Prof Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, daughter of Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, has raised alarm that her life is being threatened at Ithaca College, a university in New York, United States.
Soyinka-Airewele is the first black woman to be promoted to full professor at the university.
In a statement obtained by Premium Times, she said she was subjected to a “barrage” of racist and violent messages, including threats of sexual assault and assassination.
Although Soyinka-Airewele did not state when the threats began she said in her statement that it started when a student began “exhibiting erratic, harassing and threatening behaviour towards her.”
She said her complaints to the college’s authority were met with “bureaucratic roadblocks, lack of empathy and a denial of simple requests to change the methodology of delivery of lectures in order to enhance her safety and security.”
The professor said she spoke out to ensure that other minorities, especially black students and faculty from Africa are aware they can reach out for support if they face harassment, threats and other forms of discriminatory treatment.
Reacting to the allegations, the university’s spokesperson Dave Maley told the online newspaper via email, “We generally do not comment on specific personnel issues, so I cannot provide any additional information on this situation. However, I can tell you that the College takes threats against members of our community very seriously.”
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