Commentary
After showing a painting of the Prophet Muhammad in her art history class, professor Erika López Prater was informed that her teaching contract at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, would not be renewed. Those who condemned the professor’s actions were convinced that what she did wasn’t only offensive to Muslim students, but that such disrespect shouldn’t be protected by academic freedom.
These attitudes are grounded in the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI activists believe that maintaining the dignity of ethnic or racial groups is of paramount importance; therefore, a loss of academic freedom is justified in a few circumstances, as is a denial of employment. And this is what makes the Hamline incident disturbing….