An academic in Virginia whose research on “minor-attracted people” sparked threats and a petition calling for their removal announced their resignation Wednesday, university officials and the scholar said in a joint statement.
Allyn Walker will remain on leave until they step down as an assistant professor of criminal justice and sociology at Old Dominion University in May.
“We have concluded that this outcome is the best way to move forward,” university President Brian Hemphill said in the statement.
He added that he hoped the move will help bring “closure” as the school continues efforts “toward healing and civil discourse.”
Walker, who said in Wednesday’s statement that their research was intended to prevent child sexual abuse, attributed the backlash to their trans identity and mischaracterizations promoted online and by some media outlets.
It is sad how the public is easily driven to hysteria and backlash about topics it doesn’t understand. This research had honorable intentions, as described in the article.
I will never, ever understand people wanting to deny the ability for people to seek help.
So much for free speech. Well you know what that goes to prove? These morons know they can’t win in an argument.
Good bye to numerous views discussed with critical thinking skills on college campuses. What happens when they have different views than the boss? Can’t cry to momma and daddy for your safe space!! These students need to grow up and use their brains. College President needs to resign for being a spineless wuss!!
Like the Rind et al. controversy.
The Rind et al. controversy was a debate in the scientific literature, public media, and government legislatures in the United States regarding a 1998 peer reviewed meta-analysis of the self-reported harm caused by child sexual abuse (CSA). The debate resulted in the unprecedented condemnation of the paper by both chambers of the United States Congress. The social science research community was concerned that the condemnation by government legislatures might have a chilling effect on the future publication of controversial research results.
[Moderator’s note: everyone must use a real email address or future comments will not be posted]
Its funny a judge once told me “Ignorance is no excuse” ? Yet everywhere I look it seems to appear? this is a learning institution sorta.
Can we see who is this Kayla Foster? Facebook etc?
Talk about hyperbolic abuse on a strange scale. Seems like government has to many hands in the pot. So how many X presidents were sex offenders? Even the bible says the heart is evil .. Theirs your Adam and Eve understanding . Abuse comes in many different forms or ways. Even this “slap” in the face is an abuse or is it one step up to a higher level of intelligence. Blame it on technology and both government and social abuse can seem out of balance today. Wonder who crawls before they walk today.
Seems a school of criminal Justice can’t get it right or were we all born naked. What an ego trip with this registry of boys to men theory in this sexual journey to understand everyone has a thorn in the flesh. Talk about callous Justice or who is drinking from a swran wrap golblet. In the long run this is just opinion and free speech seems to be gone by the wayside. One wonders if the President of the school doesn’t have a few dark clouds hanging over him. I’m sure if one even read the book called the “Holy Bible” much of this registry nonsense would be irracated but life goes on.
So if you are a professor of any type of controversial topics you are at the mercy of the public as to how long you may have a job at a college/university – not saying that the head of the college/university really has any say over it especially if he/she has no backbone.
I thought the idea of learning was to understand and evaluate all sides of a topic even ones that are controversial to most people.
I don’t understand what happened here. This professor was not promoting any type of illegal action but attempting to educate people somehow.
It’s the Rind et Al fiasco all over v again. The public is terrified of the truth, and perhaps even more disturbingly, terrified of compassion for their fellow man. At least back then Academia had some integrity and sustained the Rind findings (which have been vetted by meta-analysis after meta-analysis). Now, academia refuses to even consider issues that are outside of the mainstream interest. Back in the day there were principles of free inquiry and truth seeking that were critical to sustaining our democracy. Now even institutions like the ACLU are forsaking those ideals and cowering behind small minded, biased perspectives. It’s no wonder why our democracy is dying. Someone aught to put it out of it’s misery.
Have people stopped understanding what academia is? Do people not get that this person is just being honest about their findings? This is what academics do for a living and they are here to improve society. America isn’t going to move forward in this field if it doesn’t start looking at actual research and science to make laws and establish protocol. At this point, we’re poised to go back to the Salem drowning tests.