Students and faculty at the University of Arizona’s College of Education held the second day of the sit in on Tuesday to protest the suspension of two professors on. Starting at 8 a.m., the students and faculty sat with signs and held multiple discussions with college leadership.
This comes after last week, Professors Rebecca Zapien and Becca Lopez were placed on administrative leave after an audio recording alleges that they made anti-semetic remarks during class.
Students in their classes, like Samantha Paredes, said it was a student led discussion about the Israel-Hamas war. She said it’s important for the college of education to hold discussion about difficult topics.
“You never know if you are going to encounter a child who is effected by these issues,” she said. “And as an educator you should want to and feel the need to support them and understand where they are coming from. And if you can’t even have those conversations in class in a higher education setting then how can you support all kinds of students.”
Paredes said while no decision was made Tuesday, they will continue their conversation with college leadership on Monday.