If a white male professor uses a sexual metaphor, or tells the joke about the traveling salesman and the farmer’s daughter, feminist students may demand his firing, and the professor may get disciplined for sexual harassment, even if the professor’s speech was protected by the First Amendment.
But if a professor accused of sexual harassment is an anti-white feminist, she may well be defended by feminist and minority students, even if she is guilty as sin of things like stalking or vandalism. The College Fix tells the story of Yvonne del Valle, an “anti-colonialist” professor who still has her job despite engaging in stalking and vandalizing Professor Joshua Clover’s apartment hallway, door, and car:
Students at University of California Berkeley are calling for the reinstatement of a professor suspended by the school for alleged sexual harassment and stalking, whom they argue is herself the victim of abuse.
“We have witnessed the harsh and unfair treatment that our most beloved Latina professor, Dr. Ivonne del Valle, has received at the hands of the administration,” the “Justice4Ivonne” student campaign wrote in an open letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ.
Activists are also reportedly organizing a hunger strike in support of the professor….“If UC Berkeley really wants to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSIs), it needs to start treating our Latinx professors with respect,” according to the letter, signed by 20 organizations and more than 300 individuals as of Dec. 12….
“We demand Dr. del Valle be reinstated immediately,” the letter stated….Del Valle told The Fix in an email that she has not taught at Berkeley for six semesters and is on a nine-month leave without salary or benefits….The Daily Californian reported Nov. 13 that “Del Valle is on paid administrative leave after being found responsible for sexual harassment and stalking in three separate investigations conducted by the [UC Berkeley] Office for the Prevention of Harassment & Discrimination.”
“She is currently prohibited from being on campus,” according to the news outlet….Berkeley issued a no-contact order to del Valle, prohibiting her from directly or indirectly contacting Clover. Three investigations by UC Berkeley’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment & Discrimination found del Valle had either violated sexual violence and sexual harassment policy or the no-contact order…During the investigations, del Valle reportedly confirmed most of her alleged actions against Clover, including leaving him notes at his apartment, emailing him, calling him, and contacting him on Twitter.
She also reportedly confirmed to The Daily Californian that she vandalized Clover’s apartment hallway, door, and car, and wrote, “Is it nice to be the mother of an abusive jerk?” in chalk in front of Clover’s mother’s house….
In an Oct. 11 letter, students announced a planned hunger strike to convince UC Berkeley to reinstate del Valle, KQED reported.
“In their Oct. 11 letter announcing the plan, students reference Berkeley’s long history of activism, including the 1999 Ethnic Studies Strike,” according to KQED. “That strike led to the Multicultural Community Center and the Center of Race and Gender on campus.”
“We reiterate, how far are you willing to go before you fix an injustice?” according to the letter, which the news outlet did not share. “Are you willing to risk students’ lives over this?”
Colleges apply campus rules against inappropriate remarks in ways that are discriminatory and also violate academic freedom. Washington University in St. Louis investigated a professor for anti-Hamas remarks that some people viewed as dehumanizing toward Palestinians. The University of Southern California suspended a professor for calling for the death of Hamas members. But at Cornell University, there was no investigation of a professor who called the Hamas terror attacks that killed over 1200 people “exhilarating” and “exciting.”
A black college fired an instructor for refusing to further raise the already-inflated grades of students who did not even understand the basics.
