Syracuse University Professor On Administrative Leave For Including 'Wuhan Flu' On Syllabus

Syracuse University has placed distinguished chemistry professor Jon Zubieta "on administrative leave" for referring to coronavirus as the “Wuhan Flu” and “Chinese Communist Party Virus” on a class syllabus, according to the Daily Orange newspaper.

The university released a statement condemning "racism and xenophobia and rejects bigotry, hate and intolerance of any kind."

"The derogatory language used by a professor on his course syllabus is damaging to the learning environment for our students and offensive to Chinese, international and Asian-Americans everywhere who have experienced hate speech, rhetoric and actions since the pandemic began," the statement reads.

"As a result, a complaint has been filed against the professor with the Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services. The complaint will be investigated and addressed according to procedures set forth in the Faculty Manual. The professor has been placed on administrative leave from teaching and removed from the classroom pending the outcome of a full investigation."

A quick scan of RateMyProfessor.com doesn't reveal past issues with students for Mr. Zubieta. The big issue out of students seems to be that Jon's a tad on the boring side.

It's already been a big week for the cancel professors movement. A Missouri professor was fired (the school says he was "relieved of his duties") for making a mask comment to a student from Wuhan while on a class Zoom call.












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Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.