Open Letter to Penn State Administration about Fall Plans and Covid-19

Dr. Oliver Baker, a committed anti-racist professor, has been subjected to the AC70 termination process after acting to keep students, faculty, and community members safe from a violent far-right provocateur at a pro-vaccine mandate rally in August.

CJU urges President Bendapudi to immediately reinstate Dr. Baker to his tenure-line position.

Image 1: White background with navy and light blue accent lines. Light blue and white text reads: " Dear President Bendapudi In 2018, you took a courageous stand against racism in response to John Schnatter’s repeated demonstrations of anti-Black bigotry. You removed the Papa John name from the University of Louisville football stadium and Schnatter’s name from a program in the UL business school. Now, in your first days as president of Penn State University, you have unfortunately inherited the outrageous case of Professor Oliver Baker, a committed antiracist professor who—as you surely know—has been subjected to the AC70 termination process for no reason anyone here can explain or justify."

Image 2: White background with navy and light blue accent lines. Light blue and white text reads: "The press coverage has escalated from regional to national headlines. You may be aware of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial of January 23, “Firing Professor Would Taint Penn State”; but surely you are very aware of Emma Pettit’s in-depth coverage in the March 25 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, which offers a strikingly damning account not only of the counter-protester whose actions threatened so many attendees at last fall’s pro-vaccine-mandate rally but also of the administration’s unfathomable decision to seek Professor Baker’s termination even after he had been acquitted of all charges in a court of law. Lastly, you are aware of the year-long student protests against Penn State’s treatment of Professor Baker"

Image 3: White background with navy and light blue accent lines. Light blue and white text reads: "President Bendapudi, we suspect that no incoming university president wants to start their tenure at a major university by firing a professor who protected peacefully protesting members of the University community and whose case has already drawn national attention. The damage from doing so would be incalculable."

Image 4: "White background with navy and light blue accent lines. Light blue and white text reads: "We are writing, therefore, to urge you to begin your tenure here by doing what is clearly and unambiguously the right thing: reinstate Oliver Baker to his tenure-line position. In doing so, you can send a clear message to all faculty, students, staff, and the greater Penn State community, as you did at Louisville, that you stand with antiracist colleagues and will work to help Penn State recover from yet another of our self-inflicted wounds. We look forward to engaging with your administration in a positive, progressive, and constructive manner. Sincerely yours, The Faculty of The Coalition for a Just University"

Charges dropped against Penn State professor in vaccine rally scuffle, but he could be fired anyway AAUP, other groups say university unfairly targets Oliver Baker

“Multiple campus groups, including the American Association of University Professors chapter and the Coalition for a Just University at Penn State, have publicly urged the university to reinstate Baker, given the outcome of his criminal case and the nature of the incident itself.

The coalition, which organized the pro–vaccine mandate rally, said in an initial statement about the incident that the student counterprotester was “running around the perimeter and through the center of the rally, lunging at people, threatening them physically by bumping against them and foisting his maskless face in the faces of rally attendees.”

Penn State seeks to fire professor over vaccine rally tussle A Penn State professor says he was protecting pro–vaccine mandate demonstrators when he struggled with a counterprotester. The professor was vindicated in court, but Penn State wants to fire him anyway.

It is inexcusable that Penn State administration is punishing rather than protecting faculty who try to defend the physical safety and the rights of free speech of themselves and others from menacing individuals.

We give our full and unequivocal support to the students organizing to keep Professor Baker at Penn State and we encourage everyone to sign this petition (https://bit.ly/3q6BOzk) and attend the rally to defend Dr. Baker against these attacks this Friday January 14th at 6pm at the Allen Street Gates.

Penn State Students Against Sexist Violence to hold rally in support of Penn State professor Penn State's Students Against Sexist Violence will hold a rally at 6 p.m. on Friday for Oliver Baker, an assistant professor at Penn State currently on administrative leave.

Come on, Penn State administration, do the right thing (for once)!

The Coalition for a Just University (CJU) joins the authors of the “More Rivers to Cross” reports and the local chapter of NAACP in questioning both Penn State’s apparent failure to treat the recent attack on a Black employee as an incident of racial harassment and violence, and the laxity of charges filed against the perpetrator by University police. On September 3, 2021, Centre Daily Times reported that a Penn State employee was attacked by another Penn State employee for not wearing his mask or wearing it incorrectly. Subsequent reporting revealed that Robert Wahl, a white Penn State lecturer, is accused of physically assaulting a Black professor. According to Penn State’s Daily Crime Log, on September 1, 2021, Wahl was charged with harassment; his offenses are listed as “simple/other assault, not agg, and disorderly conduct.” In a follow-up story dated September 11, The Centre Daily Times reported that “Interim Director of African Studies Sinfree Makoni alleged the professor was ‘racially attacked’” and that a Penn State student who assisted the professor at the scene said that the professor mentioned “he was called a racial slur.” This same article posed the question of why, despite the initial crime log entry, a charge of harassment, (rather than the more serious charge of simple assault) had been filed.

