ORLANDO, Fla. – The Student Government at the University of Central Florida wants a professor to be removed from his position after he tweeted a series of comments the school has labeled as racist.
Charles Negy, an associate professor of psychology at UCF who teaches cross-cultural psychology and human sexuality, among other courses, recently posted messages online that have sparked outrage.
In one, he shared an opinion editorial post from a blog called Taki’s Magazine. According to the website, its operators, “believe political labels such as conservative and liberal are as outdated as flared trousers and Nazis.”
“This article is spot on (will infuriate folks). Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they’re missing out on much needed feedback,” Negy’s tweet read.
In a student government resolution passed Thursday, other examples were provided as well.
“Sincere question: If Afr. Americans as a group, had the same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming 'systematic racism’ exists?,” the professor asked.
He expressed a similar sentiment in another tweet.
“'The State has Failed Black People.' Yeah, it’s not like black people have any agency of their own, to stay in school, be the best student, abstain from crime, gangs, unwanted pregnancies, etc. It’s all the ‘state’s fault,’" Negy posted, according to the resolution.
The document states he’s also made comments aimed at the LGBTQ community.
“I don’t know why gay/bisex. men don’t like restrictions on them donating blood. About 20-25% of men who have sex with men are HIV+ (compared to < 1% of the rest of the population). And it still takes tests 4 to 6 weeks to indicate if one is HIV+ after having been infected,” he tweeted.
In the resolution, student leaders wrote that some of their peers feel “unsafe and unwelcome” in light of Negy’s comments and other prospective students are now reconsidering whether they’d still like to attend UCF.
“The aforementioned comments of Charles Negy perpetuate systemic racism and encourage discrimination and negative views towards the marginalized communities in which UCF educates and employs,” the resolution reads. “We cannot expect our society to change for the better as long as these views are accepted and endorsed by the University by virtue of its inaction.”
UCF posted a tweet on June 4 addressing the controversy.
“Being actively anti-racist means calling out and confronting racist comments. We are aware of Charles Negy’s recent personal Twitter posts, which are completely counter to UCF’s values. We are reviewing this matter further while being mindful of the First Amendment,” the post read.
The resolution, which was sent to the school’s president and other university decision makers, calls for Negy to be terminated.
Negy’s Twitter has been relatively quiet as calls for his removal have mounted. His last tweet was posted on June 6.