THERE WAS THAT CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE WOKE DOG IN THE NIGHT.

Somebody must have been telling lies about Kimberly Diei, because one fine morning she was called in front of the Holy Inquisition.

In September 2019, one month after enrolling at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, an administrator told Diei that the university received an anonymous complaint about her Instagram and Twitter accounts — and that she was now under investigation.

Diei appeared before the college’s Professional Conduct Committee, which unanimously determined that she violated university policies with what the committee deemed to be her “crude” and “sexual” posts. Refusing to identify the policies she violated or even the posts in question, the committee required Diei to write a letter reflecting on her behavior. She completed the letter despite reservations that the committee was violating her First Amendment rights.

The woke dog did nothing in the night, which is intriguing, given the nature of the complaints.

Less than a year later, the committee notified Diei of a second investigation, this time with screenshots from her social media accounts. In one tweet, Diei contributed to a trending discussion on Twitter about the song “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, suggesting lyrics for a possible remix. In another, Diei joked about the amount of time she spends getting prepared to go out by referencing a popular Beyoncé song.

“It’s so important to me to just have my voice, because people that look like me are often told ‘be quiet, stay in the back,’ and that just does not suit my personality,” Diei said. “I’m not asking for approval. I’m asking for respect.”

The photos and tweets the school identified — which comply with the social media sites’ policies — are fully protected by the First Amendment. Further, the accounts are operated under a pseudonym and do not even reveal Diei’s identity as a student at the College of Pharmacy or indicate any association with the university.

That's right, dear reader, presenting as authentically black can be conduct unbecoming a pharmacist, or something. And I checked Inside Higher Ed for any references to her case. Crickets. Go figure.  You'd think some of the usual race hustlers there would sound off about hegemonic biases, or call out whatever deanlet in the pharmacy administration was engaging in racism.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, on the other hand, is on the right side of the case.

“The First Amendment protects the right of students to suggest lyrics for a Cardi B remix on Twitter and Instagram. Period,” said FIRE attorney Greg H. Greubel. “Kim is an authentic and successful woman, and FIRE believes that it is important to show the public that students like Kim are capable of being successful professionals while also being free to personally express themselves on social media. Kim is standing up for every American who hopes to have a personal life in addition to their professional life.”

In other good news, a woke dog at Iowa has been muzzled.  A student took issue with university bureaucrats taking issue with a (since rescinded) executive order.

The controversy started when the leadership and faculty members from the dental school sent a mass email to students and faculty members in October that condemned the executive order.

The student, Michael Brase, responded to the email (and to everyone who received it).

"By condemning Executive Order 13950, does the [College of Dentistry] support using federal funds to promote trainings that include race/sex stereotyping and/or race/sex scapegoating?" he wrote. And he asked why the college shouldn't follow the guidelines in the executive order and "continue to provide training that encourages respect and equality for all races/sexes."

A few weeks later, Brase received an email from the college. "It has come to the attention of the Collegiate Academic and Professional Performance Committee (CAPP) your unprofessional behavior involving the follow-up emails you sent out on a public platform after you were offered other means to continue the conversation," the email said.

Brase was ordered to attend a student conduct hearing.

Nothing good ever happens when you don't think twice or thrice about "reply all" rather than "reply to sender." But again, the "unprofessional behavior" is "presenting your authentic self."

But the university backed down after Brase threatened to go to state legislators with the story. No hearing was held. The threat of a hearing was only in place for two days.

At a legislative hearing this week, David Johnsen, the dean of the school, apologized.

"We do not want any of our students to have an experience that leaves them feeling unsupported or fearful. Yet we have failed Michael in that regard. And to be honest with the committee we have heard from other students, faculty, and staff in our college that we have failed them as well. We as a college must and will do better to support Michael and all of the students, faculty, and staff," said Johnsen (in remarks prepared for delivery).

Johnsen noted that Brase "was never threatened with expulsion, nor did he face academic punishment … That being said I can see why he thought that was a possibility and I am disappointed that our language in the letter led him to fear otherwise and that he felt concerned enough to reach out to legislators before he had a chance to meet with our associate dean for students."

But Johnsen, who signed the original email about the executive order, went beyond the apology to the student.

"Our first step is that moving forward I will not use my voice, in an official capacity, to comment about current political topics," he said. "While I will continue to foster opportunities that encourage debate and dialogue within the college -- I have come to realize that by expressing an opinion, as the dean, on a political topic can chill speech rather than foster free speech."

Calls for "dialogue" are also censorious, dear reader, and legislators are seeing through it.

Republican legislators were not impressed with Johnsen's appearance (although they agreed with the apology).

One of those who spoke at the hearing was Representative Bobby Kaufmann, who was chair of the College Republicans when he was a student at Iowa. He did not respond to a request for comment.

But according to The Des Moines Register, he said, "I can speak to direct testimony from my members who feel, rightly or wrongly … that there's a different set of rules -- one for conservative groups and one for liberal groups. This is a repeated, decade-long -- and probably even longer -- feeling of hundreds of students, if not thousands, that there are two different sets of rules."

Yes, and the two stories, out of distinct professional schools on both sides of the Ohio River, are of a piece.

Adam Steinbaugh, director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's Individual Rights Defense Program, linked the way Iowa treated Brase to the fact that the dean had spoken out on a public policy question.

"When university leaders open up campus discussions about political issues like the executive order, which FIRE criticized because of its potential threat to chill academic speech, they should not take steps to limit that discussion," Steinbaugh said. "Unfortunately, we've too often seen 'professionalism' used as a pretext to investigate, discipline or chill student speech on matters of public concern. Even if a student is not ultimately punished, summoning a student to a disciplinary hearing may have continuing consequences … It also sends students the message that administrators can end their careers for participating in discussion about public policy."

Particularly by taking issue with Received Wisdom therein.

Little by little, Normals will reclaim the institutions.