Lake Ingle, a religious studies major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, was kicked out of Christianity class earlier this month for saying there are only two genders. He is now allowed back in.
IUP President Michael Driscoll announced at a press conference Monday his decision to go against Professor Alison Downie’s controversial request to ban Ingle from class for “disruptive behavior.”
Ingle told Fox News he was booted out of Downie’s classroom for challenging the feminist theology professor on the biology of males and females and the gender wage gap during a Feb. 28 lecture in which she allegedly asked only women to speak following a TED Talk by transgender ex-pastor Paula Stone Williams. Williams discussed the “reality” of “mansplaining,” “sexism from men,” and “male privilege.”
Downie kicked him out of class and asked him not to come back, which would have postponed his graduation if not for the college president’s decision.
Driscoll said he is “disappointed” in how the university handled the situation, adding it had “fallen short” of devotion to the First Amendment.
Ingle considers the end to his 18-day exile a victory.
“I’m happy I can get back to class and graduate on time,” Ingle told Fox News. “I was surprised the president stepped in before the ruling but glad he made the right choice.”
Ingle was supposed to receive a ruling from the Academic Integrity Board Monday on whether he would still be barred from Downie’s upper level “Christianity 481: Self, Sin, and Salvation” class, but Driscoll said he paused the formal process indefinitely without any consideration from AIB’s ruling.
Driscoll notified the IUP community that specialized faculty members – including Assistant to the President for Social Equity Dr. Pablo Mendoza – will be facilitating Ingle’s return to class, but “if these steps do not yield positive results, I reserve the option to restart the university’s formal processes.”
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SOURCE: Fox News, Caleb Parke
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