A college professor in Michigan has been removed from his teaching bubble this semester after a video of him cursing at his students was posted online.
Ferris State University placed Barry Mehler on administrative leave Thursday after he uploaded a 14-minute video to YouTube, which initially showed him wearing a fishbowl helmet and a face mask, in which he went on a profanity-laced rant against his students. The Michigan-based school said Mehler “has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation,” according to the Detroit News.
“I was shocked and appalled by this video,” Ferris State President David Eisler told the outlet. “It is profane, offensive, and disturbing and in no way reflects our university or its values.”
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In the unlisted video uploaded to Mehler’s YouTube account Jan. 9, he tells students he is almost 75 years old and “old enough to be your grandpa.” He talks about in-person attendance to his class and tells students they “are vectors of disease to me.”
“So if you want to go complain to your dean, f*** you,” Mehler says in the video. “Go ahead. I’m retiring at the end of this year and I couldn’t give a flying f*** any longer. You people are just vectors of disease to me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
On FSU’s website, Mehler’s biography states he has worked at the school for 27 years and that his main focus is “on the history of science and the relationship between science and racism.” The page also identifies him as the director of the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism, an organization that “monitors changing intellectual trends in academic racism, biological determinism, and eugenics.”
An organization called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education urged FSU to reinstate Mehler. FIRE program officer Aaron Terr said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner that Mehler was “using cutting humor” and that “violating faculty rights is no laughing matter.”
“Faculty are entitled to autonomy in deciding how to teach pedagogically relevant material, but rather than protecting Mehler’s academic freedom, the university punished him,” Terr said. “Ferris State must drop its investigation into Mehler and return him to the classroom or risk further violating its obligations under the First Amendment.”
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Mehler has not responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
