That's life. But I don't recall any of my teachers (and most of them were indeed decent men and women) ever losing it quite like Ferris State University History Professor Barry Mehler recently did. To be fair, evidently the good professor was a little peeved by the University's insistence upon holding in person classes at a time when the Covid pandemic is not subsiding.
Barry Mehler, a history professor in Ferris State’s humanities department, called his students “vectors of disease” and blamed the university for holding in-person classes amid the COVID-19 crisis during an introductory video posted to his YouTube account on Jan. 9, 2022.
“No liberty (expletive) of an administrator is going to tell me how to teach my class, because I’m a (expletive) tenured professor, so if you want to complain to your dean, (expletive) you,” Mehler said in the video. “Go ahead. I’m retiring at the end of this year and I couldn’t give a flying (expletive) any longer. You people are just vectors of disease to me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
I can understand this frustration. My employer is making unpleasant noises about ending working from home options. If you force people to choose between their money and their life you might get more responses like this.
BIG RAPIDS, MI – A Ferris State University faculty member has been placed on administrative leave after he reportedly went on a profanity-laced rant about the coronavirus pandemic during a class lecture video that was posted online.
BIG RAPIDS, MI – A Ferris State University faculty member has been placed on administrative leave after he reportedly went on a profanity-laced rant about the coronavirus pandemic during a class lecture video that was posted online.
Barry Mehler, a history professor in Ferris State’s humanities department, called his students “vectors of disease” and blamed the university for holding in-person classes amid the COVID-19 crisis during an introductory video posted to his YouTube account on Jan. 9, 2022.
“No liberty (expletive) of an administrator is going to tell me how to teach my class, because I’m a (expletive) tenured professor, so if you want to complain to your dean, (expletive) you,” Mehler said in the video. “Go ahead. I’m retiring at the end of this year and I couldn’t give a flying (expletive) any longer. You people are just vectors of disease to me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
“None of you (expletive) are good enough to earn an A in my class, so I randomly assign grades before the first day of class,” Mehler said in the video. “I don’t want to know (expletive) about you. I don’t even want to know your name. I just look at the number and I assign a grade. That is how predestination works. And don’t come (expletive) complaining to me, take your complaints to God. He ordained this system, not me.”
Gholston provided the following prepared statement on behalf of the university: “Ferris State University is aware of a course video distributed to students, in early January, by a faculty member, believed to be Professor Barry Mehler. The faculty member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.”
Mehler was placed on administrative leave pending a university investigation, Ferris State spokesperson Sandy Gholston told MLive Thursday, Jan. 13.
Gholston provided the following prepared statement on behalf of the university: “Ferris State University is aware of a course video distributed to students, in early January, by a faculty member, believed to be Professor Barry Mehler. The faculty member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.”
