A vile and racist online post by a University of Pennsylvania teaching assistant landed her in hot water after she calls on black women and people of color in class ahead of white people. The discriminatory practice by a liberal educator has sparked calls for her removal.
Stephanie McKellop, a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant for a history class titled "Sinners, Sex and Slaves: Race and Sex in Early America," posted 16 October on her personal Twitter account that "I will always call on my Black women students first. Other POC get second tier priority. WW come next. And, if I have to, white men."
McKellop’s Twitter account has since been set to private, but numerous news outlets, including The Daily Pennsylvanian, have posted screenshots of her tweet.
In later posts, according to the screenshots, McKellop tried to defend unsuccessfully her strategy by saying that she "intended to redress a lack of opportunities for non-whites to speak up in normal life as an undergraduate student from a professor."
The posts sparked an almost immediate backlash, with thousands appropriately accusing McKellop of racial discrimination, while others failed to support her position.
Steven Fluharty, the dean of UPenn’s School of Arts and Sciences, issued that response in a written statement, but while he acknowledged that the school would be "looking into the current matter," he has yet to confirm that McKellop has already been removed from the PhD program.
"The university’s policies prohibiting discrimination are intended to reinforce our commitment to equity and inclusion," Fluharty wrote, noting that the school recognizes "the importance of ensuring that students in groups that were historically marginalized have full opportunity to participate in classroom discussions."
"We are looking into the current matter involving a graduate-student teaching assistant to ensure that our students were not subjected to discriminatory practices in the classroom and to ensure that all of our students feel heard and equally engaged," he continued.
While she yet to be officially removed from the program, McKellop insists she was prevented from teaching the remainder of the semester after students cancelled their classes with the very discriminatory teaching assistant.
Stephanie McKellop, a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant for a history class titled "Sinners, Sex and Slaves: Race and Sex in Early America," posted 16 October on her personal Twitter account that "I will always call on my Black women students first. Other POC get second tier priority. WW come next. And, if I have to, white men."
McKellop’s Twitter account has since been set to private, but numerous news outlets, including The Daily Pennsylvanian, have posted screenshots of her tweet.
In later posts, according to the screenshots, McKellop tried to defend unsuccessfully her strategy by saying that she "intended to redress a lack of opportunities for non-whites to speak up in normal life as an undergraduate student from a professor."
The posts sparked an almost immediate backlash, with thousands appropriately accusing McKellop of racial discrimination, while others failed to support her position.
Steven Fluharty, the dean of UPenn’s School of Arts and Sciences, issued that response in a written statement, but while he acknowledged that the school would be "looking into the current matter," he has yet to confirm that McKellop has already been removed from the PhD program.
"The university’s policies prohibiting discrimination are intended to reinforce our commitment to equity and inclusion," Fluharty wrote, noting that the school recognizes "the importance of ensuring that students in groups that were historically marginalized have full opportunity to participate in classroom discussions."
"We are looking into the current matter involving a graduate-student teaching assistant to ensure that our students were not subjected to discriminatory practices in the classroom and to ensure that all of our students feel heard and equally engaged," he continued.
While she yet to be officially removed from the program, McKellop insists she was prevented from teaching the remainder of the semester after students cancelled their classes with the very discriminatory teaching assistant.