Posted on 08/31/2021 10:54:18 PM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
A University of Georgia retiree-rehire professor resigned on Tuesday after one of his students refused to properly wear a mask in an upper division psychology seminar class held at the psychology building.
During Irwin Bernstein’s second class of the semester, the student, who was not present on the first day of class, arrived at the 25-person class unmasked and was asked by Bernstein to retrieve one from the advising office. The student was given a spare disposable mask from a peer but did not wear it over her nose.
Bernstein asked the student to pull her mask up to wear it correctly, but she said she “couldn’t breathe” and “had a really hard time breathing” with the cloth over her mouth and nose.
Written on the board at the front of the classroom was, “No mask, no class,” according to fourth-year psychology major Hannah Huff.
The 88-year-old psychology professor explained to the student that he could die from COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and age-related problems, Bernstein said in an email to The Red & Black.
Only about 15 minutes into the Tuesday lecture, which consisted of Bernstein taking the student attendance, he asked the student to pull her mask up again, but this time, the student did not respond.
Bernstein, who was already informed that two of his absent students tested positive for COVID-19, then announced his resignation on the spot and left the class immediately.
“At that point I said that whereas I had risked my life to defend my country while in the Air Force, I was not willing to risk my life to teach a class with an unmasked student during this Pandemic,” Bernstein said in an email to The Red & Black. “I then resigned my retiree-rehire position.”
Huff said she sat at the front of the class on Tuesday in shock, anger and silence for a few minutes, like the rest of her peers, as she tried to comprehend what happened.
“Professor Bernstein said, ‘That's it. I’m retired,’ and we watched him pack all of his papers into his bag and walk out of the classroom,” Huff said.
“Resignation was an all or none decision ... I felt some relief as I had been getting more concerned as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in recent weeks,” Bernstein said.
Some students began logging onto Athena to find last-minute seats in other seminars. Others stared at the student and asked, “You know we need this class to graduate, right?” In response, the student said, “Well, this is a blessing in disguise,” according to Huff.
Huff, who is expected to graduate in December, said she has now been moved to another upper division psychology seminar at 8 a.m., opposed to the original 9:30 a.m. class time.
“The damage is done. Obviously she has her values, and they’re clearly not going to change even when someone asked you to do something that will make them feel comfortable,” Huff said. “Bernstein is there for you [the student]. Like, he came out of retirement to do something for us, but you just can’t take it out of the kindness of your heart to put a piece of fabric on properly.”
The seminar, primarily filled with upperclassmen, is a requirement to graduate for all psychology majors. All students affected by the resignation of the instructor were moved to a new section of their courses, according to UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor.
Immediately after the class abruptly ended, Huff called her mother in panic worried that she wouldn’t be able to graduate.
“This is not what I signed up for. This was not my original plan for my final semester here. It’s heartbreaking. It’s surreal,” Huff said. “I kept thinking to myself, ‘There’s no way this is happening.’ There was definitely hidden hostility in that room, and I do feel a little bit of anger toward this girl, but mainly agitation.”
Bernstein began teaching part-time at UGA in 1968 and became a full-time faculty member in 1971 while he continued research at Emory University’s Yerkes Primate Center until 1993.
Although he retired from UGA in 2011, he still taught as a part time retiree-rehire for many years and was asked by his former psychology department to return this year to teach two courses this semester. Now, Bernstein will not teach either.
On Aug. 18, the first day of in-person classes, Bernstein told his students that he would teach under a “no mask, no class” policy.
Unmasked students who arrived on the first day of the seminar were directed by Bernstein to retrieve one from the front office and the Advising Office. Every student was masked during the remainder of the class time, Bernstein said in his email to The Red & Black.
Bernstein wrote in an email to The Red & Black that the head of the psychology department said he could not enforce a mask policy upon his students. UGA follows the policies of the University System of Georgia, which only encourages masks inside campus facilities and does not allow its institutions to enact mask or vaccine mandates.
