CHLOE KOWALYK
Editor in Chief
Nearly a year and a half has passed since SUNY Fredonia and one of its philosophy professors, Stephen Kershnar, trended on X (formerly Twitter) in February 2021.
Students, professors and social media users alike were horrified as articles about the morality behind adult-child sex, slavery and other sensitive topics appeared in their feeds.
The buzz started after a video was reshared by @libsoftiktok, originally from the YouTube channel Brain in a Vat, on X.
In the video, Kershnar discussed “sex” between an adult male and a 12-year-old girl. He told viewers to imagine she is a willing participant, rather than a person unable to consent. This goes against the many laws set in place across the U.S. limiting the age of consent to no lower than 16. Kershnar then said, “It’s not obvious to me [adult-child “sex”] is in fact wrong — I think this is a mistake.” The tweet garnered over 10,000 likes.
Once both the Fredonia and online communities began to research Kershnar and his views, further controversial articles, books and research by Kershnar surfaced on the internet.
One such abstract read: “Nonforcible adult-child sex is thought to be morally wrong in part because it is nonconsensual. In this paper, I argue against this notion. In particular, I reject accounts of the moral wrongfulness of adult-child sex that rest on the absence of consent, concerns about adult exploitation of children and the existence of a morally primitive duty against such sex.”
Other examples of Kershnar’s works include: “A Liberal Argument for Slavery,” and “Pedophilia and Adult-Child Sex: A Philosophical Analysis.”
Not long after the incident, in 2021, SUNY Fredonia’s official X account, @FredoniaU, released a statement from the university’s President, Dr. Stephen Kolison. The statement read: “SUNY Fredonia is aware of a video posted online involving one of its professors. The views expressed by the professor are reprehensible and do not represent the values of SUNY Fredonia in any way, shape or form. They are solely the professor’s views. The matter is being reviewed.”
Two days later, Kolison emailed students, faculty and staff saying Kershnar “is being assigned to duties that do not include his physical presence on campus and will not have contact with students while the investigation is ongoing” which would become “effective immediately and until further notice.”
As the incident continued to gain attention, many in the Fredonia and online communities seemed to be opposed to Kershnar’s views and did not want him to return to campus.
A Fredonia student even created a Change.org petition calling for Kershnar to be fired from SUNY Fredonia. The petition currently has over 62,000 signatures.
Despite many people’s distaste for Kershnar and his arguments, several academic freedom organizations, including FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), defended Kershnar under the grounds of freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
Since the incident in 2021, Kershnar has not returned to Fredonia’s campus and has not taught any classes. Instead, he has continued to complete “duties that do not include his physical presence on campus” and is still paid by the university.
The issue currently stands as a battle between Kershnar’s academic and freedom of speech, and SUNY Fredonia’s concerns regarding campus safety if Kershnar returns to the college.