Georgetown University Law Center is looking into an incident where two professors spoke poorly of Black students.
The Georgetown Black Law Students Association identified the educators as Sandra Sellers and David Batson. In a brief clip from a recorded Zoom meeting that has now gone viral on social media, Sellers is heard complaining about students that she refers to as “jumbled.” She then goes on a rant, saying, “I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are Blacks. It happens almost every semester, and it’s like, oh, come on. You know, we get some really good ones, but they’re also usually are some of them that are just plain at the bottom.” Batson appears to nod in agreement with his colleague.
The video immediately drew criticism from students, who called for the professors to be fired. As a result, Sellers was fired on Thursday.
Bill Treanor, the school’s dean, said that they are thoughtfully responding to the leaked conversation. The school’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action is now leading an investigation. Treanor says that he found the video to “be abhorrent.” He says that he is dedicated to ensuring that every student is being treated fairly.
Neither Batson nor Sellers has responded to the backlash.
