A student at Orange Coast College has been suspended for a semester after recording his professor claiming that Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election was “an act of terrorism.”
Student Caleb O’Neil was accused of violating the school’s student code of conduct, which explicitly states that students aren’t to record instructors without their permission.
The schools’ Interim Dean of Students claimed that O’Neil’s unauthorized recording of his professor, Olga Pere Stable-Cox, was a serious violation of the school’s conduct code.
“Unauthorized recording is a serious violation of the Student Code of Conduct,” Lugo wrote. “This is clearly stated in the instructor’s course syllabus in addition to the student code of conduct. When we spoke, you stated that you felt badly about the things that had happened to individuals as a result of this incident. It is my hope that this experience will lead you to truly think through your actions and the consequences of those actions when making decisions in the future. As we discussed, the conduct process is part of the overall college learning process and I do believe that valuable lessons have been gained from this experience.”
O’Neil’s attorney argued that the student was in fear that he wouldn’t be treated fairly in the classroom after the instructor went on a tirade about President Trump having bigoted views.
“He was in fear of retaliation by his instructor after she launched into a half-hour rant in which she labeled Trump a ‘white supremacist’ and told the class she would no longer tolerate any person who voted for Trump,” he argued. “O’Neil videotaped the rant over concerns that his grade might be lowered for the class because of his outward show of support for Trump. He intended to use the video to present to the administration as evidence of his concerns.”
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