*This sounds familiar. (My department chair used that same phrase, "next steps," in his * *reassuring answer to the student tweeting that NYU ought to fire me; but my situation * *isn't **as precarious as Prof. Taylor's, as he's a vulnerable adjunct, and I'm tenured.)*
*There are countless students out there who've been prepped by Social Justice ideology,* *and primed by certain faculty and university administrators, to go on the attack when* *something strikes them as "offensive" or "insensitive." This is a tremendous boon to* *universities as corporations, because it helps to keep the employees (the ones with* *doctorates) in line. * *MCM* NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2020 — “Do the positives outweigh the negatives?” Email > not displaying correctly? > View it in your browser > <http://go.thefire.org/webmail/869921/1223624921/e4f2df6fc08d7eaa31a8c4dae5e149a48367f5aca71e49dd876d3d322e3e47e5> > . > > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/tion-about-columbian-exchange-/4gfkll/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > Teaching history not permitted: St. John’s bulldozes academic freedom, > punishes professor for posing question about ‘Columbian Exchange’ > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/tion-about-columbian-exchange-/4gfkll/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > > NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2020 — “Do the positives outweigh the negatives?” > > It’s a standard question asked of history students about a range of topics > to encourage critical thinking. But when St. John’s University adjunct > professor Richard Taylor posed this question to students during a class > about the “Columbian Exchange” — the process of globalization that began in > the 15th century — he was accused of racism, removed from his classroom, > investigated, and found guilty of “Bias, Discrimination, and Harassment.” > All without seeing the evidence against him, and without any opportunity to > appeal. > > Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education *wrote to St. > John’s* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/hns-university-october-8-2020-/4gfkln/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg>, > demanding it immediately rescind the investigation of Taylor, drop the > bogus charges, and cease any further action in violation of his academic > freedom rights. > > “Academic freedom presupposes the freedom to ask the uncomfortable > questions,” said Adam Goldstein, the author of *FIRE’s letter* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/hns-university-october-8-2020-/4gfkln/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg>. > “History, as a discipline, is particularly concerned with complicating > facile narratives and uncovering uncomfortable truths. Humans and their > institutions are twisted and complicated, and academics have a duty to > complicate our understanding of both. But at St. John’s, it appears some > inquiries are forbidden.” > > *TAKE ACTION: DEMAND ST. JOHN’S REINSTATE PROFESSOR TAYLOR* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/bout-columbian-exchange-widget/4gfklq/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > > On Sept. 7, Taylor taught the *Columbian Exchange* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/event-Columbian-exchange/4gfkls/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > to > his “Emergence of a Global Society” class. As it has in earlier years, > Taylor’s instruction focused on early global trade, including trade in > silver and potatoes. As part of *the class* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/CNGY4C4p0Vm5Th1NZDPz6XqtlhtYpg/4gfklv/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg>, > he also covered the more pernicious aspects of early trade, such as > slavery, the abuse of indigenous populations, and the spreading of disease. > On his final slide was a discussion prompt: “Do the positives outweigh the > negatives?” A lively discussion ensued. One student said slavery could > never be justified. According to Taylor, he clarified that no one is > justifying slavery and asked students to consider global trade as a whole, > including lives lost to disease and lives saved from famine. > > Three days later, the *Instagram account “sjuradicals”* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/sjuradicals--hl-en/4gfklx/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > posted *slides* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/p-CE9udVzpYkC-/4gfklz/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > stating > that Taylor “forced students to formulate a pros and cons list concerning > the topic of slavery” and alleged he “poses a dangerous threat to the > education of our student body.” The final item urged readers to direct a > form letter to the university in order to “bring meaningful justice to this > heinous crime committed by Professor Taylor.” The post also mentions > Taylor’s service in the Marine Corps and the New York Police Department. > Later that day, history department chair Nerina Rustomji informed Taylor by > phone that he was removed from teaching. > > On Sept. 15, Taylor met with Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance > Keaton