Past and present UCLA students praised a conservative, pro-free speech professor and criticized the university for kicking him out, The College Fix reported Thursday.
UCLA booted Keith Fink in June after the professor alleged that the university blocked students from enrolling in his course on free speech, according to The College Fix. The university claimed that Fink’s “teaching does not meet [UCLA’s] standard of excellence,” but students painted a very different portrait of the professor.
“There was no reason for him not to pass that excellence review, as most everyone in his classes give him raving reviews,” said Taryn Jacobson, a recent UCLA graduate, to The College Fix. “It is so transparent and it’s a shame that liberal bias has come this far, especially on a college campus where freedom of communication is supposed to be encouraged.”
“It is a huge loss to the school and to future students who are deprived of the opportunity to learn under such a great professor,” Eric Kim, another recent graduate, told The College Fix. “If the school cannot embrace professors or students with different views and allow free speech, then the university is no longer educating students in the right way.”
After a review panel reached gridlock on whether or not to keep Fink, Laura Gomez, UCLA’s dean of social sciences, sent a short letter to the professor informing him that he would not continue lecturing due to subpar performance. (RELATED: UCLA Professor: Students Blocked From My Free Speech Course)
The panel’s decision seems to contradict Fink’s course and instructor evaluations, in which students rated him “modestly” higher than his department average.
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Fink previously received over 1,200 signatures on a petition supporting his stay at UCLA.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to UCLA for comment, but received none in time for publication.
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