Feet Up, Get Out!
On Monday, a video of a student at theUniversity of Texas at San Antonio getting kicked out of class went viral. It went viral because a white teacher called the university police on a black student for having her feet up.
Students in the class confirmed that on Monday the student — who identified herself on Twitter as Paige — and the teacher Amita Moss had a small confrontation. Moss asked Paige to put her feet down and Paige complied, but Moss still ended class early.
On Friday Moss came to class armed with the student guidelines to hand out to the entire class.
Moss asked Paige to leave because she was dropping her from the class, and when Paige refused to leave — stating she had done nothing wrong — Moss said she had emailed her asking to meet. However, it would seem Moss emailed another student by mistake. Moss threatened to call the police.
When Moss didn’t receive the reaction she wanted, she followed through on her threat and called campus police to have Paige escorted from the class.
Students in the class confirmed that Moss was both the instigator and escalator.
Since the video has gone viral Moss has since been removed from teaching and Paige took to Twitter.
This is me in Anita Moss’ 2053 Bio classroom. Upon entering class I was told I needed to leave or would be escorted out by officers, I never disobeyed the student code of conduct. Not once. A police report is being filed atm, this is just the beginning. Thanks for your support! https://t.co/YUZGmwgFa7
— pistachio 🎓 (@FavoritePaigeee) November 12, 2018
This scary and embarrassing situation had a happy outcome: Moss is done teaching she will be able to return for the Spring 2019 semester after a class management seminar, according to a statement from the university.
“Beyond this particular incident, I am very much aware that the circumstance represents another example of the work we need to do as an institution around issues of inclusivity and supporting our students of color,”Taylor Eighmy, the school’s president said in a statement. “This concerns me greatly, and it’s incumbent upon us as an institution to face this head-on. It’s something that we need to address immediately as a university community.”
