A Black New York student has gone viral after sharing a video showing a fight between her and a math professor.
According to Atlanta Black Star, a disagreement on attendance escalated into a fight.
The student, username @ke.barbie on TikTok, described the moments leading up to the altercation at the State University of New York in Long Island.
The student revealed that she told the professor she wanted to drop the course weeks before the altercation.
What Happened Between The Black New York Student And Her Professor?
@ke.barbie Replying to @IhatetheSPEAKER ♬ original sound – Ke Rich????
One morning, the college student appeared before the lecture started, set down her belongings, and went to the bathroom.
She returned when the class had started.
After the lecture, she went to the professor to sign the attendance sheet.
However, the professor said she would mark the student as late as she signed the sheet after class and ignored the student’s insistence that she was on time.
The professor gave her the sheet to write down when she entered class.
When the Black New York student tried writing “8 a.m.,” the professor grabbed the sheet and dismissed her.
Then things escalated.
“She pulls out the same attendance sheet for another student. And I saw the opportunity to write that I came in at 8 a.m. on the dot. When I try to take the attendance sheet, Professor Chen hits me. She hits me twice. And then, after she hits me, she screams, ‘Record! Record!'”
The student apparently backed up after the professor screamed, but the professor pursued her.
This is when another student started recording.
The video shows the professor following @ke.barbie, then pushing and grabbing her.
A classmate is heard accusing @ke.barbie of attacking the professor.
The video doesn’t show the altercation directly, but the professor thanked the student recording.
But the Black New York student disagrees.
“I really had to take a break because this caused so much trauma, and I just felt alone, attacked, and like no one was on my side. The fact that there was probably three or four students in the classroom that completely disregarded the beginning of how it all started to watching this professor chase me and grab onto my clothing and to point at me in the video and say I’m attacking the professor, I was super confused.”
@ke.barbie then confronts the student.
“You didn’t see her hit me? You didn’t see her hit me?”
The student replies:
“I just saw you grab the paper from her.”
Both the professor and student reported the incident.
The professor’s report received support from other students, but @ke.barbie’s report was dismissed.
The Black New York student revealed she tried everything to hold the professor accountable before she turned to social media.
“As a Black person, you already know how these things go. You’re already in the system that’s built for you.”
