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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
An earlier one read: “Emailed me a bribe offering a grade boost if I did her a favor of attending a meeting she was hosting. I did not respond because accepting a bribe is illegal.” Umamaheswar and Sinha could not figure out who might be posting them. Umamaheswar had obviously never bribed any students. Someone was inventing specific defamatory accusations about her behavior. But who? One day, Umamaheswar opened a report from her web hosting company, which logged the IP addresses that had visited her professional website. It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors?
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9901
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
I did not respond because accepting a bribe is illegal.” Umamaheswar and Sinha could not figure out who might be posting them. Umamaheswar had obviously never bribed any students. Someone was inventing specific defamatory accusations about her behavior. But who? One day, Umamaheswar opened a report from her web hosting company, which logged the IP addresses that had visited her professional website. It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed.
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9902
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
I did not respond because accepting a bribe is illegal.” Umamaheswar and Sinha could not figure out who might be posting them. Umamaheswar had obviously never bribed any students. Someone was inventing specific defamatory accusations about her behavior. But who? One day, Umamaheswar opened a report from her web hosting company, which logged the IP addresses that had visited her professional website. It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing.
|
9903
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Umamaheswar had obviously never bribed any students. Someone was inventing specific defamatory accusations about her behavior. But who? One day, Umamaheswar opened a report from her web hosting company, which logged the IP addresses that had visited her professional website. It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing. Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department.
|
9904
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Someone was inventing specific defamatory accusations about her behavior. But who? One day, Umamaheswar opened a report from her web hosting company, which logged the IP addresses that had visited her professional website. It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing. Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department. The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus.
|
9905
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
It was a lightly trafficked portfolio with her CV and academic papers. Visitors might stop by once and maybe return weeks later. But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing. Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department. The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus. The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar.
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9906
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
But one local address began showing up, repeatedly, at all hours of the day, into the night, again the next morning. Sometimes, the same IP showed up in over two dozen hits an hour. She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing. Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department. The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus. The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar. The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name.
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9907
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She and her husband wondered: could it be the same user from Rate My Professors? Sinha then checked his personal website and grew even more alarmed. The same IP address had also been visiting his pages frequently, lingering on his résumé and published writing. Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department. The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus. The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar. The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name. Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes.
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9908
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Then, in December, police from Southern Connecticut State University contacted Umamaheswar’s department. The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus. The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar. The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name. Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes. When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts.
|
9909
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The chair called Umamaheswar to inform her that a student had filed a police report against her and two other professors on campus. The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar. The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name. Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes. When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts. It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials.
|
9910
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The report noted that she contacted police “regarding a possible hacking of her personal laptop computer which she stated was perpetrated by three faculty members of the Sociology Department,” including Umamaheswar. The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name. Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes. When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts. It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials. As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct.
|
9911
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The student had taken classes with each of the three professors and also accused them “of using students in the class to follow her around and look at her papers which has made her extremely uncomfortable and feel unsafe.” The police report also referred to the student by name. Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes. When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts. It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials. As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr.
|
9912
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Here, we’ll just refer to her as S. Umamaheswar remembered S., the mild and unobtrusive student, a young white woman, from one of her classes. When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts. It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials. As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless.
|
9913
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
When a police investigator contacted Umamaheswar, she told them about the mysterious Rate My Professors posts. It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials. As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment.
|
9914
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
It turned out S. had also emailed accusations about Umamaheswar to Southern Connecticut State school officials. As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself.
|
9915
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration.
|
9916
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
As far as she knew, the complaint had gone up to the president of the school and to the Title IX office, which handles discrimination and harassment complaints, including sexual harassment and misconduct. In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her.
|
9917
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
In one message to administration on February 9th, 2020, S. wrote: “I genuinely believe Dr. Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away.
|
9918
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Umamaheswar is a danger to other students as she was to me.” The letter continued: “She is a pathological liar and capable of twisting words to get what she wants.” The accusations, like the Rate My Professors posts, were baseless. But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department.
