One professor has already accused the Bias Response Team of intimidation.

How did we get to this point?

The FIRE blog reports.

University of Northern Colorado Defends, Modifies ‘Bias Response Team’ as Criticism Mounts and Recording Emerges

Last month, documents provided in response to a public records request by Heat Street suggested that the University of Northern Colorado (UNC)’s “Bias Response Team” improperly intervened to instruct professors to avoid controversial subjects. Those records have spurred letters of inquiry from two state senators; a condemnation from the Denver Post editorial board; and concessions from a UNC administrator that the Bias Response Team’s efforts may have, in some cases, been improper. Now, just as UNC’s president defends the Bias Response Team’s purpose, one of the professors reported to the Bias Response Team has come forward with a recording of his meeting with a UNC administrator.

Mike Jensen, an adjunct professor teaching freshman writing courses at UNC in 2015, invited students to read The Atlantic’s “The Coddling of the American Mind,” co-authored by FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. The piece argues that education in critical thought requires exposure to diverse (and sometimes controversial) views, as a means of addressing challenging subjects—a point Jensen sought to use as a starting-off point for discussion.

When a student brought up transgender rights, the professor engaged the class by voicing common arguments against the student’s perspective. Another student, who identifies as transgender, filed a bias incident report (embedded below), and Jensen was summoned to the office of Marshall Parks, UNC’s Executive Director of Human Resources. Jensen brought his cell phone and recorded the conversation—an act permitted by Colorado law.

In audio first published by Heat Street and the Greeley Tribune, the recording—transcribed by Heat Street here—gives an unvarnished look into what happens behind closed doors when a professor is reported to a bias response team: