[h=1]Students at liberal arts college confront 'racist' biology professor and urge him to resign after he criticized event asking white people to leave campus for a day[/h]
- Evergreen State College's event, Day of Absence, asked white faculty and students to leave campus this year
- Biology professor Bret Weinstein, who is white, said he would not participate
- Students confronted him, accusing him of racism and calling for him to resign
- Demonstrators then took over the campus on Tuesday and Wednesday
- Police told Weinstein he was not safe on the Olympia, Washington, campus
Students are calling for a professor to resign after he criticized an event where white people were invited to leave campus for a day.
Bret Weinstein, a biology professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, criticized the way the college's Day of Absence event would be structured this year in an email to other faculty.
In response, a group of students confronted Weinstein outside his classroom on Tuesday morning, accusing him of racism and demanding an apology and his resignation.
As many as 200 students then demonstrated across the campus in protest on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking over classrooms and barricading the college president's office and the library.
The encounter between the students and Weinstein was posted in a Facebook video, where the professor can be seen speaking to a large group of students.
'There's a difference between debate and dialectic. Debate means you are trying to win, dialectic means you are using disagreement to discover what is true,' the professor told the students gathered outside his classroom.
'I am not interested in debate. I am only interested in dialectic, which does mean I listen to you, and you listen to me.'
One student responded: 'We don’t care what terms you want to speak on. This is not about you. We are not speaking on terms—on terms of white privilege. This is not a discussion. You have lost that one.'
Some of the students in the video defended their professor, but others can be heard shouting at him before they walk out.
Bret Weinstein, a biology professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, criticized the way the college's Day of Absence event would be structured this year in an email to other faculty.
In response, a group of students confronted Weinstein outside his classroom on Tuesday morning, accusing him of racism and demanding an apology and his resignation.
As many as 200 students then demonstrated across the campus in protest on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking over classrooms and barricading the college president's office and the library.
The encounter between the students and Weinstein was posted in a Facebook video, where the professor can be seen speaking to a large group of students.
'There's a difference between debate and dialectic. Debate means you are trying to win, dialectic means you are using disagreement to discover what is true,' the professor told the students gathered outside his classroom.
'I am not interested in debate. I am only interested in dialectic, which does mean I listen to you, and you listen to me.'
One student responded: 'We don’t care what terms you want to speak on. This is not about you. We are not speaking on terms—on terms of white privilege. This is not a discussion. You have lost that one.'
Some of the students in the video defended their professor, but others can be heard shouting at him before they walk out.
In response, a group of students confronted Weinstein, left, outside his classroom on Tuesday morning, accusing him of racism and demanding an apology and his resignation. He spoke with the students, saying: 'There's a difference between debate and dialectic'
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Some of the students in the video defended their professor, but many of the students gathered, pictured, can be heard shouting at him before they walk out
In the past, Day of Absence has meant students and faculty of color leave campus to show how much they contribute to the college while white people attend anti-racism workshops, according to Heat Street.
But this year, the event organizers are asking white students and faculty to leave campus, which Weinstein, a professor at Evergreen State for 15 years, responded to in an email, saying he would not participate in Day of Absence and would remain on campus.
'There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space in order to highlight their vital and under-appreciated roles... and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away.
'The first is a forceful call to consciousness which is, of course, crippling to the logic of oppression. The second is a show of force, and an act of oppression in and of itself,' he wrote in the email.
He added: 'On a college campus, one's right to speak — or to be — must never be based on skin color.'
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The students' outrage against Weinstein comes after he sent an email to other faculty saying he would not participate in this year's Day of Absence, which asked white students and faculty to leave campus. He said in the email: 'There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves... and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away'
After the student demonstrators took over the campus on Tuesday and Wednesday, the college tweeted Thursday evening: 'Intense and useful dialogue today on campus among students, staff faculty about equity and inclusion at Evergreen'
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Weinstein tweeted about the students' demonstrations, eventually saying that police told him to stay away from campus for several days because he would not be safe. He added: 'No contact from admin. George?' in reference to college President George Bridges
After his encounter with students Tuesday, Weinstein held his Thursday class off-campus in a park in Olympia, King 5 News reported.
He told the station that police told him, 'it's not safe for me to be on campus'.
'To be clear: the police told me I am not safe on campus,' Weinstein tweeted Thursday. 'They can not protect me. Students in jeopardy. No contact from admin. George?' he added, referencing college President George Bridges.
