Current Events > White Professor calls Police on Black Student. Anyone know the full story?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I saw this story and it was blatantly obvious that it was lacking in context. There was no context on why the student was asked to move and what led up to this situation. I thought it was just one article so I went researching and I can't find anything. I've been looking and reading for roughly 30 minutes and the articles are just copy/paste from another article. (I think it's from AP) I'm tired of searching and I was wondering if anyone had the full story and an article showing the full story. I'll post that copy/paste article at the bottom to get some context.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/professor-suspended-calling-police-black-student-69031558

A white professor at an Indiana university who called police to his classroom after a black student refused to change seats will not be teaching for the remainder of the semester, the school said in a written statement.
No formal charges or disciplinary action was immediately taken against Ball State University marketing professor Shaheen Borna and he continued to teach after the classroom incident Jan. 21, The Star Press reported, despite campus protests.
The decision is in the best interest of Dr. Borna and the University, the school said of his suspension in a statement Thursday.
The student from Chicago who declined to switch seats, Sultan Mufasa Benson, characterized the teacher's punishment as an insufficient slap on the wrist." Benson has said he believes he was singled out in class because of his race, and that he feared for his safety when police were called.
I want justice, and a temporary leave for all of the policies he broke is still just the bare minimum, he said. But at least it's a step forward in the right direction.
In a letter to the university's student newspaper, The Daily News, about 30 of Borna's fellow faculty members expressed support and urged those who don't know him not to judge him based on this one act, noting Borna is known as a by-the book person.
They said Borna chose to handle the classroom incident based on his understanding of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, Appendix Q: Responding to Disruption in the Academic Setting.
The code gives faculty the authority to instruct a student to temporarily leave a classroom if they are disruptive, which the code defines as any behavior a reasonable person would view as being likely to substantially or repeatedly interfere with the conduct of an academic setting.
If the student refuses to leave, University Police should be called and requested to remove the student from the academic setting, the code reads.
Benson was given an ultimatum to move or have the police called. When two officers arrived, Benson left the classroom.
More than 100 faculty members signed a letter to the student newspaper condemning the misuse of police in the classroom, calling out the institutional racism behind it, and telling you, our students, that we are with you.
"Our first concern is Bornas rapid escalation of the situation and involvement of the police to resolve a disagreement about seating," the letter said. No disruption or physical threat existed. The use of police to get ones way in the classroom is institutional violence. We support our students of color as they deal with the trauma of these events and navigate its fallout."
The NAACP was also outraged, calling Borna's decision an example of weaponizing the police against people of color impetuously.
"The actions taken by Professor Shaheen Borna are yet the latest example of thoughtless behavior that yields traumatic and frequently detrimental outcomes," the organization said in a news release. Countless men and women throughout our nation have experienced discrimination, racial profiling, and over-policing at the hands of bigotry and intolerance.

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Fuck that teacher. What if they had shot the student? All over a dumb seat

Zikten posted...

Fuck that teacher. What if they had shot the student? All over a dumb seat

I agree with that 100%. I just want all the facts.

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Sounds like a professor on a power trip unless the student was being disruptive, talking, etc. in their current seat and he was genuinely concerned for his class. My undergrad experience is almost a decade old at this point but I knew more professors that fit into the former category rather than the latter.

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I saw in the comments on a Yahoo article that explained what happened without a source. So take this how you will. If it's true then this guy is a piece of shit professor that should be fired on the spot.

The student came into the classroom and another student was sitting in his assigned seat. The professor told him to take a seat near the back of the classroom. There was an outlet near that seat so he sat down there and plugged in his laptop to charge it. Another seat near the front became available and the professor told him to move to that seat. He refused, saying he was charging his laptop. The professor told him he could either move or he would call the UPD (University Police). The student refused, so the UPD was called and the student then left the classroom. The professor has since apologized saying he should have handled it differently. The student said he was feared for his life when the police arrived and is now considering taking legal action. There. Now that you have the full details, you can decide who was at fault.

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If its the story im thinking about then its something like this.

Dude gets to class and someone is in his normal seat. Dude goes to a seat further back and starts taking notes on his laptop. Needs to charge his laptop luckily his seat is next to outlet. Either the original seat or another seat opens up near it. Prof asks dude to move, guy politely declines because he's charging his laptop. Teacher loses his shit and calls the police. Other students defend student

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DepreceV2 posted...

I thought it was just one article so I went researching and I can't find anything.

Googling his name produces a video of the event and this article.

https://heavy.com/news/2020/01/shaheen-borna/

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I like to wait for more details too but fuck that teacher

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I've never had assigned seats in college so far. Weird

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I thought professors are supposed to ignore two people whispering or texting on their phone or not paying attention because its whatever that persons money they are wasting. Ive never had assigned seats in a college class nor did the teacher care if you skipped every class

Assigned seats at university??

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Doe posted...

I've never had assigned seats in college so far. Weird

i did in community college for my GEs but that was still pretty rare

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L0Z posted...

I thought professors are supposed to ignore two people whispering or texting on their phone or not paying attention because its whatever that persons money they are wasting. Ive never had assigned seats in a college class nor did the teacher care if you skipped every class

Some professors still want people paying attention since people talking/being on their devices can distract those who are trying to pay attention to the lecture.

Don't really know why the professor got so mad about this, though.

Not to mention, professors don't want people coming to lecture that will be asking them things they literally put in the notes, and plus, worse students will lead to the program looking worse.

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WHITE professor calls police on BLACK student

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Pretty shitty reporting tbqh
But it sounds like the details do not support the teacher

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divot1338 posted...

Googling his name produces a video of the event and this article.

https://heavy.com/news/2020/01/shaheen-borna/

It looks even more absurd in the video


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The professor was being more distracting to the class than this student was