University of British Columbia students are responding to a professor’s social media post that appeared to celebrate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
In an X post on Saturday, UBC Medical School professor Karen Pinder wrote, “Damn, so close. Too bad,” and, “What a glorious day this could have been!” following the news about the shooting at a Trump rally.
Pinder has since deleted the post along with her X account.
On Sunday, the university said it is looking into the matter but said on Monday that it cannot comment further due to privacy reasons.
Current and former UBC students who were on campus on Monday all seemed to agree that Pinder’s posts showed a lack of judgment.
“Treat people the way you want to be treated, right?” alum Adrian Ferdinand said.
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“So, if it was her, it was her grandfather, her father, how would she feel?”
Ferdinand said he thinks politics should be kept off campus.
Janice Thomas, also an alum, said if someone is in a position of authority they should cover both sides of any story, but said it would make a difference if Pinder posted on her personal account or her professional one.
“If she’s representing UBC on the platform, that would be a concern for UBC students and faculty,” she said.
Crisis communications strategist Kareem Allam, with Fairview Strategies, told Global News that anyone in a public-facing position has a right to freedom of speech, but that position also shoulders increased responsibility.
“Going out with a knee-jerk reaction, and seemingly taking gratification on the attempt on someone’s life, it’s charged,” Allam said.
“And it’s going to lead to a very negative reaction.”
Allam said universities, along with media outlets, are expected to provide context to situations, rather than taking sides.
“The standard and responsibility that you have is going to be different than the average person,” he added.
“And in this moment, particularly when we’re walking into a provincial election where we have charged issues such as affordability, issues on race or the opioid crisis, we’re already walking into a highly-political, highly-confrontational environment. People look to the media, people look to academia for that sober second thought.”
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