Prof Loses Job Over Racial Flap

The Chrislip College Board of Regents voted yesterday to remove Robert Spaniel from his post as professor of mathematics. The firing was the result of an allegedly racist act perpetrated by Dr. Spaniel several weeks ago. The incident was videotaped by an amateur cameraman, and has since been the source of much debate around campus.

The incident in question took place during an otherwise uneventful lunch in the cafeteria. Odell Watts, a student-teacher, was returning from the lunch-line with his tray of food when he slipped and fell to the floor. In doing so, he landed face-first in his mashed potatoes.

According to witnesses, Dr. Spaniel laughed when he saw this and commented, "Eat 'em, don't breathe 'em!" an apparent reference to what Mr. Watts was doing to the potatoes with his face. The videotape, though grainy and poorly lit, seems to support the charges made by the witnesses.

Dr. Spaniel is white. Mr. Watts is an African-American.

The incident set off a storm of protest from one end of campus to about one-eighth of the way across it; primarily in the section which houses liberal arts students.

In announcing the firing, Dean Harvard Marner spoke from a prepared statement that said in part: "Freedom of speech is like an accordion. It's a good thing to have, [but] that doesn't mean you should practice it within earshot of others."

The Doubleday Dictionary defines an accordion as a portable reed organ using air from a self-contained bellows operated by the performer.

Chrislip College Journal

Prof Loses Job Over Racial Flap