Faculty senate condemns White House COVID adviser, Stanford fellow Scott Atlas
Stanford’s Faculty Senate condemned Dr. Scott Atlas for his conclusions regarding COVID-19.
The resolution stated that Atlas damaged “Stanford’s reputation and academic standing” and showed “disdain for established medical knowledge.”
Stanford University’s Faculty Senate condemned Hoover Institution fellow and White House adviser Scott Atlas for his approach to addressing COVID-19.
Members of the Faculty Senate introduced a resolution condemning Atlas’s “view of COVID-19 that contradicts medical science” during their November 19 meeting.
New: Condi Rice, head of Hoover Institute, throws Scott Atlas under bus that he has gone too far. Also, Stanford Faculty Senate passed resolution that strongly condemns. “Atlas’s behavior is anathema to our community, values, and our belief that we should use knowledge for good.” pic.twitter.com/V7mIhcDPhX
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) November 20, 2020
The resolution stated that Atlas has discouraged the use of masks and “other scientifically accepted” health measures, damaged “Stanford’s reputation and academic standing,” and showed “disdain for established medical knowledge.”
“As elected representatives of the Stanford faculty, we strongly condemn his behavior,” the resolution says. “It violates the core values of our faculty and the expectations under the Stanford Code of Conduct, which states that we all ‘are responsible for sustaining the high ethical standards of this institution.’”
The professors also pointed out Atlas’s endorsement of Michigan citizens opposing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The Faculty Senate asked the university’s administration to “forcefully disavow” Atlas’s actions.
Atlas responded to the condemnation in a statement of his own.
“My views in favor of the careful protection of our nation’s most vulnerable while safely re-opening society are far from contrary to science,” he wrote. “These views are held by some of the world’s top epidemiologists from Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford itself, as well as by thousands of medical and public health scientists from around the world.”
He added that “in responding to COVID-19, we cannot sacrifice the free exchange of ideas, the essential process to discover the scientific truths allowing us to fight the disease.” In the process of addressing the virus, universities “must allow differing views without intimidation or rebuke...”
In September, more than 100 Stanford School of Medicine professors issued a similar condemnation of Atlas.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told Campus Reform that “this was another attempt to cancel out different views in an obviously biased attack by Stanford professors.”
[RELATED: Stanford profs try to cancel Trump Coronavirus adviser… & White House strikes back]
Campus Reform reached out to Stanford University and to Dr. Atlas, but did not receive a response.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
