Hi everyone! This is a throwaway account I created intending to make prospective medical students aware of recent decisions made by DUQCOM that have been affecting the student body. This post is intended to neither bash DUQCOM nor cause political debate, but to inform those for whom this incident may impact upcoming enrollment decisions.
I am not a student at DUQCOM, but I am close with a student there. They would prefer not to post about this issue given possible repercussions from administration.
Several weeks ago, the students were made aware of an upcoming lecture on workplace harassment to be given by Rona Kaufman, an associate professor at Duquesne's Law School. The students learned that Kaufman is a vocal Zionist. She maintains an active blog for the Times of Israel and has written an op-ed for the Pittsburgh Gazette published on 11/2/2024 entitled, "Why I, a progressive feminist Democrat, am voting for Donald Trump." In this article, she references the "Islamist poison" and states, "The United States must recognize the imminent threat posed by Islamist ideology. It must defeat Islamists when they dare to cross a democratic country’s border. If they are not stopped, they will continue to spread their vile ways in an Islamic Caliphate across the Middle East, Europe, and eventually, the Americas. They will institute the same regressive laws in other lands that they have instituted in their own." (This article is pay-walled. If anyone would like screenshots of the full article, I'd be happy to include them in the comments.)
A large number of DUQCOMs students are Muslim and were understandably uncomfortable with attending this lecture. These concerns were raised by the students, and the administration chose to cancel the lecture.
The day on which the lecture was scheduled, several students witnessed Kaufman yelling at faculty (some of whom are not involved in the matter) in the lobby.
Within the last few days, the school has scheduled a mandatory lecture by this speaker. Leadership claims that the original cancelation was due to technological difficulties. Interestingly, the student body was made aware of this lecture following visiting students day for prospective students and near the conclusion of this year's application cycle.
Again, this post is not intended to bash DUQCOM or to cause debate in this forum, but just to make folks considering DUQCOM aware! I'll be cross-posting in r/medschool as well.