Comments land OCC teacher on leave

Alicia Lopez

OCC CAMPUS -- An Orange Coast College assistant professor was put on

administrative leave Thursday after Muslim students said he called them

all terrorists.

Students in Kenneth Hearlson’s political science class said he shocked

the class when he pointed to one of his Muslim pupils and said: “You

drove two planes into the World Trade Center. You killed 5,000 people.

You are a terrorist.”

CC Abdel Muti, Ramsey Nashef and Mooath and Zayneb Saidi said they

were sitting together in Hearlson’s Tuesday night class when he began

talking about the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the

Pentagon.

Mooath Saidi said one student on the other end of the room from them

was outraged.

“He said, ‘Do you know what you said to him? You said he crashed those

planes into the World Trade Center. I think you need to rephrase your

statement.’ [Hearlson] said, ‘I acknowledge what I said,”’ Saidi

recalled.

The students took their concerns to the administration Thursday. They

met with Bob Dees, the vice president of instruction; Kate Mueller, the

dean of student services; and Jess Craig, the vice president of student

services.

Mooath Saidi said the three were very helpful, but they wondered if

they could really get what they wanted.

“We want the teacher to be fired,” he said. “There were 200 to 300

people in the class. They’re probably not informed. For him to pollute

their minds and turn 200 to 300 people against us. . . . You come to

school, to a safe environment, to learn. He didn’t even open a book. It

is a three-hour class and this is all he discussed.”

The students said that when they tried to defend themselves, Hearlson

would ignore them, mimic them and turn their comments into a joke.

Muti said Hearlson would ask questions the four students couldn’t

answer.

“He asked, ‘Why did they fly two planes into those towers?’ I said, ‘I

don’t know. They’re crazy.”’

Hearlson, who has taught at the school since 1980, could not be

reached for comment.

Jim Carnett, a spokesman for OCC, said after the meeting with the

students, Hearlson was placed on administrative leave and another

instructor will take his place.

“Our first concern is for the students and we want them to feel

comfortable,” Carnett said.

Saidi said before Tuesday’s class the school had assured students that

if they had any problems, the school would assist them. He said they even

offered to have a security guard escort them to class.

“There were some rude comments,” Mooath Saidi said. “There are a lot

of uneducated people. I know we’re not supposed to tolerate it, but what

do you expect, especially with what the media says about us?”

* ALICIA LOPEZ is the news editor of the Pilot’s sister paper, the

Huntington Beach Independent. She can be reached at (714) 965-7176 or

by e-mail at alicia.lopez@latimes.com.