KSU faculty object to ‘outsiders’ pressuring President Sam Olens

MARIETTA — Kennesaw State University President Sam Olens found himself in the crosshairs of KSU faculty on Monday, who accused him of lacking transparency and bending to outside pressures.

During a faculty senate meeting, professors argued pressure from “outsiders” was influencing administrative decisions, from the wording of university job postings to the Athletics Department’s decision to keep cheerleaders in the tunnel while the national anthem is played before football games.

A series of text messages made public last week showed Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, urged Olens to keep the KSU’s cheerleading squad off the field after five of them kneeled in protest during the national anthem ahead of the Sept. 30 home game.

The cheerleaders’ actions pushed KSU into the national spotlight and brought the debate over kneeling during the anthem to Cobb.

On Monday, faculty members called on Olens to make his personal views on the kneeling cheerleaders known.

“I came here to get a direct explanation from Sam as to what (his) stance is on the kneeling cheerleaders,” said Scott Tippens, faculty senate member from the university’s computer engineering department. “We’re not getting what I consider clear direction or an understanding of where you stand.”

Olens said the university made two responses at his request: that he believes people should stand for the national anthem and that he believes students should be afforded their First Amendment rights.

“That statement, I think it would be fair to say, satisfied no one,” Olens said. “But that was the statement. It’s legally correct, factually correct.”

Shaddi Abusaid, Marietta Daily Journal