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A professor at George Washington University was banned from teaching a human rights course after infuriating students by describing his use of the n-word in a telephone conversation with a black colleague.
Professor Michael Stoil, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Washington DC and former CIA analyst, was removed from his class teaching position after students filed three reports of racial prejudice against him.
The 72-year-old didn’t repeat the insult in his class, but instead recalled saying the n-word during a conversation with a black vice-provost, who told him she’d had a “visceral” reaction when she said it. heard.
George Washington University has two female black vice-provosts, and the identity of the woman Stoil worked with has yet to be revealed.
An audio recording of a September class conversation featured Stoil telling his class how the school’s vice-provost was “shocked” by his use of the n-word in a phone call where they were. discussing his belief that the word should never be used.
“I used the N word, and she was shocked,” Stoil told his classroom, according to The Hatchet. She says, ‘Oh my god, I felt that viscerally. It ran right through me, you used the N-word.’ I said, ‘Don’t you listen to hip-hop? Don’t you listen to some of the street music? They use it all the time.”
‘Yes, but they are black people’, one student was heard to respond, while others agreed with me.
“Okay, I’m Eurasian,” Stoil said. ‘Where do I fit in? Can we use it too?’
“No,” students replied.
“You’re right, but the point is, I didn’t imagine she would feel pain from using the N word, simply because she didn’t know what color I was, by the way,” Stoil said. “This was on the phone. I don’t think I sound black. Does Barack Obama sound black?’
Professor Michael Stoil, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Washington DC and former CIA analyst, was removed from his class teaching position after students filed three reports of racial prejudice against him
GW junior Keheirra Wedderburn said her ‘hands were shaking’ during class discussion
Stoil has declined to comment on the comments, saying only that they were misunderstood and school officials instructed him not to discuss the situation.
In an email to the hatchethe also said he would be leaving GW at the end of this semester, saying the school was not offering him any support amid the controversy.
“The university is no place for a ‘color-blind’ humanist whose attempt to get students to think in terms of universal human rights has been so misinterpreted and has received so little support from university officials,” he said in an email.
“Contrary to what some students think, I am fully aware of the toxic reaction to the use of the ‘N-word’ and other ethnic and gender insults by all people,” Stoil continued. “I object to the use of the N-word in musical performances and poetry, regardless of the user’s identity, and I wish students would feel equally offended by its use under all circumstances.”
According to The Hatchet, the students were “shocked” by Stoil’s comments, and some even began to shorten his next classes.
“My hands were just shaking, like I really didn’t know how to react, what to say, what to do and I just felt alone,” said GW junior Keheirra Wedderburn. “I shouldn’t tell you about racism, because I’m experiencing it.”
Wedderburn, who is black, said Stoil had previously made her feel uncomfortable in class by asking her in front of all her classmates how long it took her to braid her hair.
A senior political science student, Katie Miller, said she was “disgusted” by Stoil’s comments in the lecture, and that the class didn’t know how to react after he made them.
“He said it like we would all agree with him,” she said. “As soon as he said it, you could hear a pin drop in class. Everyone was just in total shock. Even with masks on you could see that people’s faces were pure: ‘What just happened?”
Stoil was removed from office while teaching a human rights course after outraging students during a class discussion in which he defended his use of the n-word in a telephone conversation with the administration
Wedderburn, who is black, said Stoil had previously made her feel uncomfortable in class by asking her in front of all her classmates how long it took her to braid her hair.
One of the students who submitted a biased report, sophomore Samantha Lewis, said she confronted Stoil, but he didn’t seem to understand that people could be offended by his words.
“He had no idea what I was talking about, he had no idea,” Lewis said. “He was like, ‘What comments?’ And I was like ‘about your call with the provost.’ And he said ‘Oh,’ so I had to explain to him a little bit why people were uncomfortable and offended.”
Lewis said Stoil told her he saw “no problem” with using the n-word, and that it was a violation of his human rights to deny him its use. She added that Stoil had told her he would have “definitely” used the slur in class if it was “a few years ago.”
“No sympathy or self-reflection of ‘Oh damn, maybe I messed up, maybe this was the wrong comment for me to make,'” Lewis said.
The university has not commented on Stoil’s departure or how the bias complaints against him are being handled.
“GW is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our diverse community,” GW spokesperson Tom Pierce said in an email to The Hatchet. “We care deeply about our students’ classroom experience and are providing support, resources and updates directly to those affected by this incident.”