Calif. college says science teacher violated policy by calling homosexuality mental disorder

Calif. college: Teacher violated gay bias policy

FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno City College science instructor violated a campus anti-discrimination policy when he told students that homosexuality is a mental disorder that should be treated with psychotherapy, campus administrators have concluded.

Christopher Villa, vice president of student services, reported the findings last week in a letter to three students who had lodged complaints against health sciences instructor Bradley Lopez. The campus’ student newspaper published Villa’s letter Wednesday.

“Dr. Lopez engaged in conduct that could result in the creation of a hostile learning environment by unreasonably interfering with students’ learning by making insulting comments directed at homosexuals,” Villa wrote.

He added that while instructors are free to offer opinions that may offend students or be at odds with other professionals, Lopez crossed the line by making statements “unrelated to any legitimate course objective.”

Lopez’s lawyer, Charles Magill, said that only one of the three complaining students was enrolled in Lopez’ class and she had misinterpreted his remarks.

“It has been blown out of proportion dramatically,” Magill said. “Academic freedom means professors say things that are offensive sometimes, and critical thinking means you say things to kids that are challenging sometimes.”

In his letter to the students, Villa said Lopez also ran afoul of campus regulations prohibiting religious indoctrination “by assigning readings from the Bible, reading the Bible in class, and otherwise relying on the Bible as an authority in the assigned subject matter.”

The finding came in response to student allegations that Lopez last semester quoted the Bible as proof that human life begins at conception, assigned his class to research the Bible for Jesus’ genetic makeup, and discussed apocalyptic Christian prophesies during a lesson on climate change.

“Instructors are not required to hide their own religious belief or non-belief, but they may not engage in religious indoctrination as Dr. Lopez did here” because Fresno City College is a public school, Villa said.

Villa wrote that the college “will take appropriate action” to address the violations but did not elaborate.

Magill said he expects the school to put a letter of reprimand in Lopez’s personnel file, a move Lopez would challenge through an administrative appeal. During a hearing last month, Lopez “denied that he did anything wrong, he denied that he was teaching from the Bible,” Magill said.

The three students brought formal complaints against Lopez in December, but their concerns became public after the American Civil Liberties Union contacted Fresno City College’s president demanding a response.