On Sunday, Professor Bruce C. Monger sent an email to his entire Introduction to Oceanography class, which is attended by more than 1,000 students, to admonish two students who he alleges were not wearing a mask and seek help identifying them. Monger threatened to fail both students, and used offensive language to describe one of them, who he claimed had a “prominent hook shaped nose”.
The email drew national attention, and was shared on Twitter by the viral “Libs of TikTok” account.
“Hi @Cornell! Can a professor fail a student for not wearing a mask?”, wrote the account.
Cornell University responded to the “Libs of Tik Tok” meme account with an official statement, deleted their statement, and then reposted a new one.
In both statements, the university acknowledged that Professor Monger’s description of the students was not appropriate, saying his language “does not reflect Cornell values”.
However, in the deleted statement, Cornell also admitted that Professor Monger “ignored guidance to faculty to utilize progressive warnings in cases of noncompliant students”.
In the second statement, Cornell made no mention of this progressive warning policy.
This led to the “Libs of Tik Tok” account to respond, writing:
“Thanks @Cornell but this doesn’t answer the question. Can a student who does well on all their assignments, shows up to class, etc., receive a failing grade simply for not wearing a mask? Does Cornell endorse this type of grading system?”
Cornell has not since responded to inquiries regarding the grading system and masking policy.
The Cornell Review reached out to Mr. Monger for comment, and to inquire about what specific policy gives a Professor the authority to fail a student for not wearing a mask. He did not respond.
Some have alleged that Mr. Monger previously used vulgar language toward the class to demand mask wearing, claiming that he told the class he was “f**king p*ssed” that some students did not comply with Cornell’s mask mandate.
Mr. Monger did not respond to the Review’s inquiry about the accuracy of this allegation.
After the emails were widely distributed on social media, Professor Monger issued two apologies, claiming “I am very sorry if I upset anyone” and seemingly walking back his threat to fail the students.
Cornell maintains an indoor mask mandate despite a 96% campus vaccination rate and the overwhelming majority of the campus community being young, healthy, 18-22 year old college students.
