UT-Dallas student condemns professor’s homophobic tweet – Spectrum News
DALLAS — The University of Texas at Dallas is still investigating the anti-LGBTQ social media posts made by a computer science professor on July 15.
Timothy Farage, who is a computer science professor at the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, tweeted a response to an article that stated that most monkeypox patients in New York City were gay men.
In Farage’s tweet, he stated homosexual men can spread a “variety of diseases,” and that “we should at least try to find a cure for homosexuality.”
When Chip Sandlin, a senior who is majoring in mechanical engineering at the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, read the tweet on their birthday, they were in shock and disbelief.
“We were just completely appalled by it,” Sandlin said. “
They say it’s even more disheartening that it happened within the school where they’re pursuing their degree. Both Farage’s tweet and the account have since been deleted. According to officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox can be spread by anyone.
Sandlin, who is also a member of PRIDE at UTD, says this kind of rhetoric can be dangerous to their community.
“It just further stigmatizing homosexuality as something that makes us different internally,” Sandlin said.
Professor Farage has yet to respond to our requests for an interview or statement through email or phone, but he spoke to Dallas news outlet WFAA on July 18 about his comments. In the webcam interview, Farage told WFAA that homosexuality is not a sin, but he still defended his words about finding a cure.
The UTD Rainbow Coalition, a collection of student-led organizations, released a response to the tweets and his interview on July 27, demanding that action be taken against Farage.
In the statement, the coalition said, “this is not a question of free speech, but of Tim Farage’s suitability as a professor for the University of Texas at Dallas.”
Sandlin says they collected other social media and blog posts from Farage that show a long history of “disturbing” rhetoric toward the LGBTQ+ community.
“What I and some others in my organization would like to see is that he be fired,” Sandlin said.
UTD provided Spectrum News 1 with a response that says, “the statements by this individual do not reflect the core values of our institution.”
Spectrum News 1 reached out to UTD officials on July 28 for an update on the situation. A spokesperson says they’re still investigating the complaints.
In the time since Farage made those initial tweets, Sandlin says student-led organizations like PRIDE at UTD joined other students to create chalk art on campus to support the LGBTQ community.
“We needed to show that, despite it not being Pride Month, we are still here,” Sandlin said.
Sandlin hopes UTD takes appropriate action for the safety and well-being of UTD students like themselves.
“I love it here; it’s my home now,” Sandlin said.