Northwestern University has already canceled out author Joseph Epstein for writing an opinion essay on ‘Dr.’ Jill Biden. The essay criticized the latter for using the honorific ‘Dr.’. The essay is entitled “Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.”, and came on the Wall Street Journal last Friday. The author is a lecturer at Northwestern – which is situated close to Chicago.
The author Joseph Epstein criticized the wife of President-Elect Joe Biden for using the honorific ‘Dr.’ before her name. He claimed that applying the honorific was quite fraudulent, considering Jill Biden’s doctorate was in Education, and not Medicine. He further argues that while receiving a Ph.D. did mean something previously- but now the standards have become so lax that they don’t muster the same reverence anymore.
Joseph Epstein’s Slight Against Dr. Jill Biden
This entire debacle led to Joseph Epstein losing out on his status as ‘emeritus lecturer’, as reported by David Gura on Twitter. Later, the journalist also posted a direct statement from the university regarding their differences with the opinion of the author- which they labeled as misogynistic. In one swoop, the University canceled out the post of a tenured lecturer from Joseph Epstein, along with canceling out his entire career with the University.
The University also brought out a second statement where they spoke about how freedom of expression and academic freedom should not impinge upon the merits of one who has received a Ph.D. in any field. The University has always committed to the notions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and they aren’t going to let Jill Biden’s slight slide by.
The entire conundrum started when Whoopi Goldberg, one of the hosts of ‘The View’, thought that Jill Biden was a Doctor of Medicine- instead of being an educator.
