ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The professor involved in a controversy at Memorial University of Newfoundland says a hearing-impaired student who claims she failed to accommodate him has "selective amnesia."
In a statement released to local radio station VOCM, history professor Ranee Panjabi says William Sears rejected her offer to discuss alternatives to the FM transmitter, which he said he needed to hear lectures.
"I was completely taken aback as I am used to students being courteous enough to listen, not rebuff a discussion in that regrettable manner," Panjabi wrote in the signed letter dated Sept. 24.
Panjabi says the third-year student abruptly walked out of class instead of letting her explain that the hearing device would not allow him to hear discussions involving classmates or videos shown as part of her instruction, leaving him at a disadvantage.
"While Mr. Sears rebuffed any discussion with me — discussion that would have resolved this matter satisfactorily — he proceeded to provide his version — which regretfully displayed flashes of selective amnesia — to every media source he could garner."
Panjabi notes she holds a law degree and says a 1996 agreement with the school allowing her to refuse to wear the device on religious grounds is binding.
In her letter, Panjabi says she was "somewhat surprised" by Sears's request to wear the FM transmitter because they had previously conversed "quite normally" while he sat in the front row of the class and she sat in a chair behind a table.
She also says the school's Blundon Centre for Students with Disabilities didn't properly inform her of the need for accommodation before Sears arrived at her class Sept. 10.
"Such accommodation would have required just about an hour of the student's time with our technical experts at Memorial to create a personalized learning environment that permitted him to benefit fully from the course."
Panjabi, who has not answered repeated requests for comment, says her professional and personal reputation has been seriously damaged by the incident, which prompted the student union to stage a rally Wednesday in support of Sears.
"I was reviled, vilified, abused, threatened and subject to a display of a lynch mob, a witch hunt and a three-ring circus," she wrote.
Sears is pursuing a complaint with the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission.
The university has apologized to Sears and says it's reviewing how its accommodation procedures failed. University president Gary Kachanoski has said the 20-year-old deal with Panjabi is also under review.
Panjabi says the university will set a "dangerous precedent" if it rescinds the agreement "simply to cater to the whims of the online hysterical mob that is howling for such action."
