BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Ferris State professor Thomas Brennan is on administrative leave because of remarks made about COVID-19 on his Twitter account.
"I just have to speak out, to try to speak my conscience," says Brennan. 'I can't be silent and watch this happen."
Screenshots taken by The Torch show Brennan referring to COVID-19 as a "stunt" to create "a leftist new world order".
"I did say some hyperbolic things to draw attention to what it is I wanted to say," explains Brennan.
This includes using the n-word, which Brennan calls "an atomic word", he used to make people listen.
"I didn't use it lightly," says Brennan. "But we're heading towards such a crescendo of madness where we're about to all be enslaved because of this COVID crisis."
He does believe COVID-19 is real, however says masks and vaccines are created to control the masses.
"Putting a muzzle over our face is actually a dehumanizing and satanic ritual," says Brennan.
"There seem to be a lot of people who are upset," says FSU senior Cora Hall, who wrote about the tweets in an article for student newspaper The Torch.
Hall says comments like this from a professor impact all students on campus, especially those who have had COVID-19.
"It's not an easy thing to go through, so I think that really hit home for a lot of students that there was someone at their university saying it wasn't real," says Hall.
In a statement, Ferris State said in part "we categorically reject any comments made regarding the validity or impact of COVID-19."
Hall agrees.
"They are public figures and they are being held to a little bit of a higher standard when using social media and things like that," says Hall. "I think they should be held accountable."
Brennan wrote a statement explaining his comments and shared it to his website.
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