University of Texas at San Antonio officials are investigating a video showing a student being escorted out of a classroom by police, according to My San Antonio. The video went viral claiming that the professor called the class “uncivil” before having a student, a young black woman, removed from the class by campus police because her feet were up.
So this happened today in class, a girl had her feet up and the professor called the police after calling our class uncivil ? pic.twitter.com/spq0ShXiFU
— Apurva Rawal (@ApurvaYRawal) November 12, 2018
Apurva Rawal, who tweeted the viral video, clarified that, “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.”
The university officials said that they were concerned with the video and would be looking further into the incident. In an email to My San Antonio, Chief Communications Officer Joe Izbrand said “We are aware of this situation and are working closely with the student and Department of Biology to better understand what happened today.”
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! https://t.co/YUZGmwgFa7
— pistachio ?? (@FavoritePaigeee) November 12, 2018
Since going viral, Twitter user @FavoritePaigeee identified herself as the young woman in the video. She called out professor Anita Moss for the actions and said that a police report has been filed. In the tweet, this student also said that she has “never disobeyed the student code of conduct” and that the police report is “just the beginning.”
News 4 San Antonio shared a statement by the university’s president, Taylor Eighmy, that clarified the Interim Dean of the College of Sciences Howard Grimes and the Office of Equal Opportunity Services are both looking into the issue and this incident “represents another example of the work we need to do as an institution around issues of inclusivity and supporting our students of color.”