The University of Nevada decided Friday to dismiss a letter of instruction and all related materials from the file of an economics professor accused of homophobic comments made during one of his classes.
Dr. Hans-Herman Hoppe was accused last March when now-graduated student Michael Knight wrote a complaint to the UNLV administration. According to Knight, Hoppe described homosexuals’ high “time preference,” or tendency to spend money more quickly because of having families and more responsibilities, during a lesson.
However, throughout the lecture Knight felt uneasy with Hoppe’s comments since students were laughing at Hoppe’s approach to the discussion. Additionally, Knight said he did not believe Hoppe’s claim was accurate of all homosexuals, including himself.
“I was shocked and appalled,” Knight said. “When he made the comments in class he said it in a way students were laughing [and] I was intimidated.”
With the backing of the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union, Hoppe argued strongly against the complaint and UNLV President Carol Harter was forced to overturn the initial reprimand.
In a statement, Harter said there may be an ambiguity between academic freedom and universities, however “academic freedom must, in the end, be foremost.”
Still, Knight said he disagreed with the decision.
“I was actually shocked that Dr. Harter actually chose to remove the reprimand from [Hoppe’s] bio. I can’t understand the university’s standpoint,” Knight said. “I think a lot of it had to do with politics and the ACLU.”
However, others agreed with UNLV’s decision to remove the letter of instruction from Hoppe’s file.
University of Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs said this was a “witch-hunt.”
“Rather than going to the professor you go and call in the law enforcers and you turn what is a moral … [or] ethical disagreement into a crime,” Downs said. “That’s progressive censorship and that’s what we’ve been fighting in political correctness.”
However, Knight said going to Hoppe was not an easy thing to do.
“Professor Hoppe is a very intimidating kind of professor,” Knight said. “If you ask questions in lecture he makes you feel really stupid.”
Knight added he was uncomfortable going to see Hoppe personally.
Still, others believed people were getting lost in the argument and missing the real dilemma at UNLV.
Professor emeritus of economics and expert on academic freedom Lee Hansen said universities and colleges have been trying to restrict the freedom of speech of students and faculty, forcing them to behave ways they deem appropriate.
“This is an age when it’s okay to be offended, [but] the important thing is the challenge of learning,” Hansen said. “The best way to bring out the truth is to let people talk and it will provide learning.”
Hansen, who teaches concepts of “time preference,” said it was common of professors to generalize statistical evidence.
“Your individual case is always special when you generalize,” Hansen said. “That’s the law of large numbers — there are people distributed on a wide spectrum.”
Still, Knight said he believed he was true in his intentions.
“I think of it more along the lines of … holding teacher’s more accountable,” Knight said. “If professors are so scared to discuss what they need to discuss, maybe they need to rethink [their lesson].”
