Someone alert Atticus Finch! This is the civil rights case of a generation! Wongene Daniel Kim, a second year student at the University of Toronto, has presented a gender discrimination complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal after his female gender studies professor dared to fail him — the only male in the class — when he refused to show up because being in a room full of all women made him feel uncomfortable.
Kim reportedly requested that U of T gender studies professor Sarah Trimble waive the 15% of the grade that was based on classroom attendance and participation, but Trimble refused, most likely because she’s a real bitch who was probably on her period or something. (Imagine what happens when all the girls in that room sync up…)
Next, Kim took his case to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, claiming that Trimble had discriminated against him because he’s male. Kim told the tribunal that he had only signed up for the class because it fit his time table (excellent case so far) and that he was unaware that he’d be the only man in class. When he arrived on the first day, he said:
“I felt anxiety; I didn’t expect it would be all women and it was a small classroom and about 40 women were sort of sitting in a semicircle and the thought of spending two hours every week sitting there for the next four months was overwhelming…I’m generally a shy person, especially around women, and it would have been a burden if I had had to choose a group for group work.”
Kim then skipped class for the rest of the semester, instead turning in work online and getting poor marks on assignments because — surprise, surprise — participation, even participation with girls, is kind of important.
“I believe if you want to attract more males to these courses, you have to work with them,” Kim said in his complaint. “My request for accommodation was reasonable.”
Yes, Wogene. Your request that Professor Trimble change her entire grading scale especially for you because you’re too scared to be around women is entirely reasonable. How could you lose this open-and-close case of discrimination?!
But lose he did. (“What? How? Wogene, noooooooo!” – you, right now, I bet.)
As written by adjudicator Mary Truemner:
“The applicant has not satisfied me that his claimed discomfort in a classroom of women requires accommodation under the (Ontario Human Rights) Code,” “He admitted that his discomfort is based on his own ‘individual preference’ as a shy person . . . and stated he thought they (the women) would not be willing to interact with him because of his gender.”
Better luck next time, bro.
Image via Shutterstock.