(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A tenured history professor at Madera Community College is under investigation for handing out chocolate bars with real gender pronouns on the wrappers.
The candy in question, created and sold by the Daily Wire, comes in two styles: the “He/Him” chocolate bars have nuts; the “She/Her” chocolate bars are “nutless.”
Professor David Richardson purchased a case of the candy bars to protest the Hershey’s Chocolate advertising campaign for International Women’s Day, which predominately featured a man identifying as a woman.
The teacher kept some of the candy for himself, but took the rest into work to share with his coworkers and students.
Richardson received a letter from the human resources department of the college announcing his paid administrative leave pending an investigation. According to Just the News, a “uniformed police officer” delivered the note to his Richardson’s home.
The letter alleged that Richardson created a “hostile work environment” and harassed his coworkers by handing out the candy.
The school banned Richardson from “non-public” areas of the State Center Community College District, even after 33 years of service to the school. He is also prohibited from accessing his Madera email and “any action which could be construed as retaliation against anyone.”
The professor, who described himself as a “gay conservative,” was already in the process of suing the SCCCD for a previous punishment incurred at a “pronoun etiquette” seminar at the school.
The host of the seminar was also a teacher on campus who identified as transgender, and took offense when Richardson used “Do, Re, Mi” as his pronouns during the a Zoom call. The complaint ultimately led to a letter of reprimand placed in Richardson’s file and he was required to complete six hours of diversity, equity and inclusion training, and submit a written response on what he learned and how he can “create a more inclusive environment.”
Richardson sued the school in a First Amendment lawsuit, which has not moved in several months. The professor announced that his lawyer will be filing an amended complaint to include the new investigation in the suit.
