Christian Student in Florida Is Suspended After Dispute With Muslim Professor

A small liberal-arts college in Florida has suspended a Christian student who has been clashing with his Muslim professor for weeks, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Rollins College, in Winter Park, Fla., suspended 20-year-old Marshall Polston after his religious-studies professor filed a “protection against stalking” request. Mr. Polston told the Sentinel he felt discriminated against by his professor, Areej Zufari. Mr. Polston received a failing grade on an essay for a course in Middle Eastern humanities.

The injunction request filed by Ms. Zufari cites a lengthy email sent by Mr. Polston, who later told the Sentinel he had made no threats against his teacher. In the email, Mr. Polston said Ms. Zufari had an agenda “to silence me in class.”

Grant H. Cornwell, Rollins’s president, told the newspaper that the issue is more than a simple disagreement and that the college would “never ever ever” suspend a student just over a difference of opinion.

The injunction request details past conflicts between Mr. Polston and his professor. College officials are reported to have met with Mr. Polston early on about complaints that he was disrupting class and being combative. The conflict resumed after Mr. Polston received the failing grade on his essay.

Among other things, Mr. Polston suggested he would raise the issue with the national news media or Rollins administrators. “Since you’ve decided to carry a blitzkrieg out against me, I may have to speak up in regards to your extreme bias and not necessarily to the class but to the dean,” he wrote.

Over the past few days, news of the suspension has spread quickly on conservative-leaning websites.

Following the email, Ms. Zufari canceled class and alerted college officials. Rollins administrators have not commented on the nature of the complaint but said a disciplinary hearing for Mr. Polston is set for next week.