A recent incident at the University of Texas at San Antonio highlights the destructiveness of higher educators when they use their authority in the classroom as a tool to devalue, subjugate, and divide.
It all began on Monday afternoon when a student named Apurva Rawal tweeted video footage of campus police after they were called to escort a young Black woman out of a biology class.
The student’s “crime?” Propping up her feet onto a lecture hall chair in front of the professor.
“So this happened today in class, a girl had her feet up and the professor called the police after calling our class uncivil,” Rawal tweeted.
Rawal later went on to explain that he was outraged by the incident and wanted school officials to take accountability.
“The class before this professor went on a whole tirade about how uncivil we all were because a few students were on their phone or not paying attention, cutting lecture time for the rest of us because her ego was bruised,” he wrote.
“As upset as I am that my professor decided to throw a temper tantrum the lecture before an exam and cancel class, I’m even more outraged that she would decide to single out and humiliate a student just to flex her authority in a destructive manner. I chose to attend this university because of it’s welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, and today’s events genuinely make me concerned for not only my fellow students, but any future roadrunners that may choose to attend this institution in the future. @UTSA you need to answer for this, because I know we as a university are better than this,” he continued.
A Twitter user who goes by @FavoritePaigeee identified herself as the student who was escorted out after a call was placed by Professor Anita Moss.
“This is me in Anita Moss’ 2053 Bio classroom. Upon entering class I was told I needed to leave or would be escorted out by officers, I never disobeyed the student code of conduct. Not once. A police report is being filed atm, this is just the beginning. Thanks for your support,” she wrote.
She also thanked her classmates for standing up for her.
MadameNoire has reached out to the female student but has not yet received comment.
University officials have since responded to the video after several Twitter users weighed in on the optics. Provost Kimberly Andrews responded to the incident in a tweet on Monday.
UTSA president Taylor Eighmy released a statement obtained by News4SanAntonio promising a thorough investigation conducted by the school’s Office of Equal Opportunity Services.
“Beyond this particular incident, I am very much aware that the circumstance represents another example of the work we need to do as an institution around issues of inclusivity and supporting our students of color,” Eighmy’s statement read.
“This concerns me greatly, and it’s incumbent upon us as an institution to face this head-on. It’s something that we need to address immediately as a university community,” he continued.
No word on if the professor will face disciplinary action as the investigation is ongoing.
Twitter users had much more to say, weighing on respectability politics (needing to know the why, instead of just looking at the issue as absurd), and point blank, called the incident racially charged. Some also brought up the point about authority and whether or not the police were just doing their job, or improperly assessed whether the student posed an actual threat.
Does Professor Moss know there’s a hotline for people just like her?
File This Under Ridiculous: Black College Student Escorted Out Of A Biology Class Over Propping Up Her Feet
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