Modified Limited Hangout

Erika Lopez Prater, the instructor who was fired by Hamline University for showing her class a relevant painting after extensive warnings and allowing students to opt out, is suing:

NEW: Professor Erika Lopez Prater Sues Hamline University for Religious Discrimination and Defamation @MPRnews pic.twitter.com/SX0xb963eQ— Nina Moini (@ninamoini) January 17, 2023

I have no idea if there’s any plausible case to be made that the administration calling her actions “undeniably Islamophobic” — while certainly demonstrably and objectively false — is legally defamatory. It is, however, crucial context for the university’s latest embarrassing statement, this one in the “mistakes were made by persons unknown” genre of admin-speak:

Just received – Hamline University Board of Trustees Chair Ellen Watters and University President Fayneese Miller released this statement today. pic.twitter.com/eU9macb6kv— Nina Moini (@ninamoini) January 17, 2023

This may be good enough in terms of countering the lawsuit, but it doesn’t change the fact that Lopez Prater was wrongly terminated and the university is still not offering any meaningful redress (holding a couple of “events” does not count with extreme prejudice.)