A dust up between an adjunct professor at Cypress College and a student made national news this week as a professor apparently reacted harshly to a student’s depiction of police as “heroes.”
The video, which has since been circulated widely and reported on by national and international media, has also left an unidentified professor who ridiculed a 19-year-old student for calling cops “heroes” on leave.
Cypress College spokesperson Marc S. Posner has since issued a statement saying the professor, unnamed in the statement is gone and apparently not coming back in the Fall.
“The adjunct professor will be taking a leave of absence for the duration of her assignment at Cypress College. This was her first course at Cypress and she had previously indicated her intention to not return in the Fall,” said Posner.
The argument erupted when 19-year-old freshman business student named Braden Ellis called police “heroes” during his Zoom presentation.
“I think cops are heroes,” says Ellis in the circulated video to which the professor replies, “All of them?”
The professor could then be heard saying: “Yet, a lot of police officers have committed an atrocious crime and have gotten away with it and have never been convicted of any of it.”
Ellis responded: “This is what I believe. I do support our police. We have bad people, and the people that do bad things should be brought to justice. I agree with that.”
The professor then interrupted, saying: “So what is your bottom-line point?
“You’re saying police officers should be revered, viewed as heroes? They belong on TV shows with children?”
The academic countered that police were created in the South to track down runaway slaves and that its core tenets are made of systemic racism.
Ellis asked her if she would call the police if someone broke into her home and was armed with a knife or a gun.
“I wouldn’t call the police,” she said. “My life’s more in danger in their presence. I wouldn’t call anybody.”
Ellis said he believes in supporting the police, but those who commit crimes need to be held accountable
According to Posner, officials at Cypress College are “reviewing the full recording of the exchange between the adjunct professor and the student and will address it fully in the coming days.”
“Any efforts to suppress free and respectful expression on our campus will not be tolerated,” he said in the statement.
“Cypress College takes great pride in fostering a learning environment for students where ideas and opinions are exchanged as a vital piece of the educational journey. Our community fully embraces this culture; students often defend one another’s rights to express themselves freely, even when opinions differ,” he said.