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.”
