(Headline USA) A diversity, equity and inclusion dean at Stanford Law School defended her disruptive and inflammatory outburst during a lecture by Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan earlier this month, claiming she was just trying to protect “free speech.”
Tirien Steinbach, who is on video berating Duncan in front of hundreds of students and protesters, claimed in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal this week that she was not trying to engage in cancel culture.
“As a member of the Stanford Law School administration—and as a lawyer—I believe that we should strive for authentic free speech,” Steinbach wrote. “We must strive for an environment in which we meet speech—even that with which we strongly disagree—with more speech, not censorship.”
Steinbach’s outburst was meant to “intimidate and silence” a sitting judge, claimed a group called Speech First, tweeting that her “continued employment @Stanford is an affront to the legacy of a once mighty institution, and a direct assault on free speech.” Steinbach should be ousted, the group wrote, “for seemingly leading a mob of leftists to to intimidate and silence a sitting judge.”
Watch: Stanford Law School Associate Dean for DEI, Tirien Angela Steinbach make a fool of herself.
People like Ms. Steinbach are why America’s best and brightest are no longer interested in attending schools like Stanford.
pic.twitter.com/SLT698ZFRM— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) March 11, 2023
The insurrectionist DEI dean claimed she was just trying to defuse a tense situation so Duncan’s lecture could continue.
“I stepped up to the podium to deploy the de-escalation techniques in which I have been trained, which include getting the parties to look past conflict and see each other as people,” she wrote. “My intention wasn’t to confront Judge Duncan or the protesters but to give voice to the students so that they could stop shouting and engage in respectful dialogue. I wanted Judge Duncan to understand why some students were protesting his presence on campus and for the students to understand why it was important that the judge be not only allowed but welcomed to speak.”
Steinbach’s claims come days after Jenny Martinez, the head dean of Stanford Law School, announced that Steinbach had been placed on leave for berating Duncan.
“At future events, the role of any administrators present will be to ensure that university rules on disruption of events will be followed, and all staff will receive additional training in that regard,” Martinez wrote in a letter to the law school community.
Steinbach also defended her position as a DEI dean, even though the programs have come under immense criticism in light of the Stanford debacle, saying the DEI agenda is essential.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion plans must have clear goals that lead to greater inclusion and belonging for all community members,” Steinbach wrote in defense of shutting down a judge.
Headline USA’s Mark Pellin contributed to this report