Wong, who informed Taylor there were over 300 complaints of > misconduct against him. Taylor found this surprising, as there were only 30 > students in the class where the alleged misconduct occurred. Wong informed > Taylor that St. John’s intended to treat each of the identical sjuradicals > form letters as a stand-alone complaint, and that St. John’s could find him > in violation of campus policy without identifying which portion of the > policy he violated or what specific conduct violated the policy. > > On Oct. 5, Wong informed Taylor that he violated the “University’s Policy > against Bias, Discrimination, and Harassment” by teaching his class and > noted that “the investigation’s finding is final and non-appealable.” > Wong’s letter did not identify which part of the over 2,300-word policy > Taylor allegedly violated, and Wong refused to provide him with the > evidence used to support the finding. > > There was also a conflict of interest: Amidst Taylor’s investigation, Wong > was also targeted by sjuradicals, who called for her firing based on their > perception that she had not *done enough* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/p-CFzv14DFBLN-/4gfkm2/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > to > punish employees in the past. > > “The school’s refusal to provide evidence or identify specific policy > violations make the university’s actions particularly sinister,” said > Goldstein. “St. John’s might want to ask a history professor about other > authority systems that would punish you based on vague wrongdoing with no > evidence.” > > *Taylor is set to meet with Interim Dean Gina M. Florio tomorrow to > discuss “next steps.”* > > “St. John’s University is wrong for removing me from teaching,” said > Taylor. “By asking students to think about history on both a macro level > and a micro level, the idea is that they will look at history from a > long-term perspective. The exercise was one in which there is no correct > answer, only what the student feels. What I would like to happen is that I > am allowed to continue to teach at St. John’s University and given my > classes back immediately. How are young adults expected to become critical > thinkers if we do not push them to think critically at the college level?” > > While St. John’s is a private institution not bound by the First > Amendment, it repeatedly promises to protect free expression and academic > freedom in its policies, and *states* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/olicies-procedures-and-reports/4gfkm4/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > that > “St. John’s University believes that there is no compromise whatsoever > between Catholic identity and freedom of inquiry.” > > “Under any basic conception of academic freedom, the choice of whether and > how to confront controversial material in a pedagogically-relevant context > is left to faculty members, not administrators,” wrote Goldstein in *FIRE’s > letter* > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/hns-university-october-8-2020-/4gfkln/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg>. > “St. John’s promises this right to its faculty and must not violate those > promises. Doing so casts an unacceptable chill over faculty rights and > exposes the university to considerable legal liability.” > > The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/2020-10-08/4gfkm6/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg>) > is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and > sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at > America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of > speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious > liberty, and sanctity of conscience — the essential qualities of liberty. > > *CONTACT:* > > Daniel Burnett, Director of Communications, FIRE: 215-717-3473; > [email protected] > > Conrado M. Gempesaw, President, St. John’s University, [email protected] > [image: Facebook] > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/thefireorg/4gfkm8/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > [image: Twitter] > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/TheFIREorg/4gfkmb/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > [image: YouTube] > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/user-TheFIREorg/4gfkmd/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > [image: Instagram] > <http://go.thefire.org/e/869921/thefireorg-/4gfkmg/1223624921?h=7bSn0E_qovGj4IFy4iz223eWjD3VYMeAuAOtYJmYHlg> > *Copyright © 2020, All rights reserved.* > > *Our mailing address is:* > > Foundation for Individual Rights in Education > 510 Walnut St > Suite 1250 > Philadelphia, PA 19106 > unsubscribe from all emails > <http://go.thefire.org/unsubscribe/u/869921/e4f2df6fc08d7eaa31a8c4dae5e149a48367f5aca71e49dd876d3d322e3e47e5/1223624921> > update subscription preferences > <http://go.thefire.org/emailPreference/epc/869921/VLmsbSMKpg7BuLmKhqVj-beT_IeE-4hqvv7eENSGBlM/e4f2df6fc08d7eaa31a8c4dae5e149a48367f5aca71e49dd876d3d322e3e47e5/1223624921> > > --- Support News from Underground: http://bit.ly/NFUSupport You received this email because you are subscribed to News from Underground. 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