on campus this week received no response from the administration."

Atkinson also shared a screenshot on the X platform, which she claims is from Boyles' class syllabus. The screenshot indicates that the course includes texts that contain content related to sexual situations among teenagers, sexual violence, "transphobia," "gender dysphoria," and other "difficult topics."

The incident and the university's response have sparked a debate about academic freedom, the responsibility of universities to protect their professors, and the limits of free speech on campuses.