SEE IT: Oxnard College professor on leave after berating hard-of-hearing student for ‘not paying attention’ during online class
An anatomy and physiology professor at Oxnard College is on administrative leave after video went viral of him berating a hard-of-hearing student, accusing her of not paying attention.
“Miss Salazar, I’ve been talking to you Miss Salazar,” Michael Abram barked.
He went on like that for a few more sentences, until a classmate of the young woman interjected, explaining that the student’s delay in response was due to the time it took for the translator to convey the information. However, that led to what came across as sarcasm.
“She’s not paying attention, she’s not trying,” said the instructor, and later adding of the counselor, “OK, just have them teach you. The whole class. That makes sense to me.”
A student at the school about 60 miles west of Los Angeles saved video, intending to submit it to the school’s administration, but a family friend posted it on TikTok, reported KTLA-TV.
@salwaabakar [must watch] Ventura college Professor Treates deaf student bad 😡 pt 1 (Pt 2 posted) #zoom #teacher #deaf #fyp #deafstudent
♬ original sound - Salwa Abakar
“A lot of the people are understandably angry, upset and saddened by what they saw in the video,” Ventura County Community College District chancellor Greg Gillespie told KTLA.
“The video itself is heartbreaking,” Oxnard College president Luis Sanchez told KTLA. “No matter what led up to that interaction, there is no justification.… It horrified me.”
Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have varying assistance needs in class, ranging from interpreters, to captioning, to devices, CNN noted, citing the National Association of the Deaf.
“The use of interpreters or captioning usually results in additional time for the deaf or hard of hearing student to receive all the information and then be able to respond,” CEO Howard A. Rosenblum said in a statement cited by CNN. “Professors must therefore be patient and accommodate this additional time, instead of berating such students.”
The school placed Abram on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.
“Oxnard College is wholeheartedly committed to treating all of our students with the utmost respect,” Sanchez said in a statement. “We denounce discriminatory behavior or harassment of any kind and we remain deeply resolved to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for students of all backgrounds.”
