Professor reflects on disapproval from discrimination complaint

Freshman student Aissata Sall filed a complaint against her professor Ahmed Younis, and was discouraged that the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Office did not pursue an investigation. Unsplash

Assistant Professor Ahmed Younis has been working at Chapman University since 2013. Before that, he served under the U.S. Department of State as a principal deputy assistant and citizen diplomat — traveling on missions to European and Middle Eastern countries to amplify public discourse on Islam and Pluralism. 

But in 2020, Younis had a discrimination complaint filed against him because he had used the terms “N-(expletive)” and “F-(expletive)” as part of his Introduction to Human Rights lecture, respectively reading from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s autobiography “On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance” and from transcripts derived from Abu Ghraib detainee interrogations.

“I’m disappointed that we live in a time where people who dedicate their whole life to racial justice and gender justice can find themselves on the other end of a petition for just reading a sentence from a book,” Younis said.

Despite the educational context, Aissata Sall, a Black freshman peace studies major in Younis’ course, took offense to the language. Soon after vocalizing her discomfort in class, Sall filed a discrimination complaint Nov. 24 to Chapman’s Equal Opportunity and Diversity Office. However, after sharing her concerns with Title IX Investigator Dawn White, the Office determined Dec. 18 that Sall’s allegations did not warrant an investigation under the university’s Interim Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Prevention Policy for Employees. 

“After hearing from the investigative office, it felt like a bunch of white people telling me that my experiences with racism aren’t that bad,” Sall said. “To come here under the pretense of them caring and then being shut down just feels like they don’t care about Black students.”

Albert Roberson, a Chapman University Equal Opportunity and Diversity officer, declined to comment on issues reviewed under the Office. Younis told The Panther that all slur usage was pedagogical.

“I’ll always try to use trigger warnings for those things that are problematic for students, and it’s important to take this stuff seriously and to be historical in how we understand things,” Younis said. “I am not a right-winger that is arguing for freedom of speech to use racial slurs in front of students who it hurts.”

Sall’s complaint to the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Office was made public through a change.org petition titled “End Racist Behavior at Chapman University,” which now boasts over 1,300 signatures. Lily Tenzer, a freshman film production major, initially created the petition Dec. 17 as a result of her frustration with Sall’s stalemate.

“There’s not a single one of those people that signed that petition who, if they met me, would keep their signature. Now it’s there forever and it can’t be removed and it's just very unfortunate,” Younis said of the petition. “I would never wish anyone to experience what I’ve experienced, because this is a complete injustice … It’s the sign of the times; it’s a sign of the confusion of the times.”

After the petition went live, Peace Studies Chair Lisa Leitz offered Sall assistance to coordinate a mediation with Younis, which was ultimately canceled due to a timing conflict. Sall was also presented with support from Black Student Union President Ramya Sinha and adviser Justin Riley, also the associate director of Student Community Support and Development.

Younis, who grew up in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and California, told The Panther Nov. 19 that he identifies as Black and condemns the use of the “N-(expletive)” term if it is spoken by a non-Black person without any educational connotation. 

To contribute to the narrative, Maisune Abu-Elhaija, a second-year Chapman student pursuing a Ph.D. in education, said Younis has the right to associate with Black, Afro-Arab or Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) communities. However, Abu-Elhaija, a member of the SWANA community herself, believes Younis should be more conscientious of his diction due to his intersectional identity. In clarifying, Abu-Elhaija emphasized that Younis has the “privilege” of possessing certain identities and not others.

“Though he may have experienced injustices due to the color of his skin, he carries a privilege of being able to trace his origins … versus many Black people who were stripped of their names and ancestry when forcibly brought over by slavery.” Abu-Elhaija said. “Identifying as Black carries a deep meaning of legacy … and being Black may mean something different to his students.” 

For Sall, her intent for raising a discrimination complaint was not to fire her former professor. She told The Panther it was to shed light on Chapman’s inclusivity issues and recommend Younis undergo racial training that ensures prospective minority students aren’t presented with uncomfortable learning environments.

“I came here for an education; I didn’t come here to fight my own professors about things they should already know,” Sall said. “It just feels exhausting, because you’re fighting for every Black student, not just yourself.”