Art professor sues after firing over Prophet Muhammad images

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Attorneys for an adjunct art professor said Tuesday she is suing the Minnesota university that dismissed her after a Muslim student objected to depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in a global art course, while the university admitted to a “misstep” and plans to hold public conversations about academic freedom.

In her lawsuit, Erika López Prater alleges that Hamline University — a small, private school in St. Paul — subjected her to religious discrimination and defamation, and damaged her professional and personal reputation.

“Among other things, Hamline, through its administration, has referred to Dr. López Prater’s actions as ‘undeniably Islamophobic,’? her attorneys said in a statement. “Comments like these, which have now been published in news stories around the globe, will follow Dr. López Prater throughout her career, potentially resulting in her inability to obtain a tenure track position at any institution of higher education.”

In Minnesota, a lawsuit can be started by serving a summons and a complaint to the party being sued. Attorneys for López Prater said the lawsuit was served to Hamline University on Tuesday and will soon be filed in court.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/colleges-and-universities-minnesota-st-paul-religion-ba1f75e62e6c73eb46117d7f8394b3a4

---

I find it interesting that this wrongfully fired professor is a black woman.
Would they have done the same to a white male? I doubt it......

[Auggie]

1. Hope Prater wins. The firing was unwarranted.

[cab67]

4. THe things said by Hamline University administrators were even worse.

Someone who studies and teaches about Islamic art for a living was publicly denounced as an Islamophobe. That's going to follow her everywhere, no matter how much Hamline tries to walk back what it did.

[Dr. Strange]

17. That's the real issue for this lawsuit.

Adjuncts can be fired for whatever reason, the university just claims that they weren't rehired.

Hamline crossed the line when they defamed her with the "Islamaphobic" term. They're probably going to end up in the same situation that Oberlin was in, except they'll maybe opt for a settlement instead of going to a trial.

[groundloop]

2. The Council on American-Islamic Relations came out in support of Dr. Prater

From the linked article:

On Friday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national civil rights organization for Muslims, disputed the belief that López Prater’s behavior was Islamophobic. The group said professors who analyze images of the Prophet Muhammad for academic purposes are not the same as “Islamophobes who show such images to cause offense.”

[geardaddy]

8. That should settle the matter right there.

I think CAIR knows what's what.

[XorXor]

14. I might be wrong, but I think it's the national office that said that

But the state organization, CAIR-MN, took the opposite stance.

[geardaddy]

18. Oh, interesting.

Thanks for the info.

[Mosby]

19. They piled on.

Around the 16 minute mark the student who complained speaks about the incident.

https://m.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. "Would they have done the same to a white male? I doubt it......"

Last edited Wed Jan 18, 2023, 02:37 PM - Edit history (3)

I find it interesting that this wrongfully fired professor is a black woman.
Would they have done the same to a white male? I doubt it......

Meet Fayneese S. Miller, the president of Hamline University.

Knock yourself out.



Source: https://www.thefire.org/news/hamline-university-president-triples-down-defending-instructors-nonrenewal-showing-muhammad

The magic words in all this are "adjunct art professor." Adjuncts are the at the lowest position on the totem pole. Sacrificing an adjunct is no big deal.

[Coventina]

6. Doesn't mean there was no racism in the decision.

Doesn't mean there WAS but it doesn't mean there WAS NOT.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. "Doesn't mean there WAS but it doesn't mean there WAS NOT."

Doesn't mean there WAS but it doesn't mean there WAS NOT.

With that standard of proof and $4, you can buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

[Coventina]

9. Whatevs.

[Lithos]

10. There was ignorance and fear

And a lack of desire to actually understand the context beyond just a desire to try and make things go away in some vague attempt to "protect" the university. Ie, I am sure it was easier for them to remove the professor than to actually understand what was happening.

[11 Bravo]

11. The same could be said of your post.

Or of any other group of words strung together since the inception of human speech.

[mike_c]

12. any adjunct professor might face similar discipline

Adjuncts have few employment rights and protections by design. Today, three-quarters of the U.S. professoriate is composed of adjuncts, which comprise a poorly paid itinerant professional class who work essentially at the whims of deans and provosts. Academic freedom means little when your contract is renewable-- or not-- every semester. It's a damned tenuous existence.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

13. I'd like to see one of the schools down the street, like St. Kate's or Macalester make her an offer

Hamline messed up on this one. Let another school profit (or should I say prophet) from their error.

[geardaddy]

20. Yes

I don't think St. Thomas would hire her though.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

15. To me the schools argument is akin to calling people who eat beef 'Hinduphobes'

Everyone, in every religion, every day, deal with the fact that 'what they think is sacred' ... is NOT held to be sacred by almost else who's not part of their religion.

And it wasn't like she just busted it out one day on a whim. She took many steps in order to avoid offending the Muslims in the class before revealing the portrait.

I hope she wins!

[republianmushroom]

16. like it

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Her syllabus with the picture had been approved; MN employment lawyer says that's important

Link to tweet

"the MN employment lawyer I talked to about it says that's a big deal legally - that all her actions were pre-approved, and then she was punished for it."

That’s right — the syllabus that Hamline admin describe in writing to the entire campus community as “undeniably Islamophobic” was approved by Hamlime admin ex ante. Somehow, I don’t think anybody has followed through on their alleged principles and resigned.



The facts were are not ambiguous: she was offered a class, and it was taken away because she engaged in perfectly sound pedagogical practice. She was fired. Her being an adjunct is relevant to the due process rights she possesses, but is irrelevant to the question of whether she was fired; she was.

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/01/the-hamline-files

[HeartachesNhangovers]

22. I believe the professor who's contract was not extended - Erika Lopez Prater - is Caucasian.

The news stories about this case show a lot of photos of the young woman who complained about the artwork that was displayed - that young woman appears to be a black woman.

The Daily Mail says this is Erika López Prater:



... in this story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11646465/Muslim-rights-group-slams-university-firing-professor-showed-class-painting-Muhammad.html

[Coventina]

23. Did you click on the link in my post?

That's what I'm basing my comment on.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

24. I just did. There are 5 photos of a young black woman

who is identified as the complaining student. There are no photos of the professor, but other sources - like my link - identify her as Caucasian, not black.

[Coventina]

28. If I've mis-identified her, I apologize. n/t

[HeartachesNhangovers]

29. Actually, based on igorman's post, I'm not sure.

I know you weren't trying to mis-identify.

[igorman]

27. last name is "Lopez"

Are you sure she's Caucasian? Not that the race issue will be brought up even by the university.

[Dr. Strange]

25. To be clear...

I find it interesting that this wrongfully fired professor is a black woman.
Would they have done the same to a white male?

If the white male professor was an adjunct? Yes, in a heartbeat. Adjuncts get shit on all the time.

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. Yup. Not really fired. They just don't get their contract renewed n/t

[iemanja]

26. The fact she was an adjunct made it easy for Hamline to fire her

If she had been a tenured professor, she would not have been fired.