Professor Under Fire For Using Racial Slur In Princeton U. Class

PRINCET0N, NJ — A visual arts professor at Princeton University has come under fire after students said he used the n-word in class. Students have asked the University to cancel his class and allow them to complete the course without interacting with him.

However, Princeton University has stood by Prof. Joe Scanlan saying the incident fell under their policy of academic free speech.

On Nov. 3, Scanlan used the n-word during the “Words as Objects” course, according to an article by The Daily Princetonian. Scanlan used the word while discussing Black poet Jonah Mixon-Webster’s poetic anthology “Stereo(TYPE).”

A lengthy poem in the collection runs for almost 20 pages and consists entirely of one word, the n-word, repeated over and over.

The story was first reported by the campus newspaper on Nov. 11, when student Omar Farah wrote an op-ed questioning Scanlan’s use of the word.

According to Farah’s account, Scanlan used the slur while discussing the poem.

“For the first 10 to 15 minutes, the class was filled with long pauses, unsure voices, and timid arguments. Instead of tactfully responding to the class climate and empathetically guiding us through the difficult material, Scanlan decided to exacerbate the situation,” Farah wrote. “About 15 minutes into the discussion, Scanlan posed a question that included a piercing and unmistakable 'n-a.' He was not directly quoting the text.”

Farah said he and other students questioned the use of the word and then left the classroom. The following day, Farah filed a complaint with the University.

The student also went on to criticize Scanlan’s “flippant body language, his unwillingness to drop the subject upon clear student distress, and his history of deeply offensive behavior.”

Scanlan emailed his class three days later and “profoundly apologized” for the way he went about making his “intellectual” point, the report said.

He told the campus newspaper he disagreed with the characterization. He said he was citing Mixton-Webster’s "Black Existentialism no. 8: Ad infinitum; Ad Naseum.”

In an email to Patch on Monday, Scanlan, a tenured professor said: “I admire the students' for their actions and having the courage to speak their minds, even if I don’t agree with them in principle."

The University conducted an assessment of the incident and said Scanlan did not violate any policy.

"Princeton guarantees all faculty and students the “broadest possible latitude” to speak freely inside and outside the classroom. Speech is only restricted under narrow exceptions that do not apply to this incident,” Director of Media Relations, Michael Hotchkiss told Patch in an email.

“Our rules recognize that these free speech protections apply to words and ideas that people may find “offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed,” but these protections are essential for Princeton’s truth-seeking mission.”

Farah went on to criticize the University for not taking action. “The Princeton pedagogy seems to prioritize white professors’ interest in racial provocation over the well-being of its Black students. The University’s conduct is indefensible, and my community will not accept this continued indignity. It ends now,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Scanlan told Patch he was working with the department to figure “out a way for me to bring on a co-teacher,” so students can work with the instructor instead of him.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com