On 10 February, 2016, Clifford Durand, a male student at St John's University in New York, posted a picture of a female student on Twitter, promising to seize and destroy the woman's laptop computer if he received enough encouragement. Durand was enraged by an objectively inoffensive political sticker on the laptop.

Reportedly when the woman later approached Durand, asking he remove the photo, he responded by verbally abusing before hitting or shoving her (he acknowledged this on Twitter, claiming self-defense). As of this writing the university has not addressed the assault and Mr Durand is free to roam the university.

Mr Durand deserves all due process regarding the alleged physical assault. His actions leading to it, for which his Twitter account has since been suspended, however, are undeniable and demand immediate action on the part of the university. Motivated by misogyny and possibly racism, he brought an unsuspecting woman to the attention of an online mob in an act of political intimidation. In showing her likeness and location to the unlimited potential audience that is the Internet he has exposed her to potential future violence. That this could happen on the campus of an American university is a shame to us all, and an emergency for that school.

There is no problem more serious than that of violence against women. If the university is serious about that problem, it will move immediately to expel Clifford Durand from the university for the initial harassment and refer the allegation of assault to the police.