Stephen Kershnar

SUNY Fredonia professor Stephen Kershnar has sued two top school officials, alleging they have frozen him out of classroom duties ever since his controversial February 2022 statements about child pedophilia.

Kershnar and attorney Barry Covert filed the suit this week in Buffalo at the U.S. District Court Western District of New York. It names SUNY Fredonia President Stephen Kolison and David Starrett, executive vice president and provost, as co-defendants. The story was first reported by The Buffalo News on Thursday.

When asked for comment the university, through its Communications Office, provided this statement: “SUNY Fredonia, President Kolison, and Provost Starrett firmly believe that protecting our campus community is an essential part of creating a safe environment in which academic freedom can truly flourish. We will vigorously defend ourselves against the false accusations in this lawsuit.”

The suit states that Kolison “gave in to the Twitter mob” after Kershnar’s “challenging questions regarding the moral analysis of sexual conduct involving minors on a philosophy podcast,” which the professor was doing on his own time and not representing the school. Kolison “banished him from the classroom, from the campus, and from any contact with the ‘campus community.'”

SUNY Fredonia Police Chief Brent Isaacson verbally barred Kershnar from campus, the suit alleges. It adds that Kolison and Isaacson later directed a seizure of his office computer by campus police for analysis by an unidentified party.

Until Kershnar’s comments went viral, gaining negative national news coverage, SUNY Fredonia praised Kershnar, the lawsuit continues. The school gave him several awards and touted him in a press release.

But Kolison banned him from campus after the comments, and he is still not allowed back. Kershnar “periodically receives an emailed letter from… Starrett, barring him from campus or teaching ‘due to ongoing concerns regarding your safety and the safety of others on campus should you return to the campus.'”

However, according to the lawsuit, the school has never detailed the alleged threats to Kershnar’s safety. SUNY Fredonia also allegedly refused his offer to teach online.

Kershnar is a philosophy professor who joined the SUNY Fredonia faculty in 1998 and got tenure in 2002. He is a former OBSERVER opinion columnist.

Kershnar “argues that as a legal matter, adult-child sex should always be criminalized. He analyzes whether, as a moral matter, adult-child sex is always wrong, and why we should criminalize it,” the lawsuit states.

The professor’s suit states that SUNY Fredonia has had trouble finding qualified instructors for his class since his February 2022 campus ban.

It is written several times that Kolison and Starrett are making “a social media heckler’s veto.”

Kershnar seeks an injunction against his ban from campus, a declaration by the court that his statements are protected under the First Amendment, “nominal, compensatory, and punitive damages” against Kolison, and attorney’s fees.