An associate professor of biology at DePaul University in Chicago said last week that she was fired for giving an optional assignment on the ‘Gaza genocide.’
Anne d’Aquino taught in the university’s Department of Health Sciences and was fired on May 8, just two days after her students had the opportunity to write a paper on the impact of the “genocide in Gaza on health human and biology”, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
As d’Aquino explained his situation to a group of journalists on the DePaul campus, approximately 50 protesters stood behind the newly fired instructor waving Palestinian flags and holding signs that read “Academic Freedom Includes Palestine.”
“My dismissal was a violation of my academic freedom and another example of this administration’s efforts to twist any discussion of Palestine and Palestinian liberation language into false claims of anti-Semitism,” d’Aquino said at Thursday’s news conference. the morning.
D’Aquino reportedly filed an appeal on May 14, which the university said will be “completed soon.”
DePaul University Associate Professor Anne d’Aquino speaks to reporters with pro-Palestinian protesters behind her outside the North Side University Quad, Thursday, June 6, 2024.
Around 1,500 students have shown their support for d’Aquino by signing a petition calling for his reinstatement.
The 24-page document was delivered in person to the university’s administrative office.
The offensive assignment occurred in a class d’Aquino taught that covered topics such as infectious diseases and antibiotics.
Students who took it on were required to read articles on the “intersection of life sciences, health, and history in Palestine.” Next, they had to write a paper on the impact of “genocide on biology.”
D’Aquino insisted that this assignment was course-related, as scientists have been sounding the alarm about the spread of infectious diseases in Gaza for months.
In February, the World Health Organization said health workers on the ground in the war-torn city are reporting “Outbreaks of acute respiratory infections, scabies, lice, diarrhea, rash, chickenpox, and jaundice associated with hepatitis..’
According to the WHO, unsanitary conditions have become common in Gaza because key infrastructure has been affected. Overcrowding in shelters only contributes to the spread of disease in these conditions, the agency says.
Anne d’Aquino, pictured, earned her PhD in Biological Sciences at Northwestern University
Sarah Connolly, d’Aquino’s boss in the Department of Health Sciences, wrote a dismissal letter stating that students in the class were concerned about “the introduction of political issues.”
Sarah Connolly, chair of the Department of Health Sciences, wrote in d’Aquino’s dismissal email that students expressed concern about “the introduction of political issues into the class,” the Sun Times reported.
D’Aquino had a different recollection of the events and said she did not receive “any negative feedback about the assignment.”
A freshman in the class, who chose not to be identified, was “shocked, disappointed and speechless” by the dismissal. This student has not attended classes since Connolly took over as teacher of D’Aquino’s former class.
Sarah Van Loon, regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Chicago, does not believe D’Aquino’s intellectual freedom was violated and that there are limits to what an instructor can teach when it comes to politics.
“We have a biology professor discussing Middle East politics or creating a commentary on Gaza,” Van Loon said.
‘It’s not really in line with what they are there to teach and it also exposes the university to risks,’ adding: ‘I’m not surprised that the university felt this was not something that upheld their standards.’
Sarah Van Loon, left, commented on d’Aquino’s firing, saying a biology professor should not talk about Middle East politics. Meanwhile, Victoria Agunod, another adjunct professor at DePaul, claims the university investigated her over her alleged pro-Palestinian views.
Professors across the country have been under increased scrutiny regarding their political views and their activities in the widespread pro-Palestinian protests that swept college campuses during the spring semester.
A professor at the University of Texas at Austin was fired in May after being accused of breaking police lines, shouting profanities in police officers’ faces and destroying police property at a pro-Palestinian rally in April.
And two public charter school teachers at a Los Angeles-area synagogue were placed on leave in November after first graders were given a lesson on “the genocide in Palestine,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
At DePaul specifically, another teacher allegedly ran into trouble with university officials over her alleged pro-Palestinian views.
Victoria Agunod, associate professor in the Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Programme, told the Sun Times that she was investigated for her beliefs about the Gaza war, which she described as “terrifying” and “political repression.”
D’Aquino hopes his appeal is successful and he will be allowed to return to see his students’ final projects.