College of the Desert student alleges professor used racial slur multiple times
A College of the Desert student used a class project as an opportunity to teach his teacher after he and other students were offended, saying the professor used a racial slur, the “n” word multiple times.
Maleek Eid posted his project to social media where it soon went viral with over a million views on Twitter.
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Eid and other students say they English professor, Laura Ahmed, a former candidate for Cathedral City Council, used the slur multiple times out of context.
“She said that you know back in the day they used to call people like this,” Eid recalled.
Freshman Amanda Wilkerson was a witness.
“She was referring to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ but that’s not like what we were going over. It was kinda like a random thing that was thrown out,” Wilkerson said.
Ahmed can be heard responding to the project saying, “Sometimes somebody’s got to shake you up,” and “I said the word because I wanted a response, I wanted someone to say that’s wrong to say that or I take offense to that.”
Eid didn’t want to go on camera but spoke exclusively with News Channel 3.
“I should have reported it in the first place but I’m really glad I turned it into a presentation because now it’s not just a report, it’s a lesson that’s been seen by 1.2 million people,” Eid said. “I always believe that, you know, if there’s a problem within the non-black community, we are more obligated than black people to come in and fix our own community.”
News Channel 3 reached out to Ahmed via phone and email. She referred to the campus’ public relations department.
We reached out to College of the Desert for a comment. The school sent a statement in response
“College of the Desert’s core values are based on inclusiveness and diversity in all forms, including academic freedom for both students and faculty. It is the policy of the Desert Community College District to recognize the importance of academic freedom in pursuit of academic excellence for both faculty and students. We embrace diversity in all forms and the right of all people to have access to quality higher education in a safe and respectful learning environment.”
–Pamela Hunter, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement
