A lecturer in the Indiana University School of Social Work has been removed from teaching one of her classes — “Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice” — while the university investigates a complaint by a student against material she presented.
Jessica Adams joined the school as a lecturer last year. She spoke at a press conference with campus activist groups Friday against what she sees as an unfair process and accusation.
“I as an instructor should have the ability to bring those ideas into my class,” Adams said.
She said a student submitted the complaint to the office of U.S. Senator Jim Banks over a graphic she used in her class. Adams said Banks’ office then contacted her dean.
IU spokesperson Mark Bode said the university does not comment on personnel matters.
The material in question was the “pyramid of white supremacy” developed by the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence in Boulder, Colo. It lists forms of overt and covert white supremacy, from not challenging racist jokes at the bottom of the pyramid to lynching at the top. The phrase “Make America Great Again” is included as “covert white supremacy.”
The 2024 law Senate Enrolled Act 202 allows students to report faculty who they think fail to teach diverse viewpoints. Adams said the pyramid is a learning tool directly pertinent to her class.
“The importance of power and the dynamics of domination and subordination in multiple manifestations of oppression, particularly among historically oppressed groups, will be explored,” the course description reads.
The complaint was submitted to IU, which started an investigation. Adams was removed from teaching her class, which is atypical for intellectual diversity reviews. She continues to teach her other courses.
Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice is still being taught by guest lecturers.
One of Adams’s master’s students, Chelsea Adye Villatoro, said School of Social Work administrators visited the class but did little to resolve her frustration.
“I feel as if I've paid for a course without a formal instructor, trapped by the financial and academic costs of withdrawing,” she said.
Adams and her students said they haven’t been given a clear timeline on when the investigation will be resolved. A violation of SEA 202 can result in termination or demotion. She said this is just her first complaint.
