A college professor in California blocked Republican Club students from attending Women's History Month public events.
Orange Coast College professor of sociology and gender studies Jessica Ayo Alabi emailed three campus officials stating she would not allow the OCC Republican Club to attend an African-American/Women's round table discussion in March, the Washington Examiner reported Thursday. Alabi reportedly barred three students from the public discussion held in the Multicultural Center because they were members of the Republican Club.
"This event is an African-American/Women's roundtable discussion," Alabi wrote in the email. "I just want everyone to be advised that the African American female students has and still have an expectation that this is a safe space event."
The college professor went on to the proclaim that if no one was going to stand up to the Republican Club, she would.
The Republican Club students were made aware of the email on Tuesday.
OCC Professor Jessica Alabi discriminated against three OCC Republicans club members by not allowing them to enter a public event on campus. pic.twitter.com/dd97dJmgGo
— Josh RecaldeMartinez (@OCSonOfLiberty) May 18, 2017
OCC President Dennis Harkins spoke with Alabi, telling her she didn't have the right to ban a club from public college events. But the Republican Club said the conversation would be ineffective as Alabi has done this in the past.
The OCC Republicans sent Harkin the following letter with demands to prevent discrimination in the future:
1. That an investigation be opened, or reopened, into Jessica Alibi discriminating against Republican club members, and conservative students as self-reported by her via public email to you.
2. That upon the completion of the investigation if it's proven that Professor Alabi discriminated against students on the basis of their ideological viewpoint and party affiliation that, at the least, she be suspended from teaching for two non-intersession semesters at Orange Coast College, and if possible as well as the Coast Community College District, and be permitted to return after that suspension once she's attended an in-depth training on student's rights and preventing viewpoint discrimination, as well as be required to write a one page long apology letter to the OCC Republicans and the members effected by her actions.
3. That President Harkins write a letter to the Board of Trustees supporting the revision and ratification of board policy changes proposed by our club in early April to the Board of Trustees that would amend current district policies to protect students from discrimination on the basis of political affiliations and ideological beliefs .
4. That Orange Coast College will take measures to start, or improve, training for faculty and staff on how to respect students' rights, viewpoints, and be trained on what viewpoint discrimination is to prevent future instances.
This is not the first time an OCC professor has discriminated against Republicans. In 2016, a college professor at OCC was videotaped calling Trump supporters "terrorists."