BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — A Ferris State University professor is talking about the viral video filled with profanity that led to his suspension.
Barry Mehler says the whole thing was a show.
Having done the same routine to get students excited for class for years now, this was the first time it was done virtually, leading to more people seeing it outside of his students.
He says if it hasn't been a problem before, why is he in trouble for it now?
"Teaching is my life," says Mehler.
And set to retire soon after 30 years at Ferris State, this is not how he wants to end his career.
"People said that my video was profanity filled," says Mehler. "It was content filled. It was filled with all kinds of ideas."
Mehler calls the intro to his class a show, set to loud music when normally taught in person.
"Everybody knew that for the first five minutes of my show, nobody's teaching anything," explains Mehler. "Because I'm cranking that up as loud as I can make it."
And designed with intentional adult language to get his students involved before the real teaching even begins.
"It forces them to think," says Mehler. "I want jazzed students. I want them to come back into class, whoa, what's gonna happen today?"
And he says through the years, it's worked.
"You might talk about plagiarism, but not the way I do. Nobody's going to forget my remarks about plagiarism," says Mehler.
But this year's intro was different, with direct shots at Ferris State's lack of a COVID 19 vaccine mandate.
"Institutions need to require vaccine mandates," he says. "Ferris State University is encouraging the anti-vaxxers. And it's putting its faculty at risk. It's putting students at risk."
Mehler, in his 70s, does not feel safe teaching in person. While he wants to return to teaching, he's not backing down on his desire to do so remotely.
"My wife and I live in this house for two years now, we haven't gone out and we have no one in here," says Mehler. "We don't expose ourselves because I'm old, and she's immune compromised."
On Friday, Mehler says he is talking with an attorney Ferris State hired to conduct an independent investigation into the video. And whether he returns to teaching or not, he says he's suing the university and President David Eisler personally for damages.
"This has been extremely stressful," says Mehler. "They have dragged me through the mud. They've dragged me, you know, it's just, they've made my life miserable."
We reached out to the university for comment today ahead of tomorrow's meeting with Mehler. A spokesperson once again declined to provide an updated statement.
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