Peter Van Voorhis, Campus Reform, February 15, 2017

The student who filmed his professor calling Donald Trump’s election “an act of terrorism” has received a one-semester suspension from Orange Coast College (OCC).

The previously anonymous student, Caleb O’Neil, has also received a number of other sanctions for recording his professor, Olga Pere Stable-Cox, including a mandatory meeting with the Dean of Students before he is readmitted, as well as remaining on disciplinary probation for one semester upon return from suspension.

Additionally, O’Neil must write an apology letter to professor as well as a three-page, double spaced essay discussing why he videotaped the professor despite “knowing that it was a violation of the course syllabus;” his “thoughts and analysis” on why he shared the video with others; what he thought would happen to Stable-Cox; the video’s impact “and ensuing damage to Orange Coast College students, faculty, and staff;” “other choices [he] could have made to resolve the situation;” and “[how he] will prevent this from happening again in the future.”

If O’Neil, who is not a member of the OCC College Republicans, fails to satisfy any of the requirements laid out by OCC, he could be expelled from the Coast Community College District for good.

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Caleb O’Neil is being represented by Bill Becker, founder and President of FreedomX, a law firm that protects conservative and religious freedom of expression. O’Neil and Becker will appear together on Wednesday, February 15th at 1:00PM for a press conference at the school, and also plan to file a notice of appeal with the OCC.

In an email from FreedomX, Bill Becker declared the school’s actions “an attack by leftists in academia to protect the expressive rights of their radical instructors at the expense of the expressive rights of conservative students on campus.”

“He was in fear of retaliation by his instructor after she launched into a half-hour rant in which she labeled Trump a ‘white supremacist’ and told the class she would no longer tolerate any person who voted for Trump,” the email continued. “O’Neil videotaped the rant over concerns that his grade might be lowered for the class because of his outward show of support for Trump. He intended to use the video to present to the administration as evidence of his concerns.”

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