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UT student protest interrupts class for professor accused of sexual misconduct


File image of UT Tower. (CBS Austin)
File image of UT Tower. (CBS Austin)
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A University of Texas class was disrupted by student protesters who are calling for the removal of a professor accused of sexual misconduct.

Video that’s circulating social media shows a group of students enter the classroom of Dr. Sahotra Sarkar and say “we stand along side other enraged women who are disgusted by your actions toward students.”

A protester who spoke with CBS Austin anonymously said “a few” students walked out of the class in protest with those who entered. She went on to say in the past Dr. Sarkar was “soliciting nude pictures of students and inviting them to go to nude beaches.”

In an October 26th letter, the executive board of the Senate of College Councils said it supports the call for a more “transparent investigation and for action to be taken to remove professors in violation” of sexual misconduct policies.

“We don’t want them as our professors any longer and that’s what led to today... just some frustration,” said the protester.

Dr. Sarkar couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

UT sent a statement following the incident:

UTPD received a 911 call of a disruption in a classroom this morning at Waggener Hall. When officers responded, there was no longer a disruption taking place. There is no current criminal investigation.
The university respects students' freedom of speech and right to demonstrate, but speech cannot impede the mission of the university. As outlined in the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, “no speech, expression, or assembly may be conducted in a way that disrupts or interferes with any teaching, research, administration, function of the University, or other authorized activities on the campus.” Students involved in such disruptions could be subject to disciplinary action.
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