88-Year-Old American Professor Resigns During Class at 'KOSK' Student... "I Don't Want to Risk My Life"

When a student refused to wear a mask during class, Emeritus Professor Irwin Bernstein resigned on the spot. Photo by the University of Georgia website capture·Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] At a university in the southern United States, an 80-year-old emeritus professor resigned on the spot after a student refused to wear a mask during class.

According to the University of Georgia's student newspaper, The Red and Black, on the 29th (local time), Professor Irwin Bernstein (88) of the university's psychology department suddenly announced his resignation during class.

According to the newspaper, during the second session of the Advanced Psychology Seminar held on the 24th, a female student entered the classroom without wearing a mask.

The student, who had not attended the first class, was unaware of Professor Bernstein's policy of "not entering the class without a mask." Another student offered her an extra mask, and she wore it with her nose exposed.

Professor Bernstein asked the student to wear the mask properly, but was repeatedly refused. In particular, during this process, the student reportedly said, "It's hard to breathe. I have breathing problems," and did not adjust the mask.

Then Professor Bernstein said, "Two students in this class have already contracted COVID-19 and are absent," and added, "This is the end. I will resign," before stepping down from the podium. As a result, the class was automatically canceled, and the students had to register for other classes.

Professor Bernstein, who has been teaching at the university since 1968, had been teaching as an emeritus professor after retiring in 2011.

Earlier, in an email sent to the student newspaper, Professor Bernstein stated, "At the age of 88, I suffer from diabetes and hypertension, so if I contract COVID-19, the chances of death are high," and added, "I once served in the Air Force and risked my life fighting for my country, but I do not want to risk my life because of a student refusing to wear a mask. That is why I resigned."

Meanwhile, the University of Georgia encourages mask-wearing but does not mandate it.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.