Indiana University of Pennsylvania will decide next week whether a student who was kicked out of a religion class can return after saying there are only two genders, and citing an Economist article that said the gender wage gap is a myth.
Lake Ingle was booted from his Special Topics in Christianity course for lodging a “disrespectful objection” to the professor, and making “angry outbursts” after being “required to listen to a trans[gender] speaker discuss the reality of white male privilege and sexism.”
That description came from religious studies professor Alison Downie, who has said she would only allow Ingle to return if he apologizes, displays respect for her, and explains the “importance of an atmosphere of safety for an educational environment.”
Downie also wants Ingle to apologize to other students and then “listen in silence as the professor and/or any student who wishes to speak shares how he or she felt during Lake’s disrespectful and disruptive outbursts.”
The school’s Academic Integrity Board will rule on the situation on March 19.
Ingle has argued that he would lose the money he paid for the course if he were kicked out, and wouldn’t be able to graduate in May as planned.
“Also, I think I will have to pay back grant money because without that class, I will not be a full time student,” Ingle said.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, Ingle said that by defending himself during the adjudication process with the Integrity Board, he is defending his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
