Post

> the article is so bad that it never should have been published in its current form. In the same issue, a kind of ‘confession of guilt’ by one of the editors (“Editor’s views”) was published. The other editor resigned following the wave of criticism over the decision to publish Cofnas’s article 3/

> “I did not play a role in the review or acceptance of Cofnas’s paper, I regret standing on the side of that editorial decision[. O]ur [...] double-blind review process failed [and] I failed to see these aspects as areas where the review process did not require enough from the author.” 4/

> “It is not credible that Cofnas was the most suited candidate. In Canada or the United States, similar vacancies atract hundreds of candidates with almost identical qualifications. Cofnas wouldn’t stand a chance.” (our translation) 5/

context if anybody missed it bsky.app/profile/kohn... 6/

> Since Bouke de Vries couldn’t find any teachers willing to let Cofnas speak in their classes, he decided to invite Cofnas himself to give a guest lecture for the Political Philosophy course, for which Bouke de Vries was a co-teacher. 7/

> The lecture on liberalism is a rare part of Cofnas’s CV that aligns with the project and the job opening. It is included there due to an intervention by Bouke de Vries. Cofnas’s CV at that time gave no reason to invite him to give a lecture on this topic. 8/

> Even in the unlikely scenario that no one else [...] applied with more robust qualifications than Cofnas, and he was therefore ranked as the most suitable candidate, there was clearly an error in judgment on the part of the supervisor, Bouke de Vries, regarding the [...] appointment process. 9/

also see this very relevant thread by @ptrbck.bsky.social 10/

He is engaging in open and explicit entryism ( olivia.science/entryism ) > “His goal is not to engage in scholarship[,] but to roll out a far-right agenda. That is stated in black and white in his newsletters. To achieve this, [unis] must be taken over by ‘racial realists.’ 11/

Cofnas tell us how to do white supremacist entryism > In “How to Take Back Academia,” I proposed a three-part plan: (1) Promote knowledge of the cause of race differences (2) Change the population of decision makers on campus (3) Leverage political power compare to bsky.app/profile/oliv... 12/

also see: 13/

> Cofnas’s plan is not to engage in rational dialogue with those who hold different views, but rather to drive them out of universities. Among other things, by curtailing their civil rights. reminder since this is getting longer, whole text here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/t47r5... 14/

Remember, he was never silent about the views he holds, and this means they were known before and during his hiring process. 15/

> “Our institutions are teeming with woke fanatics who will never listen to reason and should be purged. Civil rights law has been a powerful weapon in the hands of wokesters, and we need to snatch it away from them.” 16/

> The members of the department [must accept] someone who clearly does not endorse Article 1 of Uni. Dec. of Human Rights: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 17/

> The department believes that it can function [&] be a pleasant workplace for its members only if all department members regard one another as morally equal. [T]hat is no longer the case. [...] By hiring someone who [...] opposes diversity, Ghent University is undermining its own goals. 18/

OK, we're deep in the thread so I will say the smug people going "and nothing will be done about it" are all the same demographic too. Shut up and help, keep the snark for later, I guess. There is actually a moral imperative to hold the uni and media to account regardless if we fail. 19/

> The university must urgently consider [damage to students], who are being targeted by Nathan Cofnas. We should be an academic institution where everyone feels at home and every student feels they can prove themselves [academically, without reference to] prejudices [...] in the hallways. 20/

> “The debate surrounding the [Cofnas'] hiring [...] has left a grim, anxious atmosphere in the Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University. A discussion in which the student is pushed aside and taken as seriously as a screaming child in a supermarket.” 21/

“I am ashamed that Ghent University appears as my alma mater on my resume, and I would like to be proud of it again. Dare to act. There is no place at the university for pseudoscience, racism, sexism, and a far-right political agenda that goes against the very essence of scientific practice.” 22/