Penn State policy AD91 Discrimination and Harassment and Related Inappropriate Conduct insists that “discriminatory conduct and harassment violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated.” In keeping with policy AD91, we ask that the incident be reported to the Affirmative Action Office, the Office of Human Resources, Employee Relations Division, and the Office of Ethics and Compliance. We call on the Penn State administration and University police to conduct a thorough, transparent investigation into the claim that the attack was racially motivated and accompanied by racial epithets, and we insist that both the seriousness of the charges and Penn State’s response to the incident reflect the findings of such an investigation. We call upon the university to issue immediately a public statement explaining its actions or lack thereof regarding this matter.

The Coalition for a Just University (CJU) joins the authors of the “More Rivers to Cross” reports and the local chapter of NAACP in questioning both Penn State’s apparent failure to treat the recent attack on a Black employee as an incident of racial harassment and violence, and the laxity of charges filed against the perpetrator by University police. On September 3, 2021, Centre Daily Times reported that a Penn State employee was attacked by another Penn State employee for not wearing his mask or wearing it incorrectly. Subsequent reporting revealed that Robert Wahl, a white Penn State lecturer, is accused of physically assaulting a Black professor. According to Penn State’s Daily Crime Log, on September 1, 2021, Wahl was charged with harassment; his offenses are listed as “simple/other assault, not agg, and disorderly conduct.” In a follow-up story dated September 11, The Centre Daily Times reported that “Interim Director of African Studies Sinfree Makoni alleged the professor was ‘racially attacked’” and that a Penn State student who assisted the professor at the scene said that the professor mentioned “he was called a racial slur.” This same article posed the question of why, despite the initial crime log entry, a charge of harassment, (rather than the more serious charge of simple assault) had been filed.

Penn State policy AD91 Discrimination and Harassment and Related Inappropriate Conduct insists that “discriminatory conduct and harassment violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated.” In keeping with policy AD91, we ask that the incident be reported to the Affirmative Action Office, the Office of Human Resources, Employee Relations Division, and the Office of Ethics and Compliance. We call on the Penn State administration and University police to conduct a thorough, transparent investigation into the claim that the attack was racially motivated and accompanied by racial epithets, and we insist that both the seriousness of the charges and Penn State’s response to the incident reflect the findings of such an investigation. We call upon the university to issue immediately a public statement explaining its actions or lack thereof regarding this matter.

Full statement text available at cjupsu.org

On Friday, August 27, CJU organized a Student-Faculty Unity Rally to vaccinate Penn State. Over 200 people attended the rally to express their support for a vaccine mandate and to push for university policies that protect the safety and health of our campus community.

However, one provocateur displayed antagonistic, menacing, and physically aggressive behavior including running around the perimeter and through the center of the rally, lunging at people, threatening them physically by bumping against them and foisting his maskless face in the faces of rally attendees. Fearing that people’s safety was at risk, some attendees, including Professor Baker, attempted to peacefully deescalate the provocateur. Attendees repeatedly attempted to nonviolently redirect this individual away from the crowd and to the area where other counter-protesters were located. Attempts to deescalate the situation and direct the counter-protester away from the rally to a safe location led to the individual putting his shoulder into Professor Baker's chest as the individual attempted to force his way through the crowd. Witnesses described the provocateur swinging his fists and lunging at Professor Baker and other attendees. After police removed the provocateur from the rally, law enforcement wrongfully singled out Professor Baker for prosecution.

CJU/PSU stands in support of Professor Oliver Baker and we condemn the decision to charge Professor Baker with assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct. We call for the charges to be dropped, for Professor Baker to be reinstated to his work duties, and for the Penn State administration to take steps to ensure the safety of all participants in future peaceful demonstrations on Penn State campuses.

Join students and faculty this Friday (Aug. 27) at 3pm at Old Main to demand a vaccine mandate and safe teaching and learning conditions at Penn State! Masks and social distancing required for in-person attendees. Rally will also be livestreamed.

Not able to participate in the Zoom-in? (some faculty, for instance, don't teach until later in the week) Here are some solidarity actions you can take to support our efforts to push the Penn State admin and Board of Trustees to institute a vaccination requirement!

Solidarity Actions to support the Zoom-In for a Penn State COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Hundreds of faculty will participate in the Zoom-in on Monday and Tuesday. Many more faculty are supportive of the Zoom-In who are not able to participate. Whether or not you are participating in the Zoom-in, please sign up for one or all of these solidarity actions!