Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/740013
3 JURGEN BALZAN THE right-wing University lec- turer who came under heav y criticism after attacking an activist and student for be- ing transgender has turned his sights on Sara Ezabe, a Muslim student. Last week, Stephen Florian – a visiting lecturer at the Univer- sity of Malta – attacked activ- ist and University student Alex Caruana after the 27-year-old held a counter protest during a demonstration by right-wing and Islamophobic group Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin. Now, Florian, who is one of the leaders of the self-declared 'pa- triots' attacked the veiled Ezabe and described her as a "radical." "Join us again next week for an- other episode of THE MUMMY. This girl sure has one hell of an ego problem… mixed with po- tential radicalism," he wrote in a Facebook post last week. In a second rant, he posted a photo of the University student under the heading "A worthy piece of advice for Sara Ezabe," and described her as arrogant, warning that "arrogance and radicalism will come at a cross- roads." In reply, Ezabe – who sits on the National Youth Council and was last year chosen as Com- monwealth Young Leader for her contribution towards fostering a more tolerant, diverse and in- clusive society – thanked people who expressed their solidarity and said "Stephen's opinion of me is completely insignificant. He has proven himself the one with 'the hell of an ego problem'." A number of lecturers have ex- pressed their disgust at Florian's comments and have said that they will be lodging an official complaint against the part-time visiting lecturer. The University of Malta has told MaltaToday that all mem- bers of staff "are expected to abide by the University of Mal- ta's code of conduct which in- cludes specific policies on mat- ters relating to harassment in its various forms." Asked whether any action is being taken against Florian, the University said that it can initiate proceedings out of its own accord or following a complaint by a third party, add- ing that as a general rule, all members of staff are normally allowed to continue with their duties until the proceedings are concluded. Following his transphobic rant against Caruana, the University of Malta "unreservedly" dissoci- ated itself from all actions, ver- bal or otherwise, "which attempt to promote discrimination and/ or incitement to racial hatred against any groups of people." In a statement issued on Mon- day, the University of Malta said it was investigating the com- ments made by Florian and un- derlined its commitment to sup- porting and protecting diversity and the rights of all individuals. "Whilst affirming the right to freedom of expression and asso- ciation, the University of Malta condemns all actions which are motivated, wholly or partly by any form of hostility towards di- verse groups." In his transphobic online rant, for which he has since apolo- gised, Florian said "Time we got to know who Alex Caruana really is and was," adding that "this girl who now calls herself Alexander, was one of the three atheists who came to photomob [sic] the MPM Bugibba protest and the same one who on Xara- bank, blundered in her numbers when stating garbled data about the 'billions' of Muslims living in Malta and worldwide." These are not isolated episodes, with Florian attacking other people including MaltaToday journalists and General Workers Union official Jeremy Camilleri. Union condemns bullying The University of Malta Aca- demic Staff Association (UMA- SA) also entered the fray and in a statement it said that students and members of staff who feel that they have been victimised can file an official complaint with the University and avail themselves of the procedures stipulated in the bullying and harassment policy. It added that both complain- ants and defendants have the right to be represented by their respective unions and student bodies. UMASA also condemned any form of harassment and bully- ing and said that it supports the University wholeheartedly in the just implementation of its Har- assment and Bullying Policy. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016 News Thursday TVM 20:50 Shamed lecturer attacks Muslim student Stephen Florian was one of the speakers at the recent rally held by the right-wing and Islamophobic 'patriots' In his online post, Florian described the veiled Ezabe as a 'mummy' University lecturer who attacked transgender activist and student describes veiled Muslim student as a 'mummy' and 'potential radical'