wordoftheday.jpg

A South Jersey college professor posted a series of racially insensitive jokes to her Facebook page before someone sent an anonymous complaint to her employers and media outlets. (Joe Owens | South Jersey Times)

A South Jersey college professor apologized this week after someone claiming to be a former student sent copies of racially insensitive Facebook jokes she shared to several media outlets and educational institutions.

"I feel terrible," said Nancy Reeves of West Deptford, an adjunct sociology professor at Rowan College at Gloucester County, Rowan University and Widener University. "I'm blindsided. I wish that if someone were that upset they would've come to me first."

The posts in question are numerous images and status updates Reeves shared from a page called "Mexican Word of the Day," which derives puns from stereotypes about Mexican-English accents. Each meme features a picture of an overweight Mexican man in a sombrero.

"Mexican word of the day: Statue," reads one image. "Hey pepe, I can't see ju [sic]. Is statue standing over there?"

Another makes an unflattering reference to Mexican immigrants working as landscapers. It reads "Mexican word of the day: Asbestos. I did jur [sic] lawn asbestos I could."

Reeves said that she reposted the images because of their wordplay, and not for their racial overtones. There were more than 20 "Mexican Word of the Day" posts on her page in total, dating back to mid-summer. She has about 800 friends on social media, a good portion of whom were once her students.

"I never in a million years meant to offend anybody by sharing a status," said Reeves. "To me it was just a play on words."

The letter writer, who did not provide a name, identified as Latino and signed off as "A Humiliated and Offended Former Student." The person also questioned whether race played a factor in Reeves' grading system, which Reeves denies.

"I look at test grades, paper grades, class discussion and attendance. That's it. I would never give someone less of a grade based on race," she said. She also questions whether the writer was someone retaliating over his or her grades.

"I wish they would've contacted me instead of accusing me of being something that I'm not. I don't consider myself a racist," said Reeves. "It's tough because we talk about social problems in class. Some of the stuff we talk about can affect people deeply."

By all accounts, Reeves is a popular professor. She is rated highly on ratemyprofessor.com, which compiles feedback from students. Several former students who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the story supported Reeves.

"I can say genuinely that I've never felt anything that would suggest Nancy is a racist," said a Glassboro man who emphasized his Asian and Hispanic heritage. He took classes with Reeves at what was then Gloucester County College.

"As a sociology professor she has to talk about sensitive subjects but she's always fair and balanced in regards to race and sex. I've never felt offended by anything she said. I think she made an innocent mistake."

Joe Cardona, a spokesman at Rowan University, said administrators were looking into the matter.

"Obviously, we don't condone that language," he said. "All I can say at this point is we need to investigate it further." Widener spokesmen acknowledged that the school had received a copy of the anonymous letter, but said they could not comment until administrators had fully reviewed the matter. At Rowan College at Gloucester County, a spokeswoman said they had not yet been notified of the situation.

In the meantime, Reeves said she would no longer be posting similar content.

"I deleted all of my students and will never accept a Facebook friend request from a student ever again," she said. "Again, I never meant anything at all in terms of racism."

She will meet with Rowan administrators Thursday.

Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.