BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan professor who was suspended after making a provocative video for his students is threatening to file a lawsuit if Ferris State University doesn’t lift the sanction.
An attorney for Mehler warned the school of the possible lawsuit in a letter Tuesday. Matthew Hoffer says the history teacher is protected by the First Amendment and a contract between Ferris State and its faculty.
Barry Mehler has been teaching at Ferris for nearly 30 years in the humanities department and is the director for the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism and the Shoah Institute, according to the university's website.
Mehler’s 14-minute video at the start of a new term was peppered with profanities and unusual remarks.
The Spring 2022 semester began on last week, with instruction being held in person, which appears to be a large source of his ire in the video.
At one point in the recording, Mehler profanely calls out the school's administration, encourages students not to come to class as he claims they are "vectors of disease," and indicated he would randomly assign grades at the start of his course.
Ferris State President David Eisler says he was “shocked and appalled," and placed Mehler on leave.
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