BUZZ
UPDATED
Without mentioning President Donald Trump by name, a University of Colorado at Boulder professor criticized the Republican leader in a campus newsletter Tuesday for turning the United States into a “fascist authoritarian regime.”
“This is not the newsletter I thought I would send. I wrote a version on January 2, and then I woke up on January 3 and learned that the US had taken control of Venezuela (insert stronger language as you wish),” Professor Jennifer Ho wrote in the January issue of the Center for Humanities & the Arts Newsletter.
Ho, the director of the arts center, was referring to President Trump’s Saturday military action in Venezuela to remove dictator Nicolás Maduro.
“The US is a fascist authoritarian regime,” she wrote.
Ho said she felt it incumbent upon herself to make the statement as someone “in the business of knowledge production and education.”
A professor of Asian American studies, she said Trump’s actions represent “competitive authoritarianism” – which is “political science jargon for countries that have the trappings of democracy, but without a level playing field.” The definition comes from Brian Klaas, professor of global politics at University College London.
To counteract “authoritarianism,” Ho urged colleagues and students to fight back by “centering the stories and artistic creations and scholarly and artistic research” and building “community.”
“And I think if we care about arts and humanities and people being fully enfranchised humans, then we have to do all the things we can to reduce harm in as many ways that we can,” she wrote.
The university added a note at the top of Ho’s letter on the center’s website, stating that her comments do not reflect the public institution’s views.
“THE DIRECTOR OF THE CHA, JENNIFER HO, IS NOT AN OFFICER OF THE UNIVERSITY; THEREFORE ALL COMMENTS BY DR. HO ARE NOT TO BE CONFUSED AS COMMENSURATE WITH OR REFLECTIVE OF COMMENTS BY THE UNIVERSITY OR THE CENTER FOR HUMANITIES & THE ARTS,” the disclaimer states.
The original emailed version of the newsletter, which The College Fix reviewed, did not include the disclaimer.
Later Tuesday, however, Ho sent out a revised newsletter with a note at the top, followed by the university’s statement:
I accidently left out this crucial piece of information ahead of the January newsletter, so we are re-sending the CHA Director letter. Please note the below addendum, which is in all CAPS. For the people who have already reached out to share that they do not believe it is appropriate for the CHA Director to speak on behalf of the Center for Humanities & the Arts or the University of Colorado Boulder or the University of Colorado system, please know that within the structure of the university, I am not an officer of the university and thus am not speaking on behalf of the university system, university, or even the CHA (as strange as that sounds when I am the CHA Director). I am sharing what I believe to be true based on the research and reading I’ve done as a humanist who understands history.
Ho teaches Asian American studies, and one of her specializations is “Critical Race Theory,” according to her university bio. “In addition to her academic work, Ho is active in community engagement around issues of race and intersectionality,” her bio states.
Other academics also criticized Trump’s actions in Venezuela over the weekend, including University of Michigan Law Professor Barbara McQuade who described the president as “off the rails,” The Fix reported.
Editor’s note: The article was updated to mention the revised email newsletter that Ho sent with the university’s statement.
MORE: Academics (mostly negatively) chime in on Trump Venezuela endeavor
