York U instructor won’t let student caught in Mynamar coup defer exam

A comment from a York University instructor to a student studying remotely in Myanmar has gone viral, forcing the school’s administration to step in and remove the instructor from the course.

In the email exchange, the student asked for a deferral to complete a mid-term exam due to limited internet access as a result of Myanmar’s political conflict.

“There was a military coup where I am living and almost 200 protestors have been shot up until now. The regime has decided to shut off all communications by tomorrow,” the student explained.

Mathematics instructor Emanoil Theodorescu responded.

“Hi, There is no deferral. It’s transferred to the final exam. Last chance, bad sign. Even the internet came down with CoViD19.”

Mass protests have been taking place across the South East Asian country since the military seized control on February 1 following a democratic election. The military then announced a year-long state of emergency in the country.

Since then dozens of pro-democracy protestors have been killed, with many left injured and others arrested. Citizens have also been met with nightly curfews, limitations to gatherings and disruptive internet access.

“People don’t get shot for just protesting, but for a lot deeper reasons,” the instructor added.

The student asked whether they should be worried about missing the mid-term.

“Of course you should. The next time you miss something, it’s over,” Theodorescu responded.

The student also asked if the weight of the mid-term exam would shift to the final exam.

The instructor responded with “something like that,” but did write that the student would face difficulty in passing the course since they’re “loading everything on the final exam.”

Screenshots of the exchange were shared across social media on Thursday with many calling for the instructor to face disciplinary action following the comments.

Others also shared their own stories and experiences with instructor Theodorescu.

York University released a statement, saying that it’s “committed to upholding and promoting the values of respect, equity, diversity, and inclusion across our campuses and in our communication” and said the exchange did not “reflect those values.”

The university confirms that it has since made contact with the student to provide support and assure them that necessary accommodations would be granted.

“We would like to assure all concerned that senior staff from the Faculty were able to directly make contact with the student the night of the exchange with the instructor, and clearly expressed support for their difficult circumstance and well-being, and further, assured them that necessary accommodations would be granted,” the school said.

York initially did not clarify what disciplinary action the instructor would face, citing confidentiality, but later said the instructor has been removed from teaching that course.