A professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio is out of the classroom for the rest of the semester as the university investigates a video of her calling the police on a black student–because the student had her feet up on a chair during class.
The video, which went viral this week, shows #UTSA police officers talking to professor #AnitaMoss, and then escorting the student out of the classroom without incident, according to @thegrio. The student is compliant and does not resist the officers’ commands in the video.
A student in the class, Apurva Rawal, captured the incident on his phone and posted it on #Twitter. Rawal said that the student involved was not being disruptive. “So this happened today in class, a girl had her feet up and the professor called the police after calling our class uncivil,” he wrote in the caption for the video.
He added, “This professor stopped class entirely and stepped out to call the police just because one student had her feet up on a seat in front of her. Mind you she wasn’t talking or interrupting lecture.”
The student being escorted out of the class responded to Rawal’s tweets and thanked everyone for their support.
Her tweet read, “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.”
The viral nature of the incident prompted university officials to respond.
“COS interim Dean Howard Grimes and I both are aware of the video that was taken in a biology classroom earlier today. Creating a classroom environment that is conducive to learning is our priority, so we too are concerned and will respond accordingly when we learn more,” said the university’s provost in a statement.
The professor was ultimately suspended for the rest of the semester and the student was allowed back to class and offered support services. The university president said the investigation is expected to be completed by next week and a decision will be made from there.
We’ll keep you updated on this one, #Roommates!
TSR STAFF: Christina C! @cdelafresh
