Like
mother like daughter.
Totally narrow minded on the issue of homosexuality; due to nature or nurture? family or their social groups like who they hang out with, where they congregate, etc.
I am sure the Government gave a great sigh of relief when term of the NMP's recently expired. How could it have missed her biased beliefs? Goes to show that great paper qualifications and great working experience do not a great person make.
Thio cancels NYU stintThe Straits Times, July 24, 2009
By Cai Haoxiang
Prof Thio was to have taught two courses at NYU. But there have been strong protests from some students, alumni and faculty over her stance on gay rights, among other issues. -- ST FILE PHOTO
SINGAPORE law professor Thio Li-ann, who has come under attack in the United States for her anti-gay views, has cancelled her upcoming teaching stint at New York University (NYU) School of Law.
She gave two reasons to NYU Law dean Richard Revesz for her decision: the hostility of some members of the law school to her views on homosexuality and gay rights, and the low enrolment for her classes.
These reasons were cited by Mr Revesz in a statement he issued soon after she informed him of her decision on Wednesday.
Professor Thio, 41, from the National University of Singapore, was to have taught two courses for the September-December semester.
However, since early this month, there have been strong protests from some NYU law students, alumni and faculty, who questioned her fitness to teach 'Human Rights Law in Asia'. Her other course was to have been 'Constitutionalism in Asia'.
Many took exception to a speech she made as a Nominated Member of Parliament in 2007, when she strongly opposed repealing the Penal Code's Section 377A, which criminalises sex between men.
Prof Thio, whose term as NMP ended last week, had argued that repealing Section 377A would 'subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties'.
Her speech was circulated online to NYU law students by OUTLaw, so that they can 'make fully informed decisions regarding class registration'.
OUTLaw, a campus organisation for the rights of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) students, in a July 9 statement slammed Prof Thio's anti-gay stance as 'intolerant' and 'reprehensible'.
On the same day, Mr Revesz defended her appointment as a visiting professor, saying it was 'based on her published scholarship, not on views she expressed as a legislator'.
He also stressed NYU's commitment to gay rights and rejected Prof Thio's anti-gay views. However, he called for 'vigorous, civil debate' in the name of academic freedom.
OUTLaw countered that Mr Revesz's remarks failed to reassure students of the university's commitment to LGBT rights, and asked 'how virulent must homophobic remarks be to disqualify a scholar from employment'.
The controversy took a turn when Prof Thio, in an e-mail interview with Inside Higher Ed, an online publication about college and university issues, said it is 'moral imperialism' to suggest there is a universal consensus on gay rights.
Mr Malik Graves-Pryor, an IT professional who works for NYU Law while also taking law classes, urged Mr Revesz to terminate her appointment.
Prof Thio responded with an 18-point memo to the law faculty, saying she was 'deeply offended' by his characterisation of her and her views as immoral.
She also wrote: 'If the NYU law community is unable to welcome me because of my convictions, they should say so... perhaps (many faculty members) are regretting their original invitation.'
In another twist to the saga, an online legal tabloid speculated on July 15 that her classes might be cancelled owing to low enrolment.
Her human rights class for 45 students received 12 bids after the first round of bidding, while her seminar class, with a capacity of 25, had six.
On Tuesday, an online petition at NYU against her appointment gathered 808 signatures.
The next day, Prof Thio cancelled her teaching stint.
In his statement announcing it, Mr Revesz dwelt at length on NYU's commitment to non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and academic freedom.
He also said NYU had not known about her anti-gay Parliament speech before the appointment. Also, once made, an offer is not revoked, he added.
Mr Revesz also noted that one of Prof Thio's replies to her critics was done in a manner that 'many members of our community - myself included - consider insulting and hurtful'.
He did not elaborate.
Even so, it would be an 'extraordinary' measure to cancel a course based on e-mail exchanges between a faculty member and a student, he said, because doing so will compromise academic freedom and 'chill' student-faculty debate.
Prof Thio could not be reached for comment.
When contacted, NUS law dean Tan Cheng Han, 44, declined to comment on Prof Thio's decision, saying 'it is difficult for me to comment on a personal matter'.
But he is confident the relationship between NUS and NYU, built up since 2004, will not be affected.
For instance, faculty from NUS regularly visit NYU for research stints, and vice-versa, said Prof Tan, adding that two NUS professors will be teaching at NYU in the coming academic year. They are Associate Professor Alan Tan and Associate Professor Ho Hock Lai.
'There are close personal ties between NUS and NYU faculty. I'm sure both schools regret that this incident has occurred,' he said.
haoxiang@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Amelia Tan
