“Today at the @UofSC I experienced racism from professor. After learning about welfare and social programs my phone goes off in class and he looks at me and says ‘that may be the welfare office calling you now’ he claims that he didn’t mean it as derogatory but how?”
Angela Bogni's widely circulated tweet, posted March 29, has drawn a lot of attention from university administration, students and media organizations on Twitter. Bogni, a third-year biology student, experienced the comment while in Tobias Lanz’s American Government class.
Bogni tweeted about her experience at 1:46 p.m. By 3:36 p.m., @UofSC replied with the university’s first official statement. As with the racist posters in Gambrell, the university referred back to the Carolina Creed.
“We’ve forwarded these tweets to appropriate administrators and are looking into this,” the university said on Twitter. “As Carolinians, we abide by a creed which requires us to respect the dignity of all persons.”
Shortly after Bogni posted her original comment along with a video of her confronting Lanz, she posted a longer statement describing in detail what happened in class and the effect it had on her. The video she posted has been viewed 24,000 times; the original post has 363 retweets and 66 replies.
“I’m in American government and we’re talking about social programs one being welfare,” Bogni said on Twitter. “My professor goes on to say that mostly non white Americans are on these social programs (which is a fact) about two minutes later my phone goes off in lecture as I hurry to turn it off he looks directly at me and says 'That may be the welfare office calling you now’ no one laughed and in a class of over 200 students the class was silent. I was so embarrassed!"
USC President Harris Pastides later replied to the Twitter thread, which serves as the university’s second official statement.
“I’m sorry for what you experienced today and deeply troubled by comments that perpetuate racist stereotypes,” Pastides said on Twitter. “This is not representative of @UofSC. We stand with you. Dept Chair Todd Shaw will be in touch with you directly.”
Lanz, a professor within the political science department, has been accused of making racist or sexist statements before, according to anonymous RateMyProfessors comments and the tweets in response to Bogni. Several students pointed out that, while he is an intelligent man, he is either loved or hated by students.
“you either like him or hate him as he's not afraid to express his opinion,” said one reviewer on RateMyProfessors. “very well educated about subject matter!”
However, this user’s comment heavily contrasts with other reviewers who also saw Lanz make racist and sexist comments.
“I took his class because I was interested in the topic and heard good things, however his incredibly sexist attitude and un-engaging manner of teaching turned me way off. Avoid him if you can,” said another RateMyProfessors reviewer.
The tweets in response to Bogni’s original post were just as mixed as the RateMyProfessors reviews. Some sympathized with Bogni and were able to share their own experiences with Lanz. Other tweets told Bogni that she was overreacting and that the comment was not necessarily racist.
“I’ve taken classes with this professor during my time at USC and he is by far one of the most compassionate and least discriminatory professors in the Political Science department,” fourth-year finance student Michael Hodshon said on Twitter. “In my experience he makes comments anytime a phone goes off or someone leaves the lecture early.”
Bogni defended her original tweet in her longer statement. Her opinion on the matter was that if she did not draw the university and students’ attention to the racist nature of Lanz's comments, he would continue to embarrass students.
“some may say I’m overreacting but being publicly embarrassed in front of your classmates would have you angry as well,” Bogni said on Twitter. “And USC has not had a good year when it comes to minorities and racial issues on campus.”
In response to this situation, Lanz sent out a formal statement to media outlets apologizing for the way his comment was perceived by both Bogni and social media.
“I am issuing an apology to Ms. Bogni and all of my Political Science 201 class,” Lanz said. “I made a joke last week that was never intended to offend anyone. Unfortunately, it did and I am sorry.”
The exact plan moving forward has not been made clear by the university, but Lanz will work to ensure that all of his students feel welcome and able to learn in his classes.
“I am truly saddened and shocked by this turn of events because I value the relationship I have with my students,” Lanz said. “In my 24 years at USC, it has never been my intention to offend. I look forward to speaking with Ms. Bogni personally as we move forward.”