A Brooklyn College graduate student was informed this week that he will not be allowed to teach a masters-level course on politics in the Middle East because he is underqualified -- but some suspect that he may have been ousted due to his pro-Palestinian political beliefs.
According to the New York Times, Kristofer Petersen-Overton was dismissed after several people contacted Brooklyn College President Karen Gould to “express deep reservations” about the graduate student’s appointment. Blogger Bruce Kesler also posted the Jan. 19 note he sent Gould to his blog:
...Mr. Petersen-Overton’s personal biases should not be allowed to pollute the academic realm, nor should taxpayer dollars be devoted to promoting his one-sided agenda. I ask you, Dr. Gould, is Mr. Petersen-Overton, an overt supporter of terrorism, really the best candidate Brooklyn College could find to teach this course? Surely, you must concede that the answer is a resounding “no.”
Petersen-Overton was informed that this week that the college would be revoking his job offer. College officials insist that the decision to remove Petersen-Overton was not related to Hikind or the Kesler’s requests, but because the graduate student was simply underqualified for the post.
But professor Mark Ungar -- who made the decision to hire Petersen-Overton -- told Salon that many of the college’s graduate courses are taught by students still working towards a Ph.D. Along with 11 other faculty members, Ungar has formally objected to the provost’s decision to let Petersen-Overton go -- a move he said “undermines academic freedom and departmental governance.”
For his part, Petersen-Overton posted this message on his personal website: “Unfortunately, due to external pressure, the Brooklyn College provost has chosen to suppress academic freedom and intervened to cancel my appointment. This is a profoundly unsettling outcome and I am currently challenging it.”
