Two Black Georgia State University students showed up two minutes late to their English class, so the professor called campus police.
A now-viral TikTok created by TikToker and college student Bria Blake documenting the students’ story is circulating social media. Blake posted the video Wednesday (March 30) and it has since gained more than 133,000 likes, with growing calls for action to be taken against the professor.
According to Blake’s video, professor Carissa Gray, who is Black, asked two Black students, identified only as Taylor and Camryn, to leave after the pair entered the classroom minutes after the scheduled start time. When Gray asked the students to leave, Taylor responded, “We paid to be here.” Gray replied, “Ok,” and left the room, Blake says in the video.
Gray returned with two armed campus police officers, one of whom grabbed the students’ belongings and refused to give them back until the pair agreed to leave. Blake said the officers told the two students they would be “charged with trespassing” if they didn’t leave.
“The students arrived to the classroom, the door was wide open,” Blake states. “They were allowed to enter and walk all the way to their seats, sit down and proceed to take out their things to take notes.”
After leaving, one of the students visited several campus leadership offices to figure out how to file a report or make a complaint, but couldn’t find any campus resources. In a statement, Georgia State University said it was, “looking into the situation.”
NBC News obtained a copy of Georgia State University’s Student Code of Conduct which states that professors can summon campus police to remove a student from a class who “poses an immediate threat to the safety” of themself, professor, or other students.
“Clearly, no crime had been committed to there were no arrests,” the University said in a statement.
“Stuff like this cannot keep happening to Black youth in America,” Black said. “Stop weaponizing the police against Black people.”
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