Evergreen faculty, students come out in support of Weinstein

Faculty and students at Evergreen State College are beginning to speak out in support of Professor Bret Weinstein after he was berated by a mob of student protesters.

As Campus Reform initially reported, students confronted Weinstein outside of his classroom and later called for his resignation after he questioned an event that asked white students and staff to leave campus for the day.

[RELATED: Lawmakers propose defunding Evergreen amid protests]

Protesters went on to mount a multi-day protest, in one case holding school administrators hostage until they complied with student demands, making headlines nationwide.

Now, one professor is speaking out against the uproar and came to the defense of Weinstein in a letter published on Heterodox Academy, in which he denounces Evergreen’s president as “an absolute coward.”

“It is about a collection of professors that are so blinded by their advocacy that they cannot fathom different viewpoints,” Professor Mike Paros wrote, offering his interpretation of situation. “It involves a newly appointed President who believes in ideological safe spaces who endorsed a strategic equity plan that will hurt the very students it is trying to help.”

Paros goes on to note that he recently met with a student who came to him after “she was told to shut up at a student rally based solely on the amount of pigment in her skin,” and, when she refused, was labeled a racist.

“To the faculty, too afraid to speak out: I urge you to walk toward the fire. After all, if this brave student is a bigot, then I guess I am too,” Paros wrote, then telling his colleagues that “you will not lose your job, but you might lose your dignity.”

[RELATED: Evergreen trustees condemn ‘indefensible’ protest tactics]

Meanwhile, a group of “concerned students” at Evergreen published a letter denouncing the campus protesters, saying “those of us writing and in support of this letter have been appalled by the events which have transpired.”

“These events not only damaged the credibility of those who want to address racial issues, but have also put a greater portion of the student body, staff, and faculty at risk of bodily injury,” says the letter, which is signed by 17 Evergreen students.

“Addressing the real issues has been made much more difficult due to a tendency for those disagreeing with the protesters or their methods to be labeled as being racist, which stifles expression and dissent while diluting and perverting the meaning of the term.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski