A “woke” Illinois professor has threatened to boot students from his class for not wearing masks, arguing that going maskless indoors “is a manifestation of ableism and racism.”
Northern Illinois University physics professor Jahred Adelman blasted the “privilege” of students who failed to comply with his demands.
“Refusing to mask indoors is a manifestation of ableism and racism, an exercise of individual privilege that tells the most vulnerable that their health and the health of their loved ones does not matter,” Adelman says, according to a photo of a projector screen from the class.
“Thus, masks are required here. They are NOT optional.”
The professor’s instruction on masks was made public after a student reported the matter to the Campus Bias Tip Line of nonprofit Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
YAF obtained a copy of Adelman’s syllabus, which outlines that “Masks are required AT ALL times in PHYS 253.”
According to the syllabus, students will be booted from the class if they do not comply with the masking rule.
“Masks are required AT ALL times in PHYS 253,” Adelman wrote in the course syllabus, according to YAF.
“Here and in your labs.
“It is not pleasant, but it is for your health and safety, my health and safety, and the health and safety of your friends and colleagues.
“If you do not follow this requirement, you will be asked to leave.”
Northern Illinois University, a public university in DeKalb County, Illinois, eased its mask requirements in February but states on its website that “faculty members can require masks be worn in their teaching spaces.”
Adelman has been working at the college since 2014 and currently serves as the director of graduate studies for the physics department, according to Fox News.
Adelman told Fox in an email that his rules on masks comply with school guidance and that he’s working to “keep everyone a little safer while we learn physics.”
“The university allows professors to set mask policy in their classrooms and laboratories,” Adelman said.
“I cannot and would not tell students what to do outside of my class, but if I can do my part to keep everyone a little safer while we learn physics, I will do so.
“Of particular concern to me is protecting those students of color and those with special health demands and needs, whom studies have shown are disproportionately impacted by the virus.”
A representative for the school told YAF that Adelman’s views on maskless individuals “reflect his personal opinion.”
The syllabus provided to YAF also shows historical scientists Photoshopped with face coverings or seen maskless with captions such as “I don’t want to see your nose this semester unless we’re outdoors” and “Neck gaiters are not acceptable.”
A student at the school told YAF that Adelman is the only professor who teaches the required PHYS 253 NIU course.
YAF spokeswoman Kara Zupkus touted the youth conservative organization’s tip line as a resource for “students facing intimidation and bullying tactics from professors like this one.”
“As our nation’s campuses become more polarized with left-wing activists parading as educators, it’s up to us to hold these leaders accountable for their viewpoint discrimination and ensure that conservative students are able to speak freely in the classroom,” Zupkus said.
Going maskless while in indoor public settings has been labeled racist and ableist by other professors in recent days, including in New York by a SUNY New Paltz professor.
“Refusing to mask indoors is a manifestation of ableism and racism, an exercise of individual privilege that tells the most vulnerable that their health does not matter,” women’s, gender and sexuality studies professor Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón said in a draft of her syllabus, which she posted on Twitter last month.