The now-resigned professor said USG is in compliance with the policies of the state of Georgia which “forbids us from requiring masks.”
“I am sorry that the pandemic has caused so much dissension. I personally do not agree that stimulating the economy is more important than people’s lives and am disappointed that some people feel that it is,” Bernstein said.
He should have started intermittent fasting long ago. He should have retired long ago. What an utterly self-centered pisoshito.
aye.
This is the new way of doing things: if you have a problem, everybody in the world has to adjust his own life to accommodate you.
what a sad commentary on our education system that a university professor believes masks can stop a virus.
““At that point I said that whereas I had risked my life to defend my country while in the Air Force, I was not willing to risk my life to teach a class with an unmasked student during this Pandemic,”
***
You risk your life to defend the country but NOT the right of a student for their convictions? Which ‘country” are you referring to? China? JUst effing stay retired drama queen.
This is absolutely absurd.
1. She or he? Can’t really tell from the article
2. Does this woman or man have any brains at all? Think not
3. So sick of Covid and the busybody Karens all over the place
4. And it appears it will never end. If Biden had not run on Covid, Trump would have won and we would have normalcy in the country
5. Sorry, guys, I just needed to vent. So frickin’ sick and tired of this Covid paranoia.
Have a great day tomorrow! And mask up! LOLOL! (I never wear one unless I’m going into a store where they generally require them).
All the best,
Julie
A WIN
To not submit to this “health” tyranny (should not be but) is the only way to rid ourselves of it.
>> The 88-year-old psychology professor explained
Being a headline reactionary, I didn’t realize that. Figured the prof was much younger.
At 88, this guy will pass from something other than T2 given he’s survived this long under the threatening shadow of diabetes.
But nonetheless, it’s an interesting dissimilarity between an elder and today’s youth. The professor should chill, relax, and eventually write the most objective essay possible.
The professor is male....Irwin Bernstein.
The student is female.
Said the gasbag who has multiple pensions [Air Force, University and Social Security] and a SWEET guaranteed income.
STFU, you old gasbag whose life jumps to the puppet strings of the voices on the TeeVee.
Paranoid Psychology ‘professor’, irony in a handbasket, lulz.
No matter how this turned out, this man has my respect and admiration for being what was it? 88 years old, and still holding live seminars. That is indeed remarkable.
But as a psychology professor, he should be used to recognizing when one persons’ top tier Maslow Hierarchy of Needs conflicts with some one elses.
As I recall, the top of that pyramid of needs is labled as Transcendence.
Perhaps he could have been less reactive to the student with her own set of needs and reached some kind of compromise.
Instead, it became a power struggle. He ‘won’ by playing the martyred victim, a form of passive aggression.
According to his bio he was an LT in the Air Force from 1955 - 1957, when the country was not at war.
My opinion? He's another Stolen Valor liar, although not a very good one.
As a psychology professor in a University system that doesn’t mandate masks did he not realize that someone at some point would challenge him, if for no other reason than to mess with his “No mask no class” declaration on the blackboard? It’s almost as if he wanted to go out in a way that would bring him some attention before he left.
>> Perhaps he could have been less reactive to the student
He’s earned his cantankerousness credits. And perhaps this is the perfect moment to bail.
I share your appreciation of his commitment.
God willing, I’ll be able to work past my deadline as well.
“I personally do not agree that stimulating the economy is more important than people’s lives and am disappointed that some people feel that it is,” Bernstein said.”
Says the 88 year old who is still accepting a paycheck. Glad he moved on based on his principals. He can stay home now, safe from the COVID.
RE: My opinion? He’s another Stolen Valor liar...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, he was Air Force, so if he was a regular or test pilot or did any airborne training then he risked his life... that is, many died in flight accidents (and still do today).
Yeah, my chute could have failed to open on a jump or my tank might have fallen on me (which actually almost happened), but it never did. This guy is scared of someone not wearing a a mask. He never faced real danger.
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