Professor shouts ‘f*** your life!’ at conservative student during class; college is investigating
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A New Jersey college professor shouted “f*** your life!” at a politically conservative student during a class last week — an incident that was caught on cellphone video — and now Brookdale Community College in Lincroft is investigating, NJ.com reported.
Professor Howard Finkelstein got upset with his student, Christopher Lyle, during a sociology class discussion last Wednesday, shouted “f*** your life!” at Lyle and pounded his hand on a table, the outlet reported.
Lyle told NJ.com he had insisted in class that men and women can be victims of sexual harassment, and then Finkelstein’s outburst followed. Lyle — who identifies as conservative — added to the outlet that it was one of many times he and the professor disagreed this semester.
“I am being discriminated against at my school because of my beliefs,” Lyle, 23, told NJ.com. “It’s a shame.”
Finkelstein, a longtime community college teacher and counselor, didn’t respond to requests for comment, the outlet reported, adding that college spokeswoman Avis McMillon said the school can’t comment until its investigation is over.
What else did Lyle say?
Lyle added to NJ.com that Finkelstein has frequently dismissed and disrespected his conservative views — noting that they’re “the reason America is not great” — regularly tells him to “shut up” and has criticized him for owning a gun.
What did another student say?
A different student, Joey Smith, shot the video and told the outlet that Finkelstein’s class often consists of lectures directed specifically at Lyle. And while Smith told NJ.com he doesn’t always agree with Lyle’s views, he noted that he doesn’t believe a teacher should ask students to share personal views only to castigate them.
In fact, Smith told the outlet he recorded last week’s class so he could show friends why he hates Finkelstein’s course.
“He is basically just lecturing this one student for the whole period,” Smith, 26, told NJ.com. “We are sitting there, and he is speaking directly to Chris, going back and forth about personal thoughts.”
What happened to Lyle after the professor’s outburst?
Lyle added to the outlet that a college official pulled him out of another class the day after Finkelstein’s outburst and said he knows Lyle is a gun owner and wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to hurt anyone.
Lyle chalked up the second incident as more discrimination against him, NJ.com reported.
Brookdale Community College had this response, the outlet reported: “It is in the best interest of all members of our community for the college to do its due diligence when a student or employee mentions firearms during the process of an investigation. The matter concerning the student’s statements about firearms has been investigated and the incident is closed.”
How is Lyle responding?
At first Lyle wasn’t going to return to Finkelstein’s class, NJ.com said, but after further reflection he decided to go back to make sure his voice is heard.
“I have to stand up for myself and my beliefs,” he told the outlet. “I pay money to learn. I don’t pay money to get lectured on my beliefs.”
(H/T: Campus Reform)
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