Human Rights professor Rick Halperin (Courtesy of SMU News and Information)

Students are speaking out against the allegations made against Director of the Embrey Human Rights program professor Rick Halperin.

The Dallas Observer reported Wednesday that Halperin had been accused in a lawsuit filed by former professor Dr. Patricia Davis of inappropriate sexual behavior with students, as well as a fetish for Nazism.

Harris filed a lawsuit against the university Tuesday claiming she was let go in September 2012 from her position as the associate director of the Embrey Human Rights program.

Davis states in the lawsuit that she worked at SMU for nearly 21 years, 13 of which where she was a professor in the Perkins School of Theology. She is also suing for breach of contract, saying she was terminated nearly a year and a half before her contractual end date.

Davis alleges that she first learned Halperin had acted inappropriately towards female students on a group trip in 2005 to Poland. She continues to list a number of examples of what she alleges as inappropriate conduct between Halperin and female students.

The suit also alleges that Halperin was “obsessed with the Nazis,” privately displayed Nazi salutes, posters of Nazi symbols and watched “hours and hours of pictures of bodies and Holocaust death camps on his office television.”

Executive Director of News and Media Kent Best said in a statement to The Daily Campus, “SMU does not comment on pending litigation. The University stands by its personnel decisions and looks forward to resolving these claims in a court of law.”

The Daily Campus has reached out to Professor Halperin, but has not received a response.

The Dallas Morning News reported that as of Wednesday Halperin said he had not seen the lawsuit.

Former and current students said they were shocked by the allegations against Halperin, and wanted to find a way to show their solidarity for their professor.

Haeli Martin, who graduated in 2011 with a minor in human rights, said she created the Facebook group “We Love Rick Halperin” because “it is [her] sincere hope that those of us, who have been so blessed by his presence in our lives, can unite in solidarity to show our support for this amazing man.”

The effort to support Halperin, soon grew to an average of about 100 people per hour requesting to join the group.

“I have learned so much through the Embrey Human Rights program over the years,” Martin said. “But one of the most important things I took away from the program is to not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, and in this case there was only one option.”