Originally published August 17 2015
University of Toronto fires professor of alternative medicine after skeptics bully school into anti-free speech tyranny
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) In an unexpected about-face, the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto has suddenly decided to scrap a course in homeopathy, as well as fire the professor of the class, after anti-free speech "skeptics" whined and bullied their way into eliminating one of the only alternative voices at the school not hawking pharmaceuticals and vaccines.
According to Canada's Metro, Beth Landau-Halpern, a homeopath, is no longer teaching at U of T, and her course in Alternative Health: Practice and Theory is no longer being offered after dozens of "scientists" and faculty members complained that Landau-Halpern's class stood in opposition to their own personal interpretations of science.
In the months leading up to this draconian move, U of T's vice president of research and innovation, Vivek Goel, had actually vindicated Landau-Halpern's course, declaring it to fit nicely into the "Special Topics in Health" category. He wrote in a letter that the class, which was optional for senior-level students, provided an opportunity for students to "approach controversial topics with a critical lens."
For months, it appeared as though Landau-Halpern's class would survive the censorship brigade. But then, seemingly overnight, the university changed its mind, fired her and eliminated the course entirely, despite the fact that not a single student ever once complained about the class. Because of this decision, U of T students will no longer have the opportunity to learn about homeopathy, nor will they be encouraged to think critically about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
"I do not find that the instructor's approach in this class has been, or would have reasonably been perceived to be unbalanced, in the sense that it deviated from a presentation of material that, in context, would enable critical analysis, and inquiry," wrote Goel in a well-reasoned response to Landau-Halpern's detractors, prior to the university firing her.
"Thus, from an academic pedagogy perspective, I do not find that there has been sufficient deviation from the range of normal approaches to warrant concerns," he added, dismissing calls for Landau-Halpern's course to be removed.
Talking about vaccine safety, homeopathy, and Dr. Wakefield at U of T is off limits
And yet, despite this cogent petition to uphold academic freedom and scientific inquiry, U of T head faculty ultimately caved to the thought police who waged a relentless war to uphold their monopoly over the school's health and science curriculum. There's simply no room at U of T for independent thought, it seems, especially when such thought provokes students to potentially question the status quo.
Landau-Halpern had reportedly already modified her course in response to the manufactured controversy prior to being let go. According to the Toronto Star, she scrapped the vaccination debate portion from her class syllabus, in part due to the Disneyland measles outbreak that the mainstream media used to push mandatory vaccinations - but this wasn't enough for the science gods.
It was Laundau-Halpern's commitment to facing head-on the challenges and risks associated with childhood vaccinations, not to mention many other conventional medical treatments, that ultimately landed her on the chopping block of the science persecutors whose theories and pet beliefs are never allowed to undergo serious scrutiny.
"Some boulders are unavoidable, but others, like vaccines, can and should be avoided. There is no 'unvaccinating,'" Landau-Halpern wrote boldly on her website. "Normal childhood illnesses like measles and chickenpox are almost always followed by massive developmental spurts. Times of darkness often give way to a brighter and more integrated era of growth and development."
Beth Landau-Halpern is an experienced homeopath who specializes in treating children with ADHD using an integrative approach. She's also certified in CEASE Therapy, a program by Dr. Tinus Smits, M.D., that helps autistic children find relief through detoxification:
http://www.cease-therapy.com
Her personal website can be accessed here:
http://www.blh-homeopath.com
Sources:
http://metronews.ca
http://arstechnica.com
http://www.thestar.com
http://www.cease-therapy.com
http://www.blh-homeopath.com
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