Medical Student for Free Speech

Who I am:

My name is Aaron Rael. I am a Hispanic, first-year medical student at The Keck school of medicine of The University of Southern California.

The Background:

On September 10th, 2020, during my first year of medical school, I was given an ultimatum; be dismissed from medical school or take a year's leave of absence. However, even after the year's leave of absence, I will still be subjected to a student performance committee in which they will decide from multiple punishments such as permanent record stain, loss of my two-year scholarship worth $130,000, and other options including removal from the medical program still. What crime did I commit to warrant such drastic action? Did I cheat on a medical test? No. Did I violate any hospital policies or cause harm to a patient? No. I simply voiced an opinion different from that of my classmates.

The Story:

During an official medical school zoom meeting, a fellow classmate interjected their politics by putting a “Black Lives Matter” banner as their profile picture. While not aware that my microphone was unmuted, I laughed in disbelief that someone would put such a politically charged picture in a professional setting and stated, “This one girl’s zoom screensaver is Black Lives Matter.” Due to that one factual statement, I was labeled a racist by my classmates, faced verbal harassment from the mob of social justice warriors, and was subjected to a meeting between the entire medical class and faculty in which my classmates urged faculty for my punishment. Due to the class outrage, the school informed me that I had to undergo a student performance committee in which they would decide a punishment for me. I apologized to those who may have been hurt by misinterpretation of my comment, but I refused to be forced to profess allegiance to BLM or apologize for my personal beliefs. My classmates are free to support a political Marxist movement that uses violence to advocate for the defunding of police, and the dissolution of the nuclear family if they wish. As a Christian, I cannot. This stance of mine was the final straw that led to the ultimatum that I described earlier. I am not sure which is more disheartening, the fact that a university could so easily kowtow to the will of the mob, or that these students have been so influenced by the leftist ideologic indoctrination of our university system that they cannot comprehend a differing viewpoint from their own.

Examples of School Acceptable Viewpoints:

Students for a National Health Program is a campus organization that advocates for socialized health care as well as writes letters to voters in swing states to encourage democrat candidate voting. Medical Students for Choice is a campus organization that focuses on training the next generation of abortion providers. A “Pipelines Not Police” petition was circulated which requested the school to defund the Department of Public Safety by $100 million, and a faculty endorsed letter addressed to the school community apologized on behalf of our country and insulted the President of the United States. Agree or disagree with these stances, a university is supposed to be a place where ideas and viewpoints can be openly expressed without fear of repercussions. I, however, was not afforded this same right.

Why This Matters:

We have seen recently more than ever that freedom of speech is only allowed for one side. People have been “canceled”, others have lost their jobs, and students across the country have been punished for simply voicing valid opinions. This has only been made worse by the censoring from big tech and biased media. For an institution such as a university that claims to not allow discrimination of any kind, this situation of mine is an absolute disgrace.

This has been an extremely difficult time for my family and me. I have had to move towns, am faced with paying back a large loan I had to take out for the semester, and am now left in limbo for a year with the possibility of having to change my whole future career path. It has been my life goal to become a doctor in order to help my fellow Americans. To get accepted into medical school was not easy, and I will not allow it to easily come to an end. My freedom of speech has been taken away and possibly my career with it. You never imagine it could happen to you until it does. This is why we must support each other now so that we can stop these injustices from occurring in the future. If you believe in the freedom of speech and love our country then please support and share this! We must stand for our constitutional rights. Keep politics out of medicine and keep free speech in America!

Reasons for Fundraising:

1. Attorney fees
2. Medical education funding

Our priority is to have me return to medical school without any further punishment, but this could also turn into a much more lengthy and expensive legal process contingent on the action of the school. Any remaining funds will be put towards my medical school education provided that the outcome is favorable and I am allowed to continue medical school.

Thank you so much for your support! I will keep you updated on the process and how your contributions are impacting it!