Victoria Silman | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: A video posted to Instagram shows the incident. | Fatema Ali
On October 2, a video was posted to the Instagram account, 6ixbuzztv, depicting an incident of racism in a classroom on campus. The incident occurred on October 1 in a Psychology 1010 classroom at approximately 5:45 p.m. in the Lassonde building, according to Professor Gerald Goldberg.
As Goldberg explains, an unidentified female student had called out an unidentified male student for talking during lecture. In doing so, the classroom applauded the female student. “When that applause died down,” Goldberg explains, “she then continued stating that she was offended that he had used the ‘N’ word several times, including saying things like: ‘Shut up N—.’”
The video, which does not depict the beginning of the interaction, shows the female student standing in the lecture hall while Goldberg intervenes in the incident. He is heard asking the student to “go away,” while the rest of the crowd cheers in unison.
“I saw a very courageous woman stand up and defend herself. I was certainly taken aback by the incident as I have never in my decades of teaching had such an experience,” he says.
The student who filmed the incident wishes to remain anonymous, however, regarding the incident, they explain: “I’m ecstatic she stood up for herself and did not let it slide. I’m also happy that my professor asked him to leave the lecture because his words were unacceptable. If he were to stay, that would imply that what he said was alright.
“I was glad to see the entire class clap and acknowledge that what he had said was inappropriate and should never go without major consequences.”
The anonymous student also comments on the fact that these incidents are not a common issue on campus. “This is the first instance on campus where I have witnessed someone using the ‘N’ word. I haven’t witnessed any other racist interactions,” they say.
The video has sparked a large response from the Instagram community, with close to 1,000 comments and approximately 260,000 views—a response the student who submitted it was hoping to garner. Comments range from the usage of the word, to commending the professor in his steadfast response, crushing racism in his classroom.
Explaining why they decided to send the video to 6ixbuzztv, the anonymous student remarks: “I recorded the video to see the outcome and what we can learn from it. I hope people learn that their racist words and actions will not be tolerated—especially at York, which is located in one of the most multicultural cities in the world.”
At the time of publication, York Media could not be reached for comment.