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9919
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
But they blindsided Umamaheswar anyway. As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university.
|
9920
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
As the news sunk in, Umamaheswar and Sinha learned that the other two accused professors from Southern Connecticut had separately filed police reports against S. for harassment. Umamaheswar decided against doing so herself. She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020.
|
9921
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She was, after all, a professor who studied the law, social inequality, and incarceration. To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date.
|
9922
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
To her, this was probably someone struggling with mental health issues, and Umamaheswar knew how the legal system might treat her. Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior.
|
9923
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Instead of seeking punishment, she just hoped the situation would just go away. Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors.
|
9924
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Southern Connecticut State administrators from four separate university offices investigated the allegations and harassment claims involving all of the professors, as did the police department. After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office.
|
9925
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
After two trying months, they dismissed S.’s claims about Umamaheswar, deeming them “factually incorrect, disparaging” and “legally actionable.” A relief. School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety.
|
9926
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
School administrators sent S. a cease and desist letter and banned her from the university. “Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online.
|
9927
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“Should you decide to violate either of these directives, you will subject yourself to arrest and prosecution,” the assistant dean of students wrote in a letter to S. on February 9th, 2020. Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed.
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9928
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Shortly after, law enforcement arrested S. for harassment. She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island.
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9929
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She was later released, awaiting a court date. At first, law enforcement seemed concerned about S.’s behavior. Police issued alerts about S. and offered to relocate professors to an area of the school that had more security and locked doors. At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all.
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9930
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
At one point, officers offered to install a panic button inside of Umamaheswar’s office. This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College.
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9931
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
This did little to soothe Sinha’s worries about his wife and their children’s safety. As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account.
|
9932
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
As police seemed to take the situation more seriously, it made him even more cautious. He installed a security camera at home. A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier.
|
9933
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
A month later, the pandemic shut down college campuses, and classes shifted online. S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
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9934
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
S. seemed to quiet, too. A year passed. Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
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tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses.
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9935
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The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Umamaheswar accepted a job as an assistant professor at George Mason University, and the family moved to Virginia. Sinha would continue to teach remotely, later commuting to teach at Hofstra University on Long Island. For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims.
|
9936
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
For the next year, they did not hear of any other letters or harassing emails from S. As far as they knew, they were moving past it all. One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims. The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students.
|
9937
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
One afternoon in March of 2022, the couple was at home in Virginia when Umamaheswar received a text from a former colleague who was now teaching sociology at Vassar College. The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims. The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students. A college campus can be a first grasp of adulthood for many, the place where they learn who they are in the world or experiment with relationships, romance, and drugs or alcohol.
|
9938
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The professor had noticed a strange, hidden comment on her Twitter account. When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims. The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students. A college campus can be a first grasp of adulthood for many, the place where they learn who they are in the world or experiment with relationships, romance, and drugs or alcohol. It can also be a place with clear power imbalances. Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers.
|
9939
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
When she clicked through, she saw a name she’d heard about before — when her colleagues at Southern Connecticut State were being harassed two years earlier. S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims. The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students. A college campus can be a first grasp of adulthood for many, the place where they learn who they are in the world or experiment with relationships, romance, and drugs or alcohol. It can also be a place with clear power imbalances. Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. In some cases, professors have become harassers. There are extreme examples.
|
9940
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
S. was back.
Loading . . .
tudentsStudents are historically the most vulnerable populations at risk of being stalked on college campuses. In one study across eight universities in the southwest, 17 percent of students reported being stalked since enrolling in college, with women, transgender or gender-nonconforming and sexual minority students more likely to be victims. The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students. A college campus can be a first grasp of adulthood for many, the place where they learn who they are in the world or experiment with relationships, romance, and drugs or alcohol. It can also be a place with clear power imbalances. Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. In some cases, professors have become harassers. There are extreme examples. In her 2019 memoir, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, Donna Freitas detailed her two-year ordeal of being stalked by her professor, who showed up unsolicited to her apartment and wrote her a stream of letters and emails.
|
9941
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The students reported being targeted by strangers, acquaintances, friends, former partners, other classmates, and non-students. A college campus can be a first grasp of adulthood for many, the place where they learn who they are in the world or experiment with relationships, romance, and drugs or alcohol. It can also be a place with clear power imbalances. Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. In some cases, professors have become harassers. There are extreme examples. In her 2019 memoir, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, Donna Freitas detailed her two-year ordeal of being stalked by her professor, who showed up unsolicited to her apartment and wrote her a stream of letters and emails. And at the University of Central Florida, a professor was arrested after sending a student over 800 messages a day, including one that read: “You should be happy that someone likes you this much to stalk you.” But today, a cadre of academics is now aiming to strengthen the much smaller body of research that exists around faculty who experience stalking and abuse.
|
9942
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
It can also be a place with clear power imbalances. Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. In some cases, professors have become harassers. There are extreme examples. In her 2019 memoir, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, Donna Freitas detailed her two-year ordeal of being stalked by her professor, who showed up unsolicited to her apartment and wrote her a stream of letters and emails. And at the University of Central Florida, a professor was arrested after sending a student over 800 messages a day, including one that read: “You should be happy that someone likes you this much to stalk you.” But today, a cadre of academics is now aiming to strengthen the much smaller body of research that exists around faculty who experience stalking and abuse. Victoria O’Meara, a post-doctoral research fellow at Royal Roads University, has been interviewing scholars in the US and Canada for a study on online abuse of faculty.
|
9943
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Many college protective measures have arisen in response to inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. In some cases, professors have become harassers. There are extreme examples. In her 2019 memoir, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, Donna Freitas detailed her two-year ordeal of being stalked by her professor, who showed up unsolicited to her apartment and wrote her a stream of letters and emails. And at the University of Central Florida, a professor was arrested after sending a student over 800 messages a day, including one that read: “You should be happy that someone likes you this much to stalk you.” But today, a cadre of academics is now aiming to strengthen the much smaller body of research that exists around faculty who experience stalking and abuse. Victoria O’Meara, a post-doctoral research fellow at Royal Roads University, has been interviewing scholars in the US and Canada for a study on online abuse of faculty. She told me there has been “an increasingly organized attack on academia,” and scholars have told her their universities remain ill-equipped to respond to it or support faculty, let alone to protect them.
|
9944
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
And at the University of Central Florida, a professor was arrested after sending a student over 800 messages a day, including one that read: “You should be happy that someone likes you this much to stalk you.” But today, a cadre of academics is now aiming to strengthen the much smaller body of research that exists around faculty who experience stalking and abuse. Victoria O’Meara, a post-doctoral research fellow at Royal Roads University, has been interviewing scholars in the US and Canada for a study on online abuse of faculty. She told me there has been “an increasingly organized attack on academia,” and scholars have told her their universities remain ill-equipped to respond to it or support faculty, let alone to protect them. Concerns about professors being stalked or harmed on campuses are evolving and becoming more amorphous with online threats, but they are not new: In 2002, three nursing professors at the University of Arizona were killed by a student who had harassed and stalked them for a year.
|
9945
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Victoria O’Meara, a post-doctoral research fellow at Royal Roads University, has been interviewing scholars in the US and Canada for a study on online abuse of faculty. She told me there has been “an increasingly organized attack on academia,” and scholars have told her their universities remain ill-equipped to respond to it or support faculty, let alone to protect them. Concerns about professors being stalked or harmed on campuses are evolving and becoming more amorphous with online threats, but they are not new: In 2002, three nursing professors at the University of Arizona were killed by a student who had harassed and stalked them for a year. Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior.
|
9946
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She told me there has been “an increasingly organized attack on academia,” and scholars have told her their universities remain ill-equipped to respond to it or support faculty, let alone to protect them. Concerns about professors being stalked or harmed on campuses are evolving and becoming more amorphous with online threats, but they are not new: In 2002, three nursing professors at the University of Arizona were killed by a student who had harassed and stalked them for a year. Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him.
|
9947
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She told me there has been “an increasingly organized attack on academia,” and scholars have told her their universities remain ill-equipped to respond to it or support faculty, let alone to protect them. Concerns about professors being stalked or harmed on campuses are evolving and becoming more amorphous with online threats, but they are not new: In 2002, three nursing professors at the University of Arizona were killed by a student who had harassed and stalked them for a year. Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police.
|
9948
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Concerns about professors being stalked or harmed on campuses are evolving and becoming more amorphous with online threats, but they are not new: In 2002, three nursing professors at the University of Arizona were killed by a student who had harassed and stalked them for a year. Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students.
|
9949
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students. But some within academia are now calling on institutