Professor Interrupts Class to Call Lesbian Student ‘Disgusting, Unnatural, Abnormal’

Posted by Kevin Farrell on Oct 17, 2011 in Oh Hell No! | 38 comments

Graduate student Christina Santiago pays too much money to be berated.

Eberly College of Business and Information Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s business department won’t be taking home any prestigious Teacher of the Year awards this year, following a homophobic mid-class meltdown by a professor who labeled a lesbian student “disgusting, unnatural and abnormal” while her classmates giggled on at the public humiliation.

The professor’s identity is being kept a secret by staff and a teacher’s union, but one would imagine not for long following this scathing interview by the student in question on a local CBS affiliate.

What’s the expression now… Hell hath no fury like a lesbian with access to social media scorned?

The professor went on to rail against the university’s voluntary diversity training, and got her homophobic soundbite wires crossed, foregoing the traditional “It’s Adam and EVE, not Adam and STEVE” for the much less punchy “Adam and Adam.” Way to phone in your hate, Prof.

Should the professor keep her job?

http://www.facebook.com/Hamilin89 Thomas David Hamilton

No it happened on school time and on campus. This teacher should be FIRED and loose his/her license to teach.

Anonymous

Professors often have no license to teach. They are often given the job merely because they have a master’s/ doctoral diploma.

Anonymous

There is no “merely” here. Your comment shows that you have no idea what you are talking about. Full time university teaching positions are very competitive and difficult to get, and tenure is a grueling process for professors. If this professor can’t put aside her personal prejudices to teach all of the students in her classes, I am sure there are plenty of qualified unemployed PhDs waiting to take her place. She should be fired.

http://www.facebook.com/adoall Amber DoAll LaChores Sawyer

Without knowing who the professor is do we know whether they are tenured or whether they are adjunct?

Anonymous

No we don’t know that about this specific professor. I was just responding the the comment that seemed to suggest that there are no requirements other than a PhD for teaching at the college level. I happen to know a little, however, because coincidentally my department chair’s daughter goes to IUP.

http://www.facebook.com/adoall Amber DoAll LaChores Sawyer

Some states and universities do require a teaching certification of some sort beyond a college degree.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Cody-Foret/100001450376798 Cody Foret

No she shouldn’t. If this happened at LSU where I am a student I would walk out of the class and demand that they refund my tuition so I could find a more tolerant school

Anonymous

I went to LSU. No offense, but good luck finding anyone who cares about anything excluding football, getting married, hunting, and drinking.

http://www.facebook.com/lancifer.m Lancifer Miller

And that is why we as Americans are allowed to protest and boycott. Make as much noise as you can. Backing down and allowing the status quo won’t help change anything. Make them care. If all the LGBT students pulled their funds the school would feel it.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Chreiya-Sonia-Zaari/100001967165977 Chreiya Sonia Zaari

No, just… no.

Fired, now… and shame on the rest of the students for laughing.
http://www.facebook.com/suzystabalot Emily O’Neill

I don’t think she should be fired. She should definitely be somehow punished (for lack of a better word coming into my head at the moment) by the administration for allowing her personal views to cause emotional distress to a student, especially in front of a classroom full of people. If she is getting paid to teach, she should teach that subject, and not go off on hateful tangents.
That being said, this article DOES NOT give you the full story. It makes it sound like the prof just stopped in the middle of a lecture an stared at Ms Santiago, suddenly yelling “You lesbians are disgusting, unnatural and abnormal creatures!” But if you click the link to the CBS news story, you get the full picture.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1347516922 Kiaunna Ledian Evrae

Seriously…… Even after seeing the interview….The Professor is STILL dead wrong!!

Should she lose her job….. You’re darn right she should!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/suzystabalot Emily O’Neill

The prof is definitely wrong, I never said she wasn’t. She did a terrible thing, alienated and harassed a student, and should be punished accordingly. However, people are not infallible and, despite the fact that this woman is obviously a bigot, she is not (to my knowledge) grading the papers or other work of LGBT students any harsher than that of straight students’ work.
Having not been in the classroom myself, I can’t tell you the circumstances – but there are times when you are having a discussion and you’re just dumb enough to say the wrong things because you’ve gotten a bit hot-headed. I’m not defending her decision, I just think there are much more offensive and awful things college (and high school) professors do that don’t get them fired.

http://www.facebook.com/adoall Amber DoAll LaChores Sawyer

I watched the interview- HOW SHOULD SHE BE ALLOWED TO KEEP HER JOB? She brought the subject of homosexuality up according to the interview! Yes someone brough up gender reassignment surgery but that has nothing to do with homosexuality or her OPINION of them. A student was asking a business question relating to people who are transgendered- not homosexual. The fact that she felt it right to do something that unprofessional AND CONTINUE IT when the student essentially called her out on it is completely disgusting!

Emily

Yeah, I don’t know, maybe it’s just cos I’m old, jaded, and come from a small town. Or because I’m constantly discriminated against for my mental illness, just FLAT OUT, even in the midst of talking about alcoholism, in an AA group, for people with co-occurring illness. My High School was a constant place of ridicule and torture for gay and “different” students. And my own mother has told me I’m going to hell, along with plenty of others. I guess I’ve become apathetic to things like this.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Joey-Mitchell/1406675470 Joey Mitchell

time for an uprising! If the investigation reveals truth to her claim and nothing is done about the teacher, all LGBTQ students and supporters need to storm the office and respectfully demand a refunded tuition!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001688569206 Lizzie Borden

I think they should refund the girl’s tuition for the semester!
Anonymous

She should get a full refund of tuition if she’s at a public college. If it’s private, good luck to her. Not that there’s anything wrong with private-school students, but private schools make their own rules.

I urge everyone strongly to read the fine print wherever you sign up to work, study, play or volunteer. There are many institutions that squash LGBTQ rights by simply leaving us out in their equal protection clauses.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Samie-Cordon/811199909 Samie Cordon

No. She shouldn’t keep her job. A teacher is supposed to keep their religious prejudices OUT of the classroom. That also stands for their political preferences. The classroom is for learning, not for the teacher to have a frigging meltdown and decide who is and who isn’t morally or ethically ‘right’.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1459216265 Amanda Rae Metcalf

As much as I hate what the teacher said, I believe she has the right to her own opinions. She should not have alienated students by expressing such hate-filled words at work though. It was unprofessional and discriminatory. She also should not have discussed her opinion about the VOLUNTARY tolerance program (that she so clearly needed) with her students because they paid for an education and not to be her therapists. She should definitely not be allowed to keep her job because she is incapable of doing it properly. If the teacher doesn’t get fired, Christina Santiago should be given a settlement equal to a refund and a full scholarship to another school because she clearly can not attend school where she may need a class taught by this woman again as that could be unsafe and not conducive to learning.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Melissa-Maynard/100000275212383 Melissa Maynard

Sure she has the right to her own opinions, we all know that. It’s the fact that she degraded a student and harassed her in front of the class that is crossing the line.
http://www.facebook.com/adoall Amber DoAll LaChores Sawyer

No one is arguing that she does not have a right to her own opinion just like everyone else. That is why she can vote for people who believe as she does or donate money to “Pray the Gay Away” groups.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000001175384 Cyn McCollum

Fire her. The litmus test is to replace the word gay with a race. This whole issue was already debated in the 60s regarding interracial marriage and the same disgusting group of ignorant jerks were the haters then, one generation removed. And the student should bring a civil suit against the instructor and the school.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Erica-Cook/100000628613592 Erica Cook

*cough* lawsuit
http://www.facebook.com/XwhyterabbitX Anthony Powers

sue the prof, sue the school, sue the damn teacher’s union for protecting the identity of the hate-filled breeder.

