Dane Giraud
Spokesperson
Free Speech Union
A University of Waikato professor has apologised after saying the n-word during a lecture, as part of a discussion about the reclamation of offensive terms.
According to the NZ Herald:
The University of Waikato professor was teaching a lecture on representation and reclaiming terms when she said the racial slur out loud.
The teacher says she believed some students might not know what word was being referred to unless it was uttered in full. She later apologised to two students who complained, as well as to the class.
One of the students, who spoke to the Herald, said while she believed the apology to be sincere she was shocked anyone felt comfortable uttering the n-word in 2021, regardless of context.
That student – who is Fijian – had been called the slur many times in her life, but had realised that despite her own skin colour she should not use the term “because I am not ancestrally linked to slavery in the Americas or the Caribbean”.
“It did offend me that she thought it was okay to say it, especially her being a white woman.” […]
The Fijian student and another student complained and the professor apologised to both individually. She also posted an apology to an online student forum.
“I am deeply sorry for any hurt this may have caused. I had not wanted to assume that everyone in the class understood the term and so attempted to provide context but in retrospect, I realise I did this very poorly.
“In trying to get the point across that it absolutely does matter ‘who’ uses ‘reclaimed terms’, I inadvertently deeply offended some. Again, please accept my most sincere apology.”
But he acknowledged the context in which the incident took place – a university lecture room, where robust debate was encouraged.
Last year, Auckland’s Lynfield College said it would censor racial slurs from teaching materials, after a student filmed a teacher using the n-word while reading a passage from a book.
The school told teachers they should no longer say a word that represented “condensed generations of pain”.
This is getting ridiculous. We are sorry students might be offended, but no words should be off-limits for discussion at a university. Context is everything and there’s absolutely no sign of bad faith here. Academics should not be forced to apologise because students find a topic offensive. If so, our universities are doomed.
Credit where credit is due, even Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon now acknowledges context is important. In this instance, he refused to criticise the academic. Good.
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