{"id":399860,"date":"2021-04-08T11:58:30","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T15:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=399860"},"modified":"2021-04-08T11:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T15:58:34","slug":"he-questioned-microaggressions-then-his-university-gaslit-him-claiming-he-was-a-threat-and-suspended-him-from-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/he-questioned-microaggressions-then-his-university-gaslit-him-claiming-he-was-a-threat-and-suspended-him-from-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"He Questioned Microaggressions. Then His University Gaslit Him, Claiming He Was A Threat, And Suspended Him From Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhe-questioned-microaggressions-then-his-university-gaslit-him-claiming-he-was-a-threat-and-suspended-him-from-campus%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=399860&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-905.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>In one of the most bizarre campus stories in recent memory, a medical student at the University of Virginia posed mildly skeptical questions about microaggressions to a university panel. Afterward, his school claimed he was hostile, implied he was disrespectful to authority and a threat to future patients, and began investigating him. As anyone in this situation would, the student was confused and frustrated by the school\u2019s actions. The school then used that confusion and frustration to further claim the student was unstable.<\/p>\n<p>Impossible to believe? Well, Reason\u2019s Robby Soave <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2021\/04\/07\/microaggressions-uva-student-kieran-bhattacharya-threat\/\">has the facts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kieran Bhattacharya, a student attending UVA\u2019s School of Medicine, attended a panel discussion on October 25, 2018, regarding microaggressions, a term used to claim unintentionally rude comments are actually bigotry. During that panel, Bhattacharya asked some pointed questions to presenter Beverly Cowell Adams, an assistant dean at UVA, about the definition of microaggressions. Here\u2019s a description of the exchange, from Bhattacharya\u2019s lawsuit against UVA:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"50\">\n<p><em>Bhattacharya: Hello. Thank you for your presentation. I had a few questions just to clarify your definition of microaggressions. Is it a requirement, to be a victim of microaggression, that you are a member of a marginalized group?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Adams: Very good question. And no. And no\u2014<\/em><br \/><em>Bhattacharya: But in the definition, it just said you have to be a member of a marginalized group\u2014in the definition you just provided in the last slide. So that\u2019s contradictory.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Adams: What I had there is kind of the generalized definition. In fact, I extend it beyond that. As you see, I extend it to any marginalized group, and sometimes it\u2019s not a marginalized group. There are examples that you would think maybe not fit, such as body size, height, [or] weight. And if that is how you would like to see me expand it, yes, indeed, that\u2019s how I do.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Bhattacharya: Yeah, follow-up question. Exactly how do you define marginalized and who is a marginalized group? Where does that go? I mean, it seems extremely nonspecific.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Adams: And\u2014that\u2019s intentional. That\u2019s intentional to make it more nonspecific \u2026 .<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>After the initial exchange, Bhattacharya challenged Adams\u2019s definition of microaggression. He argued against the notion that \u201cthe person who is receiving the microaggressions somehow knows the intention of the person who made it,\u201d and he expressed concern that \u201ca microaggression is entirely dependent on how the person who\u2019s receiving it is reacting.\u201d Id. He continued his critique of Adams\u2019s work, saying, \u201cThe evidence that you provided\u2014and you said you\u2019ve studied this for years\u2014which is just one anecdotal case\u2014I mean do you have, did you study anything else about microaggressions that you know in the last few years?\u201d Id. After Adams responded to Bhattacharya\u2019s third question, he asked an additional series of questions: \u201cSo, again, what is the basis for which you\u2019re going to tell someone that they\u2019ve committed a microaggression? \u2026 Where are you getting this basis from? How are you studying this, and collecting evidence on this, and making presentations on it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As Soave reported, Nora Kern, an assistant professor who helped organize the panel, considered Bhattacharya\u2019s questions to be inappropriate, and filed a \u201cprofessionalism concern card\u201d against him, which Soave described as \u201ca kind of record of a student\u2019s violations of university policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her complaint, Kern wrote that Bhattacharya \u201casked a series of questions that were quite antagonistic toward the panel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe pressed on and stated one faculty member was being contradictory. His level of frustration\/anger seemed to escalate until another faculty member defused the situation by calling on another student for questions. I am shocked that a med