A science professor in Michigan is on administrative leave. Why is this newsworthy? Well, the student newspaper, The Torch, did a pretty deep dive and covered comments made on a Twitter account under his full name about the novel coronavirus pandemic, as well as a number of slurs that allegedly appeared on the same account. According to screenshots, Professor Thomas Brennan allegedly tweeted that COVID-19 was a “stunt” to form “a leftist new world order.” According to MLive, during a virtual meeting for Ferris State University’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Education department in August, Brennan reportedly commented that “COVID-19 death rates in the United States were exaggerated, and the pandemic and rioting were leftist stunts.”
According to The Torch, the Twitter account also allegedly tweeted bizarre and horrifying remarks like “Covid19 is another jewish revolution” as well as homophobic and racial slurs. An anonymous student in a class of Brennan’s spoke to The Torch and reportedly told the outlet that the professor talks about conspiracy theories related to cellphones during class time. Brennan has shared a statement to his website, and it’s a doozy.
In a statement on his website, dated Nov. 23, Brennan characterized the student newspaper’s article as a “hit piece” and said he is not a racist, science-denier, or anti-Semite. In the statement, he clarified that while he does not believe the pandemic is a hoax, he does believe the “severity is being exaggerated by revolutionary leftists in the media and government who ‘never let a good crisis go to waste.’” Lovely. He went on to describe vivid anxiety about mandatory vaccines and not being able to buy groceries at the market without evidence of receiving one.
In terms of racial slurs, Brennan wrote that he is “not racist against black people,” added that he loves and respects them, and argued, “the ’n-word’ is a mind-control spell designed to make us hate each other.” He went on to say that he used the word in order to “neutralize” its power. Yikes!
In speaking to local outlet wzzm 13, Brennan explained that he didn’t use the N-word “lightly,” and suggested that we’re “heading towards such a crescendo of madness where we're about to all be enslaved because of this COVID crisis." He added to the outlet that he said “some hyperbolic things to draw attention to what it is I wanted to say.”
In a message to the university from FSU President David Eisler, Eisler stresses: “We strongly reject these statements, condemn them and will not tolerate them. We have worked diligently to become a more diverse university, and these statements demonstrate vividly how one person can set back the work of many.” Brennan has been on administrative leave since Nov. 19, though it’s unclear whether the leave is specific to the alleged Twitter remarks, the COVID-19 remarks during the August meeting, both, or neither.
More than 250,000 Americans have died due to the virus, unemployment numbers are skyrocketing, families are facing evictions and food insecurity, and the Trump administration continues to flounder. What can we do? Wear masks, wash our hands, and practice social distancing as much as possible. Also—support your local newspapers, including ones run by students.