Orange Coast College student Caleb O’Neil was suspended after he secretly video-recorded his professor’s rant on President Trump, according to The Los Angeles Times.
O’Neil recorded his professor Olga Perez Stable Cox in December calling the president’s election an “act of terrorism.” O’Neil had sent the video to the college’s Republican group to share, after which it went viral online, The Daily Mail reports.
“I pulled my phone out to record it because I was honestly scared that it would affect my grades because she knew I was a Trump supporter,” O’Neil said at a press conference Wednesday.
Cox, who is gay, referred to Trump as a “white supremacist” and to Pence as “one of the most anti-gay humans in this country” in the video.
The college claimed O’Neil had violated their district policy, the L.A. Times reports. The school plans to suspend him for one semester, and he has to write an apology to the professor and an essay explaining why he chose to film the class.
According to his attorney William Becker of Freedom X law firm, O’Neil has appealed the decision. A notice of appeal on Freedom X’s website states that “the sanctions imposed on Caleb are both excessive and discriminatory.”
Students across campus and nationwide have shared their opinions on the issue. Some rally behind O’Neil’s choice to share the video, while others think he should have addressed his concerns to the professor directly instead of recording the lecture without permission.
Until an official decision on the appeal is made, O’Neil will be allowed to continue attending classes.