Bellevue Community College: Professor Punished for "Racially Insensitive" Exam Question

Bellevue Community College (BCC) has dropped its proposed punishment of Professor Peter Ratener, who composed a math exam problem that featured a woman named Condoleezza dropping a watermelon off the roof of a federal building. Ratener wrote the problem in 2004, but came under intense scrutiny after the exam question was made public in March, 2006. For seven months, FIRE opposed BCC's attempt to suspend Ratener for a week without pay before BCC finally announced that it would not suspend Ratener.

Case Materials

• "Victory for Free Speech at Bellevue Community College: College Drops Punishment of Professor for Politically Incorrect Math Question," February 27, 2007: Bellevue Community College (BCC) has dropped its proposed punishment of Professor Peter Ratener, who composed a math exam problem that featured a woman named Condoleezza dropping a watermelon off the roof of a federal building. Ratener wrote the problem in 2004, but came under intense scrutiny after the exam question was made public in March, 2006. For the last seven months, FIRE has opposed BCC’s attempt to suspend Ratener for a week without pay. FIRE’s efforts proved successful last week when BCC announced that it would not suspend Ratener.
• "Bellevue Community College Press Release, September 25, 2006," September 25, 2006
• "Community College Suspends Professor for 'Racist' Math Problem," FIRE Press Release, September 13, 2006: Bellevue Community College (BCC) near Seattle has decided to suspend a professor for composing a math exam question that involved a person named “Condoleezza” dropping a watermelon from the top of a building—a question that originally featured the comedian “Gallagher.” After months of public outcry, BCC informed Professor Peter Ratener that he would be suspended for a week without pay for his “offensive” question. Ratener then contacted FIRE for help.
• "E-mail from Washington Assistant Attorney General Alan Smith to FIRE, September 8, 2006," September 8, 2006
• "FIRE Letter to Bellevue Community College President Jean Floten, August 28, 2006," August 28, 2006
• "Letter from Bellevue Community College Executive Dean of Instructional Services Ron Leatherbarrow to Professor Peter Ratener, May 11, 2006," May 11, 2006
• "Professor Peter Ratener's Public Apology, April 19, 2006," April 19, 2006
• "Bellevue Community College Board of Trustees Public Statement, April 15, 2006," April 15, 2006
• "Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Press Release, April 14, 2006," April 14, 2006
• "Bellevue Community College Math Exam Problem, 2004," December 31, 2004

Blog Entries

• "Victory for Free Speech at Bellevue Community College: College Drops Punishment of Professor for Politically Incorrect Math Question," Tara Sweeney, February 27, 2007
• "Bellevue Community College Professor Still Waiting for Justice," Tara Sweeney, December 21, 2006
• "Freedom of Conscience Violated at Bellevue Community College," Luke Sheahan, November 6, 2006
• "‘Seattle Times’ Columnist Weighs In on Professor Peter Ratener," Robert Shibley, October 4, 2006
• "Bellevue Community College Named Leader in Diversity," Tara Sweeney, September 27, 2006
• "Columbia University: Land of the Free?," Sean Clark, September 25, 2006
• "The Watermelon Rolls On," Robert Shibley, September 20, 2006
• "No Benefit of the Doubt for Ratener," Tara Sweeney, September 15, 2006
• "The Response to Ratener and the 'Racist' Math Problem," Greg Lukianoff, September 14, 2006
• "Ratener’s Situation Not So Novel," Tara Sweeney, September 14, 2006
• "Bellevue’s Overreaction, Part II," Robert Shibley, September 13, 2006
• "Professor Suspended for Condoleezza Math Problem," Tara Sweeney, September 13, 2006

Media Coverage

• "Race to vilify math professor wrong response says FIRE," Jim Brown, AgapePress, September 20, 2006: A veteran professor at a community college in Seattle is protesting the school's decision to suspend him over what it calls a "racist" math exam question.
• "BCC professor continues to fight his one-week suspension," David Grant, King County Journal, September 15, 2006: A Bellevue Community College professor who was disciplined last spring for writing a racially insensitive test question, has enlisted an organization concerned about freedom of speech issues on college campuses to help fight his one-week suspension.
• "College flunks professor over test," Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, September 14, 2006: Peter Ratener, the professor, has appealed to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education for assistance, and that group is now organizing an outcry in response to the college’s response to the outcry Ratener created.

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