The chair of the UBC Board of Governors has resigned following backlash due to his liking "regressive" tweets that the university says are "hurtful to members of our community."
Earlier this week, Michael Korenberg was interviewed by the university publication The Ubyssey.
He told them that he's not an active user of the social media platform Twitter, and that he didn't realize that people could see what he was doing with his profile.
He told the paper that “I wasn’t actually familiar with the fact that people can look at my Twitter account, so I do regret that.”
Specifically, he was not aware that other users would be able to see that he had liked tweets that compared Black Lives Matter to Hitler's 'Parliamentary Wing'.
The vice-chair of the board released a statement on Saturday, saying that Korenberg was stepping down because of "social media interactions that appeared to support regressive voices online and undermine legitimate protest."
Late Saturday night the B.C. Government released a statement from Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, Melanie Mark, saying that “Today, I was informed of Michael Korenberg’s resignation from his position as chair and board member of UBC’s Board of Governors, effective immediately.
“Our government and UBC are deeply committed to inclusion, justice and equity for all.
“The university has an inclusion action plan and has begun implementing it. I believe UBC will continue its work to provide a world-class education to all of its students in a safe and supportive community environment.”