student would show so little respect toward faculty members. It worries me how he will do on wards,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>This concern card, according to Bhattacharya\u2019s lawsuit, caused other administrators to be concerned about his behavior. An assistant dean from the medical school emailed the student asking to meet, assuring him \u201cI simply want to help you understand and be able to cope with unintended consequences of conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bhattacharya informed the dean that he had not shown hostility toward the panel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour observed discomfort of me from wherever you sat was not at all how I felt. I was quite happy that the panel gave me so much time to engage with them about the semantics regarding the comparison of microaggressions and barbs. I have no problems with anyone on the panel; I simply wanted to give them some basic challenges regarding the topic. And I understand that there is a wide range of acceptable interpretations on this. I would be happy to meet with you at your convenience to discuss this further,\u201d Bhattacharya wrote.<\/p>\n<p>During their meeting, according to Bhattacharya\u2019s lawsuit, the dean asked him about his \u201cviews on various social and political issues\u2014including sexual assault, affirmative action, and the election of President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After this exchange, the dean of student affairs asked for a meeting with Bhattacharya. At the same time, UVA\u2019s Academic Standards and Achievement Committee discussed Kern\u2019s concern card, voting to instruct Bhattacharya to \u201cshow mutual respect\u201d to faculty members and to \u201cexpress yourself appropriately.\u201d The committee also suggested Bhattacharya seek counseling.<\/p>\n<p>A month after the panel, Bhattacharya was informed that he was banned from classes until he was evaluated by a psychologist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBhattacharya repeatedly asked university officials to clarify what exactly he was accused of, under whose authority his counseling had been mandated, and why his enrollment status was suddenly in doubt, according to the lawsuit. These queries only appear to have made UVA officials more determined to punish him: Bhattacharya\u2019s mounting frustration with these baseless accusations of unspecified wrongdoings was essentially treated as evidence that he was guilty. At his hearing, he was accused of being \u2018extremely defensive\u2019 and ordered to change his \u2018aggressive, threatening behavior,\u2019\u201d Soave wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Bhattacharya was suspended for allegedly \u201caggressive and inappropriate interactions in multiple situations.\u201d By the end of 2018, UVA police told him to leave campus.<\/p>\n<p>Soave argued that UVA essentially engaged in \u201cgaslighting\u201d Bhattacharya:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11.684964200477\">\n<p><em>UVA\u2019s administration engaged in behavior that can be described as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gaslighting\">gaslighting<\/a>.\u201d Administrators asserted that Bhattacharya had behaved aggressively when he hadn\u2019t, and then cited his increasing confusion, frustration, and hostility toward the disciplinary process as evidence that he was aggressive. And all of this because Bhattacharya asked an entirely fair question about microaggressions, a fraught subject.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bhattacharya sued, alleging UVA violated his First Amendment rights when it retaliated against him for asking unfavorable questions. UVA attempted to have the case dismissed, arguing in its motion to dismiss that \u201cOffensive student speech does not enjoy First Amendment protection,\u201d author and history professor K.C. Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kcjohnson9\/status\/1379948055613562881\">reported<\/a> on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon \u2013 a President Bill Clinton appointee \u2013 dismissed UVA\u2019s claims and <a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/bhattacharya-v-murray\">ruled<\/a> that Bhattacharya\u2019s lawsuit can move forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBhattacharya sufficiently alleges that Defendants retaliated against him,\u201d Moon wrote. \u201cIndeed, they issued a Professionalism Concern Card against him, suspended him from UVA Medical School, required him to undergo counseling and obtain \u2018medical clearance\u2019 as a prerequisite for remaining enrolled, and prevented him from appealing his suspension or applying for readmission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In one of the most bizarre campus stories in recent memory, a medical student at the University of Virginia posed mildly skeptical questions about microaggressions to a university panel. Afterward, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311857,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-905.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"He Questioned Microaggressions. Then His University Gaslit Him, Claiming He Was A Threat, And Suspended Him From Campus","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-399860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-905.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"He Questioned Microaggressions. Then His University Gaslit Him, Claiming He Was A Threat, And Suspended Him From Campus","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}