A California college professor who called President Trump’s election win an “act of terrorism” during class was nominated to become “faculty member of the year,” Campus Reform reported.
A panel of school administrators are in charge of selecting the professor for the award, which gives the chosen faculty member a chance to speak at Orange Coast College’s commencement ceremony.
The professor in question, Olga Perez Stable-Cox, declined the award for an unspecified reason, according to Doug Bennet, executive director of college advancement at OCC.
Even though Cox turned down the award, some people at the school think the faculty’s decision to nominate her was wrong in the first place, given what she said last semester.
“The fact that the faculty chose professor Cox for the faculty member of the year award speaks volumes to how blind they are about what she did last semester,” said Joshua Recalde-Martinez, president-emeritus of OCC’s College Republicans group.
On Saturday, campus police discovered graffiti targeting the OCC College Republicans and Recalde-Martinez.
“Doxx Joshua Martinez OCC Young Republicans = Fascists,” one graffiti message read, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Recalde-Martinez says that Cox probably did not accept the nomination because of these recent events.
“She understood the impact that accepting the nomination could have on the campus climate, and that is why she refused,” Recalde-Martinez said.
Recalde-Martinez’s group is the same group responsible for posting the video of Cox’s comments on Facebook.
In her comments, Cox blamed the Electoral College for Trump’s win and and said that the “act of terrorism” was committed by someone “among us.”
“It’s an act of terrorism. One of the most frightening things for me, and most people in my life, is that the people committing the assault are among us,” Cox said.
The college recently rescinded the suspension of the student who recorded Cox in class.