ALYSSA BUMP
Editor in Chief
CHLOE KOWALYK
News Editor
Earlier in the semester, there was controversy over statements made and posted online by Dr. Stephen Kershnar, a distinguished teaching professor in philosophy at SUNY Fredonia.
After his statements caught a lot of attention online and a student-created petition to fire him received almost 60,000 signatures as of March 25, Kershnar was removed from campus and was not allowed to have any contact with students.
Since the removal of Kershnar from campus, SUNY Fredonia has stayed relatively silent about the matter. No updates have been released since the University Senate issued their response on Feb. 9. President Kolison has not released a statement regarding the situation since Feb. 3.
These factors have left students wondering whether Kershnar would return to teach classes again in the fall.
On March 21, SUNY Fredonia students were notified that the academic advising process for the fall 2022 semester would begin March 28. With this, the Fall 2022 course offerings were released by SUNY Fredonia.
Several students had noticed Kershnar was set to teach three courses in the fall, according to YourConnection’s “Class Schedule Search” for Fall 2022. The three courses included PHIL-115: Introduction to Philosophy, PHIL-303: Crime and Punishment and PHIL-351: Metaphysics.
But as of March 25, Kershnar’s name has been removed from the courses that once listed him as the instructor. The classes are still listed with the same course reference numbers (CRNs), but they now include a blank space for where the instructor’s name belongs.
Rather than this remedying the situation, the removal of Kershnar’s name has only led to more confusion. The Leader asked its Instagram (@leaderfredonia) followers for their thoughts on Kershnar potentially teaching next semester through an open-ended question. More than ten users responded.
“Worried that [h]is name being removed was to help people sign up for the classes,” said one user.
“I do not morally align with him or his shock value behavior. He is a disgrace to the university,” said another user.
“Given his opinions, I think he’s too dangerous to be teaching young people. Get him out,” another user said.
When @leaderfredonia’s Instagram followers were asked, “Would you enroll in a class taught by Dr. Stephen Kershnar?” through a poll, 97% (101 users) voted no, while 3% (3 users) voted yes.
SUNY Fredonia President Stephen Kolison spoke to The Leader on the topic. While Kolison expressed that he cannot speak directly on the matter due to the uncertainty and difficulty of the situation, he did provide a few comments on the situation.
“I remain very focused on making sure that learning on this campus can continue in a way that’s not disruptive, and that students on this campus, faculty, staff, everyone and visitors find it is a safe and pleasant place to be,” Kolison said.
Kolison also stressed how difficult it has been to be unable to disclose more information to the campus community. “I hope I’ll be able to talk about this soon … I’m keenly aware that students, our alumni, our donors and everybody who cares about this institution are interested.” He continued, “And that’s where it makes it very hard for me to not be able to say anything. It’s a tough place to be, but I fully understand it is in the best interest of everyone.”
Kolison said, “I enjoy communicating with students … but this is something that you haven’t seen anything from me. And that will just tell you how hard it is for me not to be able to really talk about.”
“I just want students to know that they’re always on my mind,” Kolison said. “I remain very appreciative of the patience that students have shown over the last couple of years.”