Posted on January 22, 2021

Florida College to Fire Professor Accused of ‘Racist’ Tweets

Joshua Rhett Miller, New York Post, January 14, 2021

A Florida college is seeking to fire a professor whose controversial tweets — including one claiming “black privilege is real” – led to widespread calls for his termination as protests raged in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

An investigation by the University of Central Florida determined that associate psychology professor Charles Negy created a “hostile” classroom environment and tried to deter students from filing complaints, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

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“None of the findings in the investigation are a result of Dr. Negy’s comments on Twitter, which are protected as free expression, or comments in the classroom that were the subject of some students’ complaints but that the university determined were protected by academic freedom,” a university spokesman wrote the newspaper in an email.

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Calls for Negy’s ouster came after two controversial tweets a day earlier, including one claiming “black privilege is real” and another comparing African Americans and Asian Americans.

“Sincere question: If Afr. Americans as a group, had the same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming ‘systemic racism’ exists?”

But the outcome of UCF’s investigation was “predetermined,” an attorney for Negy told The Post.

“This pretextual, defamatory investigative report is the latest chapter in UCF’s effort to ruin Dr. Negy — a man with a distinguished 22-year teaching career — because he has become politically inconvenient,” attorney Samantha Harris said in a statement. {snip}