MU student sues professor over “racist, sexist” comments

Fatma El-Walid rushed into an office-hours study session with her cellular biology class on March 13, 2015. Several students left shortly after her arrival before 5 p.m., leaving El-Walid and eight other students there. The professor, Dr. Michael Garcia, turned the conversation from cellular biology to conspiracy theories, such as the assassination of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy. It eventually turned to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and then the movie “American Sniper.”

That’s when Dr. Garcia turned his attention to her.

A lawsuit filed in Boone County Court earlier this week claims all of the above, that Dr. Garcia went on a racist, sexist rant towards El-Walid, the Muslim student who had transferred from Moberly Area Community College earlier that school year. The lawsuit, filed by Chesterfield attorneys Azra Ahmad and Paul Rechenberg, also names the University of Missouri System for MU’s failure to let El-Walid switch classes or properly punish Dr. Garcia after students reported his behavior that night, which violated the Missouri Human Rights Act.

“She was humiliated publicly, and demanded a public apology, which she has not received,” Ahmad said in a phone interview Thursday. “And she wants the University to take a stand that such behavior, such prejudice and racism should not be tolerated in a place of higher learning.”

Dr. Garcia’s attorney, Josh Oxenhandler, gave no comment on the lawsuit as of Thursday night. UM System spokesman John Fougere said the group doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit details at least ten “offensive” comments made that study session, asking if anyone on campus had ever called her a “towelhead.”

“Garcia asked Fatma, ‘Did your parents water board you as a child in preparation for the future?’,” the lawsuit claims.

It goes on to say, “Garcia stated to Fatma, ‘I hear your people hate the gays; are you a gay hater?”

The comments also became sexual, according to the lawsuit.

“Garcia asked Fatma whether she would rather be with one experienced man, like himself, for one raucous night rather than having relations with 72 virgins.”

“That is a very harassing and demeaning comment to a woman, and it’s a room full of men and she’s the only woman,” Ahmad said.

MU spokesman Christian Basi said Dr. Garcia began work at the University in 2005. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Biological Sciences. Dr. Garcia served as the chair of the Minority Affairs Committee – the Spring 2015 semester being the last one of his term.

During the alleged rant in the middle of that semester, El-Walid was too shocked and scared to leave the class, according to the lawsuit. She later went to school administration to ask that her grade in Dr. Garcia’s class be dropped, since her grades across the board suffered “as a result of the sexually charged, discriminatory and offensive statements made by Garcia,” the lawsuit said. She eventually lost her scholarship, and her GPA suffered – a point Ahmad focused on, as El-Walid is a medical school hopeful.

The lawsuit claims another student in the study session reported the incident to the MU Equity Office. The lawsuit claims it was an “anonymous” report, but Ahmad said the report was filed before El-Walid ever went to school administration about the issue. The Equity Office told ABC 17 News a reporter would need to talk with a spokesman about any report filed. Basi told ABC 17 News the school could not discuss any “personnel disciplinary action” based on HR policies.

“Even if he was trying to be funny, it wasn’t funny,” Ahmad said. “It was very derogatory.”