A law professor at the University of San Diego is under investigation after writing in a blog post that a Chinese lab played a role in the coronavirus’s development.
Thomas Smith, who has taught at the school since 1992, ruffled student feathers when he wrote in early March on his blog, The Right Coast, that the coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan and that not believing that means one should “at least consider that you are an idiot who is swallowing whole a lot of Chinese c— swaddle.”
The comment, which Smith posted after quoting from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece making a similar argument, drew outrage from USD’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. The group filed a complaint with the Student Bar Association and met with school officials last week.
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A USD spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Smith is under review to determine if he violated the school’s policies with the post.
“A core value of the University of San Diego School of Law is that all members of the community must be treated with dignity and respect,” said Elena Gomez, the school’s associate director of media relations. “University policies specifically prohibit harassment, including the use of epithets, derogatory comments, or slurs based on race or national origin, among other categories.”
The Asian Pacific American Law Student Association did not respond to request for comment.
The USD School of Law dean last week sent a letter to students, calling the language in the blog post hurtful.
“While the blog is not hosted by the University of San Diego, these forms of bias, wherever they occur, have an adverse impact on our community,” wrote Robert Schapiro, who ascended to the role this year. “It is especially concerning when the disparaging language comes from a member of our community.”
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Smith declined to comment. He did, however, update his blog post, noting that his comment had no racially charged intent.
“It appears that some people are interpreting my reference to ‘Chinese c— swaddle,’ as a reference to an ethnic group,” he wrote. “That is a misinterpretation. To be clear, I was referring to the Chinese government.”
