A viral video of a Winston-Salem State University student being arrested this week has drawn mixed reactions on social media, with some slamming a professor accused of calling the police on a student of racism and others criticizing the student for escalating the situation.
In the statement, the university acknowledges that “the weaponization of police is a prevalent problem” in the Black community but concluded that wasn’t the case in this situation.
The video, first posted on TikTok, shows a chaotic classroom where Leilla Hamud, a Black female student, is being held over a desk with her hands clasped behind her back by two police officers while she yells at them to stop. Several other students hold up their cellphones to record the Dec. 14 arrest.

The professor tries to regain control of the classroom.
“And she’s still standing this letting this happen,” another student standing next to Hamud says.
Hamud then turns her attention to the instructor and lashes out in an angry tirade.
“I hate you,” she yells. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I swear to God, I hate you. I swear to God I hate you, bro. You’re the worst teacher ever.”
“You get me taken out of here because I don’t want to apologize.”
The professor, who another student on TikTok later identified as Cynthia Villagomez, said she tried to de-escalate the situation, but her voice was drowned out by Hamud’s.
“She sit here and say that she love Black people, but you let this happen,” Hamud said.
The video racked up more than 3.9 million views on Tik Tok and was reshared on other social media outlets. Some online users were calling on Villagomez, an associate history professor and department chairperson at the historically Black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to step down or be fired.
Villagomez had to deactivate her LinkedIn account, and her Rate My Professor page is flooded with bad reviews.
“Such a racist professor. I hope she never teaches another class. No respect towards anyone,” one review said.
“Horrible person. Is outwardly racist and will arrest students for not apologizing or even looking at her wrong. She should not be a teacher and I hope action will be done against her for not protecting her students or creating a safe place,” another person wrote.
Source: ‘You’re the Worst Teacher Ever’: Video of HBCU Student Being Arrested Sparks Online Firestorm
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