Sandra Sellers and David Batson, the two professors, spoke at the end of a lecture last month about the black students’ performance in their classes. Their comments were included in the recorded reading, said Hassan Ahmad, a student at Georgetown Law, who posted an excerpt of the video on Twitter.
In the snippet, Sellers says, “I finally get the anxiety every semester that many of my younger ones are black,” referring to lower grades. “It happens almost every semester. And it’s like, ‘Oh, come on.’ These are some very good ones, but there are also some that are simply at the bottom, it’s driving me crazy. ‘
Although Batson says little in the video and does not make derogatory comments about him, he also does not seem to challenge Sellers.
“We are taking important steps to ensure that all students in this class are reasonably graded without the input of Professor Sellers or Professor Batson,” Treanor wrote. “This is by no means the end of our work to address the many structural issues of racism reflected in this painful incident, including explicit and implicit prejudice, responsibility of bystanders and the need for more comprehensive anti-bias training. a matter of great concern to me. ‘
Ahmad said the video was discovered Sunday and reported Monday, although CNN could not confirm by whom. The full video has been removed and is not publicly available.
Sellers: ‘I want all my students to excel’
CNN contacted Sellers and Batson for comment. Batson did not return CNN’s requests, and Sellers referred to her resignation letter apologizing for her ‘hurtful and misleading remarks’.
“While the video of this incident is an excerpt from a lengthy discussion on class participation patterns, and not overall points, it does not diminish the insensitivity I have shown,” Sellers wrote. “I will never do anything to intentionally hurt my students or the Georgetown Law and wish I could take my words back. Regardless of my intention, I have caused irreparable damage and I am really sorry about this.”
She continued, “I want all my students to excel in negotiation and mediation, which is why I have been offering these courses in Georgetown for almost 20 years. If they do not occur, it reflects shortcomings on my part, not just the side of any single student.It is my responsibility to do everything in my power to rectify it.My remarks were the unequivocal reflection of long soul searching.I need to do better to understand and address these issues.
This is a ‘systemic issue’, say black students
“This situation not only reveals the true beliefs of Sellers about black students, it is also an illustration of the conscious and unconscious prejudice that systematically occurs in the grading of jurisprudence at Georgetown Law and in the classroom legal world,” the students wrote Thursday. . “The difference is that Sellers was caught and that her racism was broadcast to the world.”
The association calls on a public apology from Batson for “his failure to adequately condemn Sellers’ statements.” It is also requested that an evaluation of the grading system, an audit of the previous grading be hired from Sellers and more black faculties.
What makes Sellers’ comments so “disturbing”, Nardos Bekele, vice president of administration for the Georgetown Black Law Students Association (BLSA), said they were “accidentally” made in a video she said was not released does not become. . “
“There’s a systemic issue we’re experiencing as law students, and this video is an indication of that,” Bekele said. “As a black student at law school, whether it’s in Georgetown or not, it’s very scary that these conversations are taking place and we only know about this one.”
Ahmad said CNN lectures are being recorded continuously until everyone leaves the Zoom call. And because Sellers and Batson stayed on the call, it still picked up – and eventually it was uploaded so students could see it. He told CNN he was not enrolled in the class, but got the recording from a friend.
In his email Thursday, Treanor, the dean and executive vice president of the law school, said the school will continue ‘our work to address the many structural issues of racism reflected in this painful incident, including explicit and implicit prejudice, the responsibility of circumstances and the need for more comprehensive anti-bias training. “
Last summer, the BLSA made a number of requests at the height of the systemic protest against racism. Maxine Walters, president of the association, says student organizations have asked the school to add critical racial theory to the criminal law course for first-year law students, to establish a racial justice requirement before graduation, and a bias system for the judiciary. to create.
Walters says such a reporting system “would have been perfect in this situation”, noting that none of their requests were “frozen, and it is March”.
CNN reached out to the university regarding these requests, but did not hear them.
“We need to stop being reactive,” Bekele said, “and we need to be proactive.”