Syracuse University Urged to Drop Probe of Professor Who Used Term ‘Chinese Communist Party Virus’

Cathy He
Eva Fu
Updated:

A free-speech group has called on Syracuse University to drop an investigation into a chemistry professor who referred to the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease as “Chinese Communist Party virus” and “Wuhan flu” in his course syllabus.

Syracuse University, a private college in New York state, on Aug. 25 announced that it had placed a professor on administrative leave, pending an investigation, for using “derogatory language” in a course syllabus that was “damaging to the learning environment” for students. The school said the wording was “offensive to Chinese, international and Asian-Americans everywhere who have experienced hate speech, rhetoric, and actions since the pandemic began.”
Cathy He is the politics editor at the Washington D.C. bureau. She was previously an editor for U.S.-China and a reporter covering U.S.-China relations.
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