Professor's email response to Republicans puts UI in national spotlight

The University of Iowa is earning national attention this week after a professor sent a vulgar email to a group of undergraduates.

Earlier this week, the UI's College Republicans group sent out an email to everyone on campus to promote their Conservative Coming Out Week. But Ellen Lewin, a professor in the gender, women's & sexuality studies department, apparently didn't like the events the young Republicans were planning. She shot back an email saying, in part, “F*** YOU, REPUBLICANS.”

Lewin has since apologized to the students, but she also defended herself, telling the group that its Conservative Coming Out Week was offensive, “nearly rising to the level of obscenity.” Lewin did not return calls for comment on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday morning, UI President Sally Mason sent out an email to students and faculty saying, “Even if we personally disagree with those viewpoints, we must be respectful of those viewpoints in every way. Intolerant and disrespectful discord is not acceptable behavior.”

Mason made no mention of the College Republicans incident, but UI Spokesman Tom Moore confirmed that Lewin's comment is what spurred Mason's email.

Dozens of media outlets have picked up on the incident. A Google News search on Wednesday night revealed more than 50 items about the vulgar email. Conservative blog The Iowa Republican broke the story.

That post has attracted more than 25,000 hits since this morning and has risen onto the site's all-time most popular list.