Cypress Professor On Leave After Shutting Down Student's Opinion

CYPRESS, CA — An Adjunct Professor at Cypress College is on permanent leave after a video of her Communications 100C class circled social media last week. Students in the class's recorded Zoom session gave presentations on whether the children's show "Paw Patrol" should be canceled for glorifying police as "heroes." The manner in which the professor, whose identity was not released by the college, reacted to one conservative student's opposing viewpoint during debate raised eyebrows across the internet.

Braden Ellis is a 19-year-old Cypress resident and self-proclaimed conservative who took part in the discussion on whether the police were "good or bad." He said he realized his conservative views were not a popular opinion in the class.

"The people who do bad things should be brought to justice, I agree with that," he said in the meeting.

"They haven't," his professor interrupted.

Though a lively debate is a part of college communications courses, Ellis says that he "refused to answer the way his teacher was guiding him," in an interview with Fox News. Ellis told Fox that he felt he was being led into a "gotcha" moment.

During the class, Ellis said he believed that "a good majority" of police are heroes. He said, "this is what I believe, and that the people who do bad things should be brought to justice."

(Watch the full video below)

After debate back and forth, Ellis asked the professor if she would call the police in times of trouble. Her answer was a resounding "no, because I don't trust them."

The professor abruptly called for an end to that Zoom meeting as another student involved in the Zoom, identified as Jeremy, stood up for Ellis, saying "I may not agree with what you are saying, but I will fight for your rights to say it."

Cypress College has taken a stand for their student.

"Any efforts to suppress free and respectful expression on our campus will not be tolerated," a spokesperson for the college shared in a news release.

Cypress College said in a statement that the adjunct professor will likely not return, and that "this was her first course at Cypress, and she had previously indicated her intention to not return in the fall."

Ellis, a Christian and Republican, told Fox that as a student he feels that "free speech used to be a liberal agenda, it's not any more." Still, he remains enrolled in the class and looked forward to getting to know the substitute teacher taking over for the remainder of the term, the OC Register reports.

The short video clip made the rounds on social media over the weekend showing how the teacher backed her student into a corner when his views did not match her own.

Cypress College adressed the flurry of social media in response to the clip:

Campus Statement Regarding Video in the News

Cypress College takes great pride in fostering a learning environment for students where ideas and opinions are exchanged as a vital piece of the educational journey. Our community fully embraces this culture; students often defend one another’s rights to express themselves freely, even when opinions differ. Any efforts to suppress free and respectful expression on our campus will not be tolerated.

The adjunct professor will be taking a leave of absence for the duration of her assignment at Cypress College. This was her first course at Cypress and she had previously indicated her intention to not return in the fall.

We are reviewing the full recording of the exchange between the adjunct professor and the student and will address it fully in the coming days.

Do you feel that the professor should have left her post? Let us know in the comments.