Anonymous

In all fairness to the union, I am sure they are following standard procedure of due process in not revealing her identity. I don’t think lawsuits are necessary here. Yes, the professor should be fired. what disturbs me is that the other students laughed along. Sounds like the whole campus needs some sensitivity training. No student should be berated in a classroom for any reason. That is one of the most unprofessional things a teacher can do.

http://www.facebook.com/michaelrcooke Michael Cooke

I would suggest that the rant in question, because it is unrelated to the subject matter meant to be taught is grounds for censure. Grounds for dismissal would be a function on if the school has anti discriminatory standards prohibiting harassment of a student for reasons of minority status, if so, the teacher should be fired. If not, the entire school should be exposed as anti-gay and be demon9zed as such publicly.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Melissa-Maynard/100000275212383 Melissa Maynard

Regardless of what might have sparked that professor’s outburst she needs to at least be reprimanded and/or suspended. There’s only one problem- if that professor is tenured I’m not sure they can fire her, or am I wrong? I actually hope I’m wrong to be honest.

http://www.facebook.com/adoall Amber DoAll LaChores Sawyer

At most universities if someone is tenured they can be fired if they violate university policy. So I attend the University of Alaska Anchorage where we now have a discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation. So if a tenured professor did that here they would be violating one of the policies they have to follow as a professor, therefore violating their contract which would then make them eligible for termination.

http://twitter.com/BlueScorpioMoon Jennifer

There’s a second link on that page that goes to a story about similar allegations from a former student as well, so it’s not the first time this professor has done something like this. Of course she should be fired. What this woman did was incredibly unprofessional. I would assume that this university, like most, has a policy that is designed to protect individuals from this kind of attack. Her personal opinions on anything other than the topic she’s teaching have no place in a classroom.
I’m a biology professor. The classroom does not work if there is no sense of mutual respect. In a group of people that size, there will be differences of opinion and people who don’t like each other. Sometimes, the prof doesn’t like a particular student, for whatever reason, but as a professional, we are required to put that aside and do our job. Part of that job is to make sure everyone checks their issues at the door – me included – so that everyone can study in a safe environment conducive to learning. The fact that the prof, in this case, is the one making the environment hostile towards her own student is reprehensible.
http://www.facebook.com/lovnlife1983 Chiquita OnlyVictoryknw Collin

She should lose her job. It’s one thing to be honest and engage in an open debate but when the professor has enough balls to say something that belittles someone else (a student) that is too much. It couldn’t have been me I’m an adult like the professor. First let me get my money from the school then let me see her after school…u get what I’m saying!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3LT467BG5UOO74MYVNKJPXWLPU Kevan

She should absolutely be fired. No teacher should ever single out any student to try to humiliate. Of course there is nothing humiliating about being gay; however, when you’re young and figuring yourself out, having this sort of pressure is destructive, not constructive (which teachers should be). This teacher is “disgusting, unnatural and abnormal.”
Pingback: Lesbian-Bashing PA Prof Also Condemned Gay Student to Burn In Hell | Gay Blog | Gay News
http://www.facebook.com/LiLmissMiStI24 Michele A. Gerrior

Most definently NOT! This professor is very obviously UN proffessional and bigoted. Not a good mix to be a teacher of any kind!!!
http://www.facebook.com/LiLmissMiStI24 Michele A. Gerrior

No she definently should NOT! This professor is very UNprofessional and obviously bigoted. Someone like this should not be allowed to teach anything, anywhere. She’s simply Not Qualified!!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kaitlin-Kat-Druyor/100000169447268 Kaitlin Kat Druyor

Sentence of Cliches: There is a time and a place for everything, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I don’t think that a collage class room is the place to voice your opinions about a students sexual preferences… especially to call someone “Disgusting” and “Abnormal” in a professional setting like that. But to answer the question, No, I don’t think the professor should keep her job. She’s supposed to be -teaching- not ranting her own personal beliefs.
http://www.facebook.com/brad.shreve Brad Shreve

No, she should not keep her job. If she had used her disgusting mouth to make similar comments about someone of another race, there would be no discussion here.
Samantha Lawrence

I’m so glad we don’t have this problem here at UNT. I can’t imagine how I would feel if my professor said those things to the class. That is absolutely ridiculous for a professor to single out that student in front of the whole class for nothing more than being a lesbian.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kynthia-Alice/100001009247368 Kynthia Alice

This instructor should be identified and pilloried in the press. I mean, as long as they are going to use an antiquated attitude (homophobia and derision to cure one from being such) they may as well face an antiquated form of punishment.

But I wouldn’t worry too much for this professor, they can get a job at Brigham Young or maybe replace That idiot at Penn State.

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