Loyola U. New Orleans Students Demand Prof Is Fired for Opposing Slavery for the Wrong Reasons

Loyola University New Orleans students circulated a petition this week that calls for the removal of popular libertarian professor Walter Block over his philosophy on slavery. Block is facing criticism for his position that slavery is unethical because it violates the tenets of libertarianism.

According to a report by the College Fix, students at Loyola University New Orleans are calling for the termination of popular economics professor Walter Block over his stance on slavery.

The petition, which had received over 600 signatures at the time of this writing, argues that Block is against the practice of slavery for the wrong reasons.

“Walter Block is a professor in the Business school at Loyola University New Orleans. He has publicly stated that he believes slavery to be wrong because it goes against Libertarianism, not because it is morally wrong,” the petition reads.

The petition also takes aim at Block’s libertarian stances on other issues. One student reported that Block told her that universities should be able to reject students on the basis of their disabilities.

“He once told me to my face that the Americans with Disabilities Act was a terrible law….I asked him, ‘So you think a university should be able to refuse to admit me for no other reason than my blindness?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, because then another university would find the market niche and you could go there.'” the student said.

In a comment made to the Spectator, Professor Walter Block argued that “woke” academics are trying to shut down civil discourse.

“Slavery is wrong, evil and should be outlawed, and slavers be considered criminals and put in jail because it is a rights violation; it is an abomination,” Block said. “The woke people who want me fired do not wish to engage in civil dialogue or debate. Also, thank goodness for academic freedom and what little intellectual diversity remains on campus.”

In a short statement, Loyola University New Orleans’ Interim Provost Maria Calzada said that punishing Block for his philosophy would violate the university’s promise to uphold academic freedom.

“We have serious legal constraints on our ability to fire faculty for that which they publish, even if we find it anathema,” Calzada said. “We cannot be accredited as a university without policies of academic freedom.”

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.