Professor causes uproar asking Biden voters to unfriend him
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A Facebook post by a dean at Virginia Wesleyan University in which he asked people who voted for Democrat Joe Biden to unfriend him has caused an uproar at the private liberal arts school in Virginia Beach.
Paul Ewell, a business professor and dean of the university’s Global Campus, wrote that anyone who chose Biden for president is “ignorant, anti-American and anti-Christian,” the Virginian-Pilot reported Friday. In response, people posted dozens of comments on the university’s Facebook page describing the post of the “high-ranking, high-profile member” of the university’s leadership as “unacceptable” and “embarrassing.”
Alumni threated to stop donations, while parents said they are reevaluating whether to enroll their children. Students are debating a demonstration.
University spokeswoman Stephanie Smaglo told the newspaper the school does not comment on personnel matters, but it is addressing the situation through its “internal processes and policies.”
“These views and opinions are expressly the individual’s own,” the university said in a statement. “Civic engagement and religious freedom are at the core of the University’s values, and we remain an inclusive and caring community that empowers meaningful relationships through listening, understanding, and communication.”
Ewell’s post also accused Biden supporters of corrupting the election, youth and country. The post was meant to be seen only by his Facebook friends, but someone took a screenshot and made it public.
The post is no longer visible on Ewell’s Facebook page. He declined a request for comment from the newspaper.
Virginia voters on Nov. 3 awarded the state’s 13 electoral votes to Biden.