One student protester told King 5: 'If he feels unsafe or frightened for two days, he can only imagine what black and brown bodies have feared for years.'
The college tweeted earlier Thursday evening, saying: 'Intense and useful dialogue today on campus among students, staff, faculty about equity and inclusion at Evergreen.'
Bridges said there would be no punishment for students involved in the protests, according to the Washington Times.
'First and foremost, I want to state that there will be, as far as I know, no charges filed against any students involved in actions that occurred this morning,' Bridges said, according to the outlet.
'We will be conducting a major review, an investigation of all that occurred and will be reporting back to you, the campus community, about exactly what happened, why it happened and what we intend to do about the incident — not the incident, excuse me, the actions that were taken, both students, staff and faculty involved.'
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President Bridges said: 'First and foremost, I want to state that there will be, as far as I know, no charges filed against any students involved in actions that occurred this morning.' Evergreen State College is pictured
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Bridges added: 'We will be conducting a major review, an investigation of all that occurred and will be reporting back to you, the campus community, about exactly what happened, why it happened and what we intend to do about the incident — not the incident, excuse me, the actions that were taken, both students, staff and faculty involved.' Evergreen State College is pictured
Read more:
But this year, the event organizers are asking white students and faculty to leave campus, which Weinstein, a professor at Evergreen State for 15 years, responded to in an email, saying he would not participate in Day of Absence and would remain on campus.
'There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space in order to highlight their vital and under-appreciated roles... and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away.
'The first is a forceful call to consciousness which is, of course, crippling to the logic of oppression. The second is a show of force, and an act of oppression in and of itself,' he wrote in the email.
He added: 'On a college campus, one's right to speak — or to be — must never be based on skin color.'
+7
The students' outrage against Weinstein comes after he sent an email to other faculty saying he would not participate in this year's Day of Absence, which asked white students and faculty to leave campus. He said in the email: 'There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves... and a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away'
After the student demonstrators took over the campus on Tuesday and Wednesday, the college tweeted Thursday evening: 'Intense and useful dialogue today on campus among students, staff faculty about equity and inclusion at Evergreen'
+7
Weinstein tweeted about the students' demonstrations, eventually saying that police told him to stay away from campus for several days because he would not be safe. He added: 'No contact from admin. George?' in reference to college President George Bridges
After his encounter with students Tuesday, Weinstein held his Thursday class off-campus in a park in Olympia, King 5 News reported.
He told the station that police told him, 'it's not safe for me to be on campus'.
'To be clear: the police told me I am not safe on campus,' Weinstein tweeted Thursday. 'They can not protect me. Students in jeopardy. No contact from admin. George?' he added, referencing college President George Bridges.
One student protester told King 5: 'If he feels unsafe or frightened for two days, he can only imagine what black and brown bodies have feared for years.'
The college tweeted earlier Thursday evening, saying: 'Intense and useful dialogue today on campus among students, staff, faculty about equity and inclusion at Evergreen.'
Bridges said there would be no punishment for students involved in the protests, according to the Washington Times.
'First and foremost, I want to state that there will be, as far as I know, no charges filed against any students involved in actions that occurred this morning,' Bridges said, according to the outlet.
'We will be conducting a major review, an investigation of all that occurred and will be reporting back to you, the campus community, about exactly what happened, why it happened and what we intend to do about the incident — not the incident, excuse me, the actions that were taken, both students, staff and faculty involved.'
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President Bridges said: 'First and foremost, I want to state that there will be, as far as I know, no charges filed against any students involved in actions that occurred this morning.' Evergreen State College is pictured
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Bridges added: 'We will be conducting a major review, an investigation of all that occurred and will be reporting back to you, the campus community, about exactly what happened, why it happened and what we intend to do about the incident — not the incident, excuse me, the actions that were taken, both students, staff and faculty involved.' Evergreen State College is pictured
Read more:
- Professor told he's not safe on campus after college protests | KING5.com
- Student Mob Calls for Firing, Shrieks at Professor for Objecting to No-Whites 'Day of Absence' | Heat Street
- Evergreen State students demand professor resign for failing to participate in 'Day of Absence' - Washington Times
- Update Your Browser | Facebook
Students at liberal arts college confront 'racist' biology professor and urge him to resign after he criticized event asking white people to leave campus for a day
Students are calling for a professor to resign after he criticized an event where white people were invited to leave campus for a day. Bret Weinstein, a biology professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, criticized the way the college's Day of Absence event would be structured this year in an email to other faculty.
