Laura Mullen: Wake Forest University professor who quit after her remarks on Israel-Hamas conflict caused outrage feels abandoned by school
WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA: Laura Mullen, a former Wake Forest University professor, who resigned from her role following controversial remarks on the Israel-Hamas conflict, is expressing her sense of abandonment by the institution that once employed her, as per Daily Mail.
Mullen, serving as the Kenan Chair of the Humanities in the English and Creative Writing department at Wake Forest, received severe criticism after her provocative tweets endorsing the terror attack in Israel.
JUST IN: Wake Forest University HUMANITIES professor resigns after saying she would be 'tempted to shoot' ravers like Hamas did in Israel during Oct. 7 massacre..
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) November 21, 2023
Laura Mullen, who recently resigned as Kenan Chair of the Humanities in the English and creative writing department… pic.twitter.com/492WMg94Wt
Who is Laura Mullen?
Laura Mullen's tweets, allegedly celebrating the attack by Hamas that claimed over 1,200 lives, sparked outrage and became the catalyst for her resignation.
"So it's kind of a Duh but if you turn me out of my house plow my olive groves under and confine what's left of my family to the small impoverished state you run as an open air prison I could be tempted to shoot up your dance party yeah even knowing you will scorch the earth," Mullen wrote on X.
Mullen had been working at Wake Forest for over two years following a nearly 17-year tenure as a McElveen Professor at Louisiana State University. Her academic background includes a BA in English Language from UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Iowa.
Mullen's resignation, cited as "for personal reasons," occurred in the wake of disturbing tweets allegedly glorifying a terror attack that claimed thousands of lives.
Expressing a sense of abandonment by the university, Mullen reflected on Wake Forest's response, stating, "[Wake Forest's statement] is like if you watch animal films and you isolate one gazelle, that's the one that gets eaten. They kind of threw me to the wolves," as conveyed to the school's newspaper Wake Report.
Social media controversies surrounding Wake Forest University
Laura Mullen's resignation adds to a series of social media-related controversies at Wake Forest University, involving faculty and students.
Recent incidents, including the departure of a medical student and the suspension of a tenured professor, have sparked significant public scrutiny and internal investigations.
Medical student Kychelle Del Rosario faced severe backlash after a controversial tweet regarding deliberately missing a patient's vein, reportedly in response to mockery about her pronoun badge.
While the university initially placed her on leave, an inquiry concluded her statement did not align with the actual incident, prompting debates about the institution's response and potential ramifications.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated event, a tenured English professor, Dr Omaar Hena, faced a leave of absence following the circulation of explicit online content involving himself.
Despite teaching at the university for 15 years, Hena's actions led to internal investigations and widespread discussion within the Wake Forest community.