Student Who Complained About WPU Prof: 'I Don't Trust University'

WAYNE, NJ — A William Paterson University student said she did not file a formal complaint against a professor who has come under fire for allegedly uttering anti-Semitic and other controversial statements in classes recently because she knew nothing would come of it.

"I did not file a formal complaint because I knew it would just be a formality," said Bethany Koval, who recorded professor Clyde Magarelli stating in a sociology class that the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany, was not a terrorist force for the majority of its existence. "I'm disappointed in the university for protecting him for so many decades. I don't trust the university."

Koval, an American Jew, recorded several videos of Magarelli stating other controversial remarks and posted the videos on Twitter. Magarelli claimed that having an abortion performed causes post-traumatic stress disorder, that Native Americans are not indigenous to the United States, and that landing someone on the moon is impossible.

Koval confronted Magarelli on his statements and wrote an email to Dr. Jacob Felson, the acting chairperson of the university's Sociology Department. He told her she could file a formal complaint. In her email to Felson, Koval also reported that Magarelli said that "transgenderism as a mental illness."

Another student filed a formal complaint with the university last year regarding Magarelli, Koval said, but that student had to sign a confidentiality agreement and nothing ever became of the complaint anyway.

The complaint last year stemmed from Magarelli handing students a document that allegedly low balled the number of deaths in Nazi concentration camps, stating the "theme of 6 million concentration camp deaths... a theme of between 700,000 and 800,000 appears more realistic," according to The Jewish Standard. Six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

Magarelli is an associate professor who teaches five classes at William Paterson, including Social Problems and Sociology of War, his university faculty profile states.

Koval confronted Magarelli about some of his statements after a class, but she he "totally dismissed" her question and moved on to a different topic. Koval got a "C" in the class, much lower than the "A" she received in the other sociology class she took.

University spokesperson Marybeth Zeman previously stated that the matter is being reviewed.

Koval has used the social media platform in the past to draw attention to another situation she was in while a student at Fair Lawn High School.

She was reprimanded by district officials last year regarding a then-fellow classmate who unfollowed her on Twitter after she allegedly posted an anti-Israel tweet. She posted extensively about the district's response to the matter and received worldwide support on the matter.

"I've noticed that social media is an effective way of reaching people," Koval said. "I'm hoping the masses will respond and condemn Holocaust denial, among other conspiracies."

Related:

• Willie P Reviewing Professor's Alleged Anti-Semitic Remarks
• Fair Lawn Student: 'I Was Reprimanded Over Anti-Israel Tweets'
• Free Speech Group: Fair Lawn Teen Deserves an Apology
• Worldwide Support For Fair Lawn Teen After Anti-Israel Tweets

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: The William Paterson University campus (William Paterson University)