Bigotry and discrimination at Scottsdale Community College
I was recently victim to prejudice, as well as having to deal with things I found deeply offensive: this is my letter to my teacher's superiors:
I was a student in Larry Turner’s forensics class. From the first day of class he seemed to have amazing difficulty referring to me by the proper pronouns. Not only that, he loudly corrected himself the 1 in 10 times he “realized” it. Making it not only a personal issue, but making the class very aware of it to where no one in the class seems to even want to talk to me. He talked to me about it after class and said he sees who I am but something just doesn’t click right….and he must be "diverse". “Diverse” seems to be his word he uses whenever something makes him uncomfortable, and in most cases it relates to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community somehow. In all honesty I have seen no real effort on Mr. Turner’s part to treat me with respect; it has made the classroom an uncomfortable environment with all the students now looking at me trying to figure out why their teacher has this issue. Every time I talk to a classmate…it’s like they’re wondering about me. I have also found out that several classmates have issue with the way I am treated by him.
It does not take much effort to refer to someone by who they are especially when their name, demeanor, and appearance all point to the obvious. It makes it all the more difficult when I do not feel I can socialize with other students, and almost don’t ever want to say anything in class because I’m tired of being insulted. Thinking before someone speaks is something we were all supposed to learn in grade school; and I would think someone Mr. Turner’s age would have learned that lesson by now. But it is not just that…I have no clue what Turner thinks of me other than he used the word “diverse”. At the beginning of class he showed us an article on the pregnant man phenomenon, the female to male who is carrying a child. He also used the word “diverse” in regards to him. It seems to be his pet word to say he somehow has a problem with something but he must deal with it….hard to say.
I am Jewish and if Mr. Turner had shown a picture of someone that was murdered for being Jewish and then pointed at her star of David and went on and on about how much it freaked him out; the campus would be in an uproar. I feel what he did was every bit as serious. He showed a picture of a dead woman, completely naked, he then showed the entire class that this woman had male genitalia. He went on and on about how much it freaked him out….even flashing the screen back and forth from her top half to her bottom half(for effect?). He explained she was murdered because the person she was with had found out “she had what he had”. He gave no reason for showing this picture, no forensic details on the crime, or even said how she was killed if I recall. This was a human being, who was murdered because she was different and her dead body is on display, not to show how forensics can solve the crime, not to show how terrible it is to be murdered for who you are. This dead woman was made fun of in a class of over 20 people. There was no reason for this picture being shown at all. I find it every bit as offensive as if he had shown a dead Jew and talked about how much dead Jews freaked him out.
We deal with the dead in forensics…..but we deal with evidence. It is not appropriate for a teacher to make fun of a murder victim because they freak him out; he said he must be “diverse” about her as well. He stated it was his job to deal with people like that, but gave no educational reason for showing us this dead woman. Yesterday I spoke in front of the entire Maricopa governing board, I also told them about Mr. Turner’s offensive conduct. Between the treatment of myself, and making fun of a victim of gay bashing, I consider this gross misconduct and a very serious matter. I would like to see it dealt with appropriately.
Thank you for your time,(name withheld for privacy)
I was a student in Larry Turner’s forensics class. From the first day of class he seemed to have amazing difficulty referring to me by the proper pronouns. Not only that, he loudly corrected himself the 1 in 10 times he “realized” it. Making it not only a personal issue, but making the class very aware of it to where no one in the class seems to even want to talk to me. He talked to me about it after class and said he sees who I am but something just doesn’t click right….and he must be "diverse". “Diverse” seems to be his word he uses whenever something makes him uncomfortable, and in most cases it relates to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community somehow. In all honesty I have seen no real effort on Mr. Turner’s part to treat me with respect; it has made the classroom an uncomfortable environment with all the students now looking at me trying to figure out why their teacher has this issue. Every time I talk to a classmate…it’s like they’re wondering about me. I have also found out that several classmates have issue with the way I am treated by him.
It does not take much effort to refer to someone by who they are especially when their name, demeanor, and appearance all point to the obvious. It makes it all the more difficult when I do not feel I can socialize with other students, and almost don’t ever want to say anything in class because I’m tired of being insulted. Thinking before someone speaks is something we were all supposed to learn in grade school; and I would think someone Mr. Turner’s age would have learned that lesson by now. But it is not just that…I have no clue what Turner thinks of me other than he used the word “diverse”. At the beginning of class he showed us an article on the pregnant man phenomenon, the female to male who is carrying a child. He also used the word “diverse” in regards to him. It seems to be his pet word to say he somehow has a problem with something but he must deal with it….hard to say.
I am Jewish and if Mr. Turner had shown a picture of someone that was murdered for being Jewish and then pointed at her star of David and went on and on about how much it freaked him out; the campus would be in an uproar. I feel what he did was every bit as serious. He showed a picture of a dead woman, completely naked, he then showed the entire class that this woman had male genitalia. He went on and on about how much it freaked him out….even flashing the screen back and forth from her top half to her bottom half(for effect?). He explained she was murdered because the person she was with had found out “she had what he had”. He gave no reason for showing this picture, no forensic details on the crime, or even said how she was killed if I recall. This was a human being, who was murdered because she was different and her dead body is on display, not to show how forensics can solve the crime, not to show how terrible it is to be murdered for who you are. This dead woman was made fun of in a class of over 20 people. There was no reason for this picture being shown at all. I find it every bit as offensive as if he had shown a dead Jew and talked about how much dead Jews freaked him out.
We deal with the dead in forensics…..but we deal with evidence. It is not appropriate for a teacher to make fun of a murder victim because they freak him out; he said he must be “diverse” about her as well. He stated it was his job to deal with people like that, but gave no educational reason for showing us this dead woman. Yesterday I spoke in front of the entire Maricopa governing board, I also told them about Mr. Turner’s offensive conduct. Between the treatment of myself, and making fun of a victim of gay bashing, I consider this gross misconduct and a very serious matter. I would like to see it dealt with appropriately.
Thank you for your time,(name withheld for privacy)