Howard Finklestein, a sociology professor at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey, was caught on Snapchat using the f-word against a conservative student. The school is currently investigating the situation. (Joey Smith)
A New Jersey community college professor is under investigation for berating a conservative student in a profanity-laced tirade that was caught on camera.
Brookdale Community College sociology professor Howard Finkelstein allegedly slammed his hand on a desk and screamed the f-word at a conservative student, Christopher Lyle, in a discussion about sexual harassment that another student captured on Snapchat last Wednesday.
“He’s constantly called me into his office and told me I can’t speak in his class because of my beliefs,” Lyle said.
Joey Smith, who captured the exchange on video, told Fox News he was recording the Sociology 105 lecture on his phone because he knew the “unprofessional” professor was going to do something “offensive or stupid.”
The class at the time was discussing how women are victims of sexual harassment. When Lyle interjected that men can be victimized by women and offered a personal example, Finkelstein slammed the desk and shouted “f*** your life!”
The two students accused Finkelstein of using his class period to single out and bash Lyle for his conservative views, telling a veteran in the class he’s a “murderer,” and lecturing incessantly on white privilege.
“He constantly talks about white privilege and how I have privilege because I’m a white male,” Lyle said. “I don’t believe that. I work 50 hours a week and attend class, and he tells me to ‘shut the f*** up.’”
Lyle told Fox News he was pulled out of class the next day by a school official and asked if he owned guns and would undergo a mental health evaluation. The college launched an investigation into Lyle’s gun ownership allegedly for comments he made weeks before in class about how difficult it is to legally obtain a gun in the state of New Jersey.
Lyle said in addition to the professor trying to suppress his First Amendment rights of free speech, the university targeted his Second Amendment rights as well. The school has denied doing so.
The school’s Student Conduct & Compliance Director, Christopher Jeune, told Fox News initial reports of the incident contained “many false and wholly inaccurate statements.”
“Brookdale Community College is fully cognizant of the Second Amendment and the rights it affords and does not discriminate against anyone based on his/her beliefs,” Jeune said. “It is in the best interest of all members of our community for the college to do its due diligence when a student or employee mentions firearms during the process of an investigation.”
Lyle believes the school was trying to take attention off the professor.
“The discussion was brought up weeks ago and nobody had a problem with my comments until their professor did something extremely unprofessional,” Lyle said. “If they had a problem with my comments they should have talked to me before this video was taken and all this was shown. Now they are trying to reverse roles and make me look like I’m the bad guy.”
The investigation into Lyle’s gun ownership has been closed, according to Jeune.
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