Connect with us

U.S.

Indiana professor suspended for calling police on black student

Published

on

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

  • A university marketing professor was suspended from teaching after calling the police to escort a student from the classroom due to his refusal to change seats.
  • The suspension was regarded by the student, Sultan Benson, a ‘slap on the wrist’ who said he thinks he was mistreated because of his race.
  • According to faculty members who defended the professor, he was just following the code on student rights and responsibilities.

A white professor at Ball State University who reported his black student to the police for declining to switch seats in a January 21 classroom incident will be temporarily removed from teaching for the rest of the semester, according to a written statement from the school.

“The decision is in the best interest of Dr. Borna and the University,” wrote the statement on Thursday regarding the suspension.

Sultan “Mufasa” Benson, the student from Chicago who refused to move to another seat, deemed the teacher’s punishment as an insufficient ‘slap on the wrist’ adding that he believed he was targeted in class due to his race.

“I want justice, and a temporary leave for all of the policies he broke is still just the bare minimum.  But at least it’s a step forward in the right direction,” said Benson.

Known as a “by-the book” person, Borna, a marketing professor, was defended by 30 fellow faculty colleagues in a letter to the university’s student newspaper, The Daily News, saying he was just observing the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, Appendix Q: Responding to Disruption in the Academic Setting, based on his understanding.

The faculty is authorized to direct a student to temporarily leave a classroom if they are disruptive, a behavior that the code defines as that would “substantially or repeatedly interfere with the conduct of an academic setting.”

The code also includes that if the student refuses to leave, then the University Police should be notified and asked to remove the student from the academic setting.

Borna gave Benson a warning to either move or he will call the police. Benson said he left the classroom when two campus police officers arrived.

Shortly after the incident, over 100 faculty members signed a letter to the student newspaper slamming the ‘misuse of police’ in the classroom and denouncing the ‘institutional racism’ behind it.

The letter stated: “Our first concern is Borna’s rapid escalation of the situation and involvement of the police to resolve a disagreement about seating. No disruption or physical threat existed. The use of police to get one’s 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.”

In a news release, the NAACP also viewed Borna’s action as the latest case of insensitive behavior that yields frequently traumatic outcomes.

Advertisement

“Countless men and women throughout our nation have experienced discrimination, racial profiling, and over-policing at the hands of bigotry and intolerance,” wrote the NAACP in their statement.

Source: AOL.Com

Advertisement
9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Kater

    February 22, 2020 at 6:14 am

    I’d like to know why the professor wanted him to move. And why did the student refuse to move..

    • Lynn

      February 22, 2020 at 7:28 am

      That’s exactly what I was thinking.

  2. Bruce

    February 22, 2020 at 9:04 am

    Agreed. Now days you only get a biased view from a media trying to push their agenda. Fair and unbiased reporting is dead in the USA any more.

  3. Will

    February 22, 2020 at 10:08 am

    If the student was from Chicago, he was just following the Alinsky rules, and as Ball State is an elite school, he was probably in over his head on the academics, thus pointing to him just filling a quota, and was acting out because he was failing, thus, an excuse to blame the professor because he was/is “racist”!
    If you haven’t seen this before, you are living in a fantasy world.

    • Mark

      February 23, 2020 at 3:35 am

      Totally unfounded! Very poor reporting. There is not one statement that described the provocations leading to the professor wanting the student to change seat .

  4. Lynn

    February 22, 2020 at 4:11 pm

    I was wondering if the student was doing anything it would’ve required him to change seats. Talking during the lecture or something like that? From the sounds of it the professor just wanted him to move to another seat without a reason that I could pick out of the article. It seems a little strange at the least to me to ask somebody to move. I would’ve had an issue with that too as I try to set up toward the front of the classroom to be able to hear properly. I would be very interested to hear from the author of this article about the reason the professor asked him to move and what kind of conduct prompted it if any

  5. Doug Feldman

    February 22, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    Had the student been white and the student refused to moved his seat, and had the campus police been called, I doubt whether the professor would have been suspended or whether this would have even become an issue. So then is the student asking for preferential treatment for being black? Is the professor being penalized for being white? As a former professor, there were a few times that I should have called the campus police but did not do so. Looking back, I now realize that that was a mistake.

  6. Jo Ann Pullins

    February 22, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    Makes You Wonder What All Took Place In This Classroom Other Than Changing Of A Seat. For This Professor To Have To Call The Police In Then There Was More Going On Here. Personally I Think The Racist Word Is Used To Freely. It Seems To Be All They Know When They Don’t Get There Way. I Hope He Isn’t Just Trying To Wreck This Man’s Job For A Petty Complaint. You Can Be Sure That There Is More To The Story Than What The Media Is Printing.

    • Roy

      March 8, 2020 at 11:52 am

      My thoughts also. There is no mention of why the student was asked to change seats. Seems to me that this story was structured in a way to drive a preconceived narrative.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Crime

10-Year-Old Boy Drives Stolen SUV on Highway to Meet Mom [Video]

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • A 10-year-old boy in Michigan stole a 2017 Buick Encore in an attempt to drive to his mother in Detroit, leading to a brief interstate chase that was stopped with the help of OnStar, a vehicle security service.
  • The young driver, who is less than 5 feet tall, evaded police attempts to pull him over, and drove erratically across multiple lanes before the vehicle was disabled by OnStar.
  • After exiting the car, the boy tried to run but was eventually apprehended and taken to the Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center.

Cue the “Baby Driver” jokes, folks.

It appears we have a junior speed demon on our hands, one who is all revved up and ready for a new type of playdate.

A 10-year-old Michigan lad decided that stealing a car was the best way to meet up with his mom, sparking a highway chase that had more twists than a Hollywood action flick.

On the fateful day of May 27th, our mini motorist, measuring in at less than 5 feet tall, nicked a 2017 Buick Encore from Buena Vista, a township just about 35 miles north of Flint, according to a series of tweets from Michigan State Police.

His destination?

Advertisement

His mother, waiting some 100 miles away in Detroit.

Apparently, the allure of the family reunion was stronger than a potentially unattended Xbox.

Following a call from OnStar, the high-tech babysitter hidden within the Buick, Saginaw County Central Dispatch was tipped off that the Buick was zipping southbound on Interstate 75.

When troopers located the vehicle near the Birch Run exit and tried to pull it over, our little driver proved he wasn’t ready for nap time, refusing to hit the brakes.

Thanks to OnStar’s ingenuity, the authorities managed to disable the SUV, and what followed would have been perfect for a high-octane Pixar movie.

Witnesses reportedly saw the silver SUV swerving across three lanes, wobbling onto the shoulder, and kissing a guardrail hello before the police, with their sirens wailing, caught up.

Advertisement

But our pint-sized protagonist didn’t go quietly into that good night.

The boy bolted from the car before finally being caught, thus ending his daring adventure on a less than victorious note.

And where does a would-be underage wheelman wind up after such escapades?

The Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the police.

Advertisement

Let’s just hope he doesn’t get any ideas about hot-wiring any more cars in the meantime.

For now, we’ll chalk this up as one of the strangest episodes of “Kids Say (and Do) the Darndest Things” we’ve ever heard of.


Source

Continue Reading

U.S.

Man Sues Girlfriend Over Family Heirloom

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • A man from Illinois, known as John, is suing his ex-girlfriend after she sold his family’s prized 1972 Ford F100 pickup truck to a junkyard in an act of revenge following a disagreement.
  • After learning about the incident, John instantly broke up with her, filed a police report, and managed to retrieve his truck from the junkyard. The truck was sold for $400, significantly less than its estimated worth of $9,500.
  • Jasmin Hughes, an attorney specializing in administrative law and consumer protection, explained that John’s ex-girlfriend could face serious legal consequences, as she committed the tort of conversion by knowingly depriving John of his property. John could potentially recover damages including loss of wages and the cost to repair any damage to the truck.

A furious man named John from Illinois is literally taking his ex-girlfriend to the cleaners (or should we say the junkyard) for selling his family’s prized pickup truck to a scrapyard.

According to him, this wasn’t just a road rage incident, but a premeditated attempt to “hurt” him after an argument over their pet cats.

Yes, ladies and gents, we’re dealing with a cat-astrophic breakup here.

You see, this wasn’t just any old pickup truck.

This was a 1972 Ford F100, handed down through his family and kept in pristine condition.

John’s tale of car woe first appeared in a Reddit post titled “My girlfriend sold my car because of a petty argument. I am now suing her,” where he laid out the gritty details of the whole fiasco.

He recalls coming home from the bar one night to find the truck missing and his girlfriend confessing to her auto-atrocity.

The offending girlfriend had sold the truck to a junkyard for a measly 400 dollars, a far cry from its estimated worth of $9,500.

Advertisement

“When I got back home from the bar, I noticed the pickup wasn’t there. I asked her and she told me what she did. I instantly packed up my things, my cat, told her we were done and left,” John explained.

John, like many of us would, quickly broke up with her and has not spoken to her since.

He subsequently filed a police report, tracked down the truck at a local junkyard, and is now ready to gear up for legal action.

Jasmin Hughes, an attorney specializing in administrative law and consumer protection, clarified to Newsweek that John’s ex could be in some serious trouble.

“When someone knowingly takes property with the intention of depriving the owner, they have committed the tort of conversion,” she explained.

Even though the truck was returned, John may still be entitled to damages, potentially covering any loss of wages due to the incident, along with compensation for the damage to the truck, which now sports some unwanted scratch art.

Since this gasoline-infused saga hit Reddit, the post has garnered over 8,800 votes and hundreds of supportive comments cheering John on.

Moral of the story: don’t mess with a man, his cats, or his 1972 Ford F100, especially if you’re not ready for the legal road trip that could follow.

Advertisement

Source

Continue Reading

Business

For Sale: High School Listed as Single-Family Home in Oklahoma

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • An old high school in Burbank, Oklahoma, originally built in 1924, is listed for sale as a single-family home for a remarkably low price of $60,000.
  • The 17,408-square-foot property boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and even features an indoor basketball court, preserving its athletic heritage.
  • Prospective buyers have the opportunity to unleash their imagination and transform this historic building into their dream home or explore its potential as a unique commercial space.

In the realm of unusual real estate listings, a peculiar gem has emerged in the form of an old high school in Burbank, Oklahoma.

This historic 17,408-square-foot building, originally known as Burbank High School, has hit the market as a single-family home, listed for the surprisingly modest price of $60,000.

If you’ve ever dreamt of living in a quirky space with a rich history, this might just be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Constructed way back in 1924, this former educational institution has since transformed into a potentially unconventional living space.

The listing on Zillow proudly boasts of the property’s five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and, most intriguingly, an indoor basketball court.

Yes, you read that right—an indoor basketball court!

It seems the spirit of athleticism has lingered long after the school’s closure in 1968.

According to the real estate listing, the old high school presents a myriad of possibilities for its future owners.

Advertisement

“There is plenty of opportunity to make this property your own,” the listing gushes.

“The large lot size and open floor plan provide endless opportunities. With some imagination, this could be the perfect home for you.”

Imagine the creativity that could be unleashed within those spacious walls—a home theater, an artist’s studio, or perhaps even an eccentric museum of oddities.

Not limited to residential use, the realty firm behind the listing suggests that the versatile structure could easily be converted into a commercial space.

So, for those entrepreneurs out there seeking a distinctive building to house their business, this peculiar property might just be the answer to your offbeat aspirations.

Situated at 450 McCorkle Ave. in Burbank, OK, this extraordinary residence has been on the market since May 19, beckoning curious buyers to explore its unconventional charm.

The listing emphasizes that the property remains active on multiple listing services, ensuring its continued presence in the real estate spotlight.

If you’re looking for a conversation starter or a home that breaks the mold, this old high school turned single-family home is a rare find.

Advertisement

With its intriguing history, spacious rooms, and the potential for imaginative transformations, it holds the promise of a truly one-of-a-kind living experience.

So, if you’re in the market for a dash of quirkiness blended with an affordable price tag, this Oklahoma oddity might just be your dream come true.


Source

Continue Reading

Trending