“There was no consideration for me whatsoever,” Tamar Shirinian said. “There didn’t seem to be any care for me.”
Shirinian, assistant professor of anthropology, faces termination proceedings after commenting online about Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, saying “the world is better off without him in it.”
Shirinian has since filed a federal lawsuit against Chancellor Donde Plowman, President Randy Boyd and Faculty Senate President Charles Noble in both their personal and official capacities.
Shirinian’s comment, which she made on a private social media account, surfaced online the evening of Sept. 14. Harassment emails swarmed her inbox soon after.
“The whole day is kind of a blur now,” Shirinian said in her first interview with media.
Shirinian wrote in a letter of appeal to Plowman that she received “a significant amount of hate mail” as political influencers and government officials publicized her comment.
One email from a UT student said, “This university is already a much better place without you. Thank you for exposing yourself as a parasite to not only UTK, the city of Knoxville, but the United States of America.”
“I was seriously concerned about my safety,” Shirinian said.
Shirinian contacted deans within the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Barbara Heath, head of the department of anthropology. According to Shirinian, most of the discussions revolved around her safety, with Heath assisting Shirinian in removing her public profile from the UT website in an effort to reduce the messages she received. Shirinian claimed she heard no talk of the university’s move to initiate termination.
“I didn’t know that the administration was even considering termination until the moment that it happened,” Shirinian said. “I had no idea this was coming, and then it just came.”
Public records obtained by The Daily Beacon reveal communication that occurred between UT leaders as the issue gained national attention.
“Reading the public records, especially the text messages, it seemed like they were under heavy pressure from powerful people,” Shirinian said. “You had elected officials telling my employer to fire me, to terminate me, to target me because of something I said.”
Shirinian questioned political interference in the university’s decision to begin termination based on social media activity of politicians like Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Gov. Bill Lee.
“We should take really seriously what it means for such powerful people to target a constituent. I’m not an elected official, and I’m not even a media person. I’m just a person who lives in Tennessee,” Shirinian said. “The university picked a side. The university, basically, in a way, declared that they are going to go with the opinions of a right-wing public.”
Shirinian’s attorney, Robert Bigelow, noted the prevalence of the UT Board of Trustees in the communication detailed in the public records.
“I think the involvement of the board of trustees in this decision making, at least what it appears to be, was extremely telling,” Bigelow said. “It didn’t appear to just be a decision by the named defendants, but by individuals on the board as well.”
After being removed from the classroom, Shirinian filed a temporary restraining order and motion for preliminary injunction in hopes of returning to teaching as the case progresses. The university responded to the filing, asking the court to block Shirinian’s request.
“Forcing the University to return Plaintiff to the classroom will only heighten and prolong the substantial disruption to the University and discredit the University’s commitment to campus safety,” the response said.
The university has declined to provide additional comment.
“I miss my students. I’ve taught at various places. UT has the best students that I’ve ever taught,” Shirinian said. “I miss putting together lectures and having students ask questions and wondering and sometimes really challenging me.”
Shirinian believes the backlash she faced came primarily from right-wing citizens.
“I think, probably, a misconception about me is that I am on the left — period — and I don’t tolerate things that students say that are not coming from the left, which is very, very untrue,” Shirinian said. “I think some of my favorite experiences in the classroom were actually students who challenged me.”
It is not clear when the court will make a decision in regard to Shirinian’s request for preliminary injunction. Shirinian hopes that when a decision is reached, it allows her to go back to teaching.
“There’s a lot that I miss about the classroom, and I really do want to return to my job.”
Shirinian and Bigelow said they hope to see the court defend the Constitution.
“We are confident that the defendants violated the First Amendment,” Bigelow said. “The most important thing we want to see is the First Amendment upheld.”
Bigelow clarified that Shirinian interviewed with The Daily Beacon as a private citizen, not in her role as a university professor.
