Students, staff, and faculty at Santa Barbara City College are calling for the immediate resignation of Vice President of Business Services Lyndsay Maas after they learned she used the unabbreviated n-word at a gender equity meeting on November 14. The college’s Board of Trustees held a special meeting Monday, where public speakers voiced their outrage. Many insisted this was not an isolated incident but rather a product of the campus climate toward black students and a continued pattern of racial insensitivity.
Maas used the word in reference to African-American students being called the n-word on campus. Maas was stopped by a faculty member of color “to address the harm caused by the racial slur,” wrote staff who were present at the workgroup meeting in a letter to the board. “Maas tried to explain herself, but she did not take the opportunity to listen to the experience of others,” read the letter.
In a statement, Maas said, “Last week during a campus meeting discussing how to combat racism on campus, I inadvertently used a term that has since been taken out of context, offending some people as a result. I deeply regret that offense, and remain committed to help battle on-campus racism at SBCC.”