'Here's my number': Fresno State professor's post floods Arizona State crisis line with calls

Arizona State University's phone number for students in crisis has received a massive number of calls in the past two days after a California professor ranted against Barbara Bush and posted the crisis hotline as her personal number.

Randa Jarrar, an English professor at California State University-Fresno, called Bush, who died on Tuesday, an "amazing racist" who "raised a war criminal," a reference to former President George W. Bush, in a Twitter post.

She later said she was "happy the witch is dead" and couldn't wait for the rest of the Bush family to meet their demise.

Jarrar's account is now private, but media outlets published screenshots of her posts on Twitter.

The initial posting inspired thousands of responses, with people mentioning her employment at Fresno State and her supervisors. Jarrar encouraged those who were upset to contact the university, saying she would "never be fired" because she's a tenured professor.

Fresno State said Jarrar has been on leave this semester.

MORE: Tenure may not save professor who called Barbara Bush an 'amazing racist'

'If you really wanna reach me ... '

After someone on Twitter posted her email and phone number at Fresno State, Jarrar responded that she hadn't activated her work number.

"If you really wanna reach me, here's my number ok?" Jarrar posted, listing the number for the ASU crisis line.

The 24-hour ASU crisis line, run by a company called Empact, was subsequently inundated with phone calls.

The hotline typically receives about 5 calls per week, according to ASU.

On Wednesday afternoon, about a day after Jarrar's post, the line was still getting 50 to 70 calls per hour, ASU said.

ASU said the professor does not have any apparent affiliation with the university.

The school said it doesn't believe any people who needed the phone service were affected.

Eugene Gu, a doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tweeted to Jarrar after she posted the crisis number, telling her to stop.

"Your freedom of speech does not entitle you to have all these people spam an actual mental health crisis line," Gu tweeted.

Comments on Bush cause stir

Jarrar did not return requests for comment. Her personal website says she doesn't read or respond to messages about Barbara Bush.

Fresno State President Joseph Castro said in a statement that Jarrar made her comments about Bush as a private citizen, not a representative of the university.

“Professor Jarrar’s expressed personal views and commentary are obviously contrary to the core values of our university, which include respect and empathy for individuals with divergent points of view, and a sincere commitment to mutual understanding and respect,” Castro said.

Information on ASU's counseling services and the numbers to call if you're in crisis can be found here.

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