Education

Public University PAYS UP After Professor Claimed ‘Moral Right’ To Censor, Batter Teen Abortion Foe

Font Size:

The University of California, Santa Barbara has agreed to settle a civil lawsuit brought by two anti-abortion protesters after feminist studies professor Mireille Miller-Young mocked them, stole their sign, destroyed the sign and scratched up the wrists of one protester — a 16-year-old girl.

The financial details of the settlement will remain confidential, reports Campus Reform.

The plaintiffs, sisters Thrin Short and Joan Short, say they are “very satisfied” with the settlement amount.

The events that gave rise to the lawsuit occurred in March 2014. At the time, Thrin Short was 16 and Joan Short was 21.

The Short sisters, members of a Riverside, Calif.-based pro-life group called Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, were standing in a designated “free speech zone” on the UC Santa Barbara campus with at least one large, very gruesome poster depicting aborted fetuses.

Thrin Short told Fox News that Miller-Young approached her and her sister, who had already been arguing with a gaggle of angry counter-protesters. Miller-Young eventually became enraged, filched the sign and waddled away.

“Before she grabbed the sign, she was mocking me and talking over me in front of the students, saying that she was twice as old as me and had three degrees, so they should listen to her and not me,” Thrin Short explained. “Then she started the chant with the students about ‘tear down the sign.’ When that died out, she grabbed the sign.” (RELATED: Here’s Video Of The Feminist Studies Prof Facing Assault Charges For Attacking 16-Year-Old Abortion Foe)

The Short sisters captured the bizarre event on a mobile phone as it unfolded — and eventually came to a head in an elevator.

“I may be a thief, but you’re a terrorist,” Miller-Young said at one point, with a smug grin on her face.

“Try and stop us,” the taxpayer-funded professor also taunted.

According to a police report recorded just after the battery, Miller-Young said felt “triggered in a negative way” by graphic images on the anti-abortion poster and on corresponding anti-abortion literature. Thus, she claimed, she had a “moral right” to commit criminal acts. “Asked if there had been a struggle, Miller-Young stated, ‘I’m stronger so I was able to take the poster.'” (RELATED: Charges For Prof Who Claimed ‘MORAL RIGHT’ To Censor, Batter 16-Year-Old Abortion Foe)

The Santa Barbara Independent still has the full and amazing police report.

After the professor’s shenanigans (but before charges were filed) a taxpayer-paid vice-chancellor emailed students. He warned of “offensive speech” and denouncing “various anti-abortion crusaders.” (RELATED: Bureaucrat Smears 16-Year-Old Abortion Protester Battered By UCSB Prof)

The Ph.D.-wielding professor eventually pleaded guilty to criminal assault charges. Her sentence was 108 hours of community service, 10 hours of anger management training and three years of probation.

A coterie of her fellow professors submitted glowing letters on officially UCSB letterhead about their colleague to the presiding judge in the hopes of garnering his sympathy. (RELATED: Professors Now Say SLAVERY Forced Colleague To Batter Teen, Destroy Her Anti-Abortion Poster)

The confidential settlement does not include any apology from Miller-Young or officials at the public school.

“By not apologizing, the University demonstrates that it has no problem, in principle, with a professor who commits crimes like this on campus, as long as it’s done for the ‘right’ reason,” Katie, Short, the mother of Thrin and Joan, said in a statement obtained by Campus Reform.

Katie Short, is vice president of legal affairs at the Life Legal Defense Foundation, which represented the Thrin sisters in their civil action against the school.

Miller-Young specializes in queer theory, black film, prostitution studies and pornography. Her dissertation is entitled “A Taste for Brown Sugar: The History of Black Women in American Pornography.” (RELATED: Is This Taxpayer-Funded University The Academic Porn Capital Of The World?)

Follow Eric on TwitterLike Eric on Facebook. Send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.