Just when you thought you were done hearing about racism at universities, turns out ignorance is striking a little closer to College Park this time.
UC San Diego may be ablaze with controversy over students hanging nooses in the library and fraternities hosting “Compton Cookouts,” but Towson University fired a professor after he made a racist comment during class.
Professional artist Allen Zaruba, who is an adjunct professor at the university, compared his rights and situation as an adjunct to “a n***** on the corporate plantation.”
Adjunct Professor Allen Zaruba
A student reported him after the class and Zaruba was fired over the phone. Though Zaruba apologized, he said his recent unemployment only proves his point that adjuncts get few employment rights.
“I just finished talking to a lawyer,” Zaruba said. “I have no ability to appeal anything.”
Some students in his class, however, told Towson’s student newspaper, The Towerlight, that Zaruba, was honest and blunt in his language, something they did not have a problem with.
“He used the word to illustrate a point. He wasn’t trying to offend anyone. And obviously … we were understanding,” Maria Bernier, a sophomore studio art major said “And going into our class, you kind of should expect some level of shockingness and, you know, in your face [content].”
The kicker? Zaruba says his stepfather was black, a man he “loved dearly”.
“I am not a racist,” he said. “I never have been. I’ve been raised overseas and in other cultures. It just absolutely kills me.”