[A] Middlebury College chemistry professor has been placed on leave after asking students on a recent exam to calculate the lethal dose of a poisonous gas used in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust.
Jeff Byers, who has taught chemistry at Middlebury for 33 years, is being investigated by the college for faculty misconduct after the exam question was written about in a satirical student newspaper, the Local Noodle.
“This inexplicable failure of judgment trivializes one of the most horrific events in world history, violates core institutional values, and simply has no place on our campus,” Middlebury President Laurie Patton said in a statement. “We expect our faculty to teach and lead with thoughtfulness, good judgment, and maturity. To say we have fallen short in this instance is an understatement.”
The investigation revealed a second objectionable question on an exam Byers administered last year, which referenced the Ku Klux Klan in a way that “appeared to be humorous in intent, but which was gratuitous and offensive.”
Byers wrote a letter to the university apologizing “without equivocation” for his actions. He said he failed his students and plans to spend the coming months reflecting on his actions.
“I apologize and take full responsibility for my actions in administering two examinations in the last year containing questions that were clearly offensive, hurtful, and injurious to our students,” Byers wrote. “I can offer no explanation for my actions other than carelessness and hubris.”
A Facebook page for Middlebury Hillel, a Jewish student organization, posted after the Local Noodle piece ran, offering support to students who were hurt by the presence of such a question.
“Hate and anti-Semitism can make us feel invisible. Many of us felt that way when we saw the test question from the Chem 103 midterm,” the post read. “We want to use our platform, as a group of Jewish students on this campus, to say that we are here. We are here, we want to be seen, and this incident hurt many of us deeply.”
The exam question read “Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) is a poisonous gas, which Nazi Germany used to horrific ends in the gas chambers during The Holocaust,” before asking students to calculate what a lethal dose of HCN would be in a particular sized room, according to the student newspaper, the Middlebury Campus.
The Campus reported that Middlebury’s Community Bias Response Team, which assesses and responds to bias incidents, sent out an email criticizing both the question and the Local Noodle for making light of it.
Patton said the university is actively exploring how to reduce the risk for similar future incidents.
“Middlebury has, and always will, condemn any actions that are anti-Semitic or racist in intent or effect, just as we will any other acts of bias or discrimination,” Patton said.