A Christian student at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, claims he was suspended for an ongoing dispute with a Muslim professor who claimed that Jesus’ crucifixion never took place.
Student Marshall Polston claims he was suspended after confronting a professor who Polston says taught that the historical Jesus Christ was never crucified. The professor also reportedly claimed that Jesus’s disciples did not believe that he was God.
Polston, who claims to be a good student, says that he received a failing grade on his first assignment following his dispute with the professor over Jesus’ crucifixion.
In an email to the professor, Polston addressed his concerns about the grade. “Quite frankly the grade you assigned to me exposes your true agenda which is to silence me in class,” he claimed. “You’re one of the most incompetent professors I have ever seen in my life.”
According to the March 24 suspension letter, administrators at the college accused Polston of posing a safety threat to the Rollins community. The letter claims that his “actions have constituted a threat of disruption within the operations of the College and jeopardize the safety and well-being of members of the College community and yourself.”
“I made absolutely no threats,” Polston claims.
A few classes later, Polston claimed that the professor engaged in a discussion with a Muslim student who argued that gays and adulterers should be beheaded under Sharia law.
“I spoke out to the professor about the grade and subsequently the decapitation comments made by the student,” Polston told The College Fix. “The statement by the conservative Muslim student met such fear by some that one of the students reported it to the FBI. Later, I was reported by the professor to the dean of campus safety. The situation was surreal. We’ve already had one too many attacks in Orlando and as an avid traveler I realized this was the perfect example of ‘see something, say something.’”
Areej Zufari, the professor, filed a “protection against stalking” request, claiming that Polston had repeatedly harassed her. Polston denies these claims.
According to Zufari, Polston came to class after being suspended, a violation of the terms of his suspension. According to the campus safety report, Zufari claimed that Polston’s presence caused such a safety concern that she was forced to dismiss the class early.
Student ______ stated to me that she looked out the back glass door of the classroom and saw Mr. Polston staring into the room. He briefly stopped then proceeded on his way. Campus safety was immediately notified and responded at 19:36 hours. A search was conducted but Mr. Polston was not found. Ms. Zufari’s students were upset and did not feel comfortable being in the class. Ms. Zufari dismissed her class early at 20:07 hours.
Rollins president Grant Cornwell said the school would “never ever ever” suspend a student for over a civil disagreement with a professor, claiming that other factors led to the decision to suspend Polston, but that he couldn’t provide any more information at this time.
Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about education and social justice for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com
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