University Retaliates Against Professor for Speaking His Mind

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | January 14, 2026 | George Leef

[karpov]

If ever a case made plain the clash of values between freedom of speech and the desire of college administrators to compel everyone to support their “progressive” beliefs, Reges v. Cauce is it. This is an important First Amendment case, one in which the Martin Center joined in an amicus brief in support of a professor who was targeted with official retaliation because he spoke out against his university’s “land acknowledgement” policy and substituted his own views for the school’s.

What nerve!

Before getting into the details of the case, let’s examine the background. Specifically, why do so many college leaders (and faculty members) use their influence to promote ideological points of view?

They do so because they see it as their mission to undermine the legitimacy of Western civilization in the minds of students. They want students to reject everything in our culture because they see it as responsible for endless trouble: It’s destroying the environment; it’s exploitative of “marginalized people”; it favors the rich at the expense of the poor; it’s racist, sexist, and homophobic; and it stands in the way of social justice and equality. Progressives want everyone to regard America as utterly rotten—irredeemable. The only thing to do is to undertake a radical transformation of the nation by putting it under the control of those who are “woke.”

That being the goal, dissent from the orthodoxy is unacceptable. Why allow anyone to say things that might cause students to question the supposed need to tear down our foundations and start over? Speech must be controlled.

Among the numerous clichés “progressives” use to attack the legitimacy of America is the idea that the country’s land was stolen from the native peoples who lived here before the horrific invasion of white settlers.

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: academia; college; landacknowledgement; regesvcauce; stuartreges

[Wallace T.]

Interesting case but you have to wade through several paragraphs of conservative word salad to get to the actual story.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Commie professors aren’t supposed to “speak their mind”. They are supposed to teach the truth from somebody else’s mind. Commie professors are just a bunch of retarded drug addicts.

[healy61]

The university should deed all their land to the native tribes in their area, with an agreement to rent the land and buildings at fair market value in perpetuity. The tribe gains valuable land and the professors can sleep at night.

[Carl Vehse]

Even a supposedly conservative Lutheran university can retaliate against one of its professors who exposes the truth about the woke (DEI) dysphoria infecting the university (as well as other universities in the LCMS Concordia University System).

It took a couple of years before the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty announced a settlement between the professor and the university. Details of the settlement remain confidential.

[Savage Beast]

It wasn’t worth it. What did it say?

[bk1000]

What about Little Mogadishu, MN? Is that now considered “stolen land” by the leftists?

Nah, I didn’t think so.
I laugh at those “land acknowledgement” morons.

[Wallace T.]

A computer science professor, Stuart Reges, cited the political philosopher John Locke, whose writings were well familiar to the Founding Fathers, to state that the Indian tribes who once inhabited the land on which the University of Wisconsin sits had no claim to that land. For his statement, university officials sought his dismissal. Mr. Reges took the university to Federal court. While the initial district court denied his position, that decision was overturned by the Ninth District, which is usually liberal.

[Wallace T.]

Wisconsin = Washington

[Albion Wilde]

“why do so many college leaders (and faculty members) use their influence to promote ideological points of view?”

It's like any third-party payer system, in this case, the families of students or government programs who loaned them tuition money. There's no accountability for bogus ideas and toxic attitudes conveyed to their captive audience of immature minds. Parents are trying to promote emancipation and hope the kiddos learn a useful skill. They don't sue when Baby comes home a raving commie.

[Savage Beast]

To those who have allowed themselves to succumb to the decadence of Western Civilization, truth is of no importance. In fact, they hold it in contempt.

[TBP]

No First Amendment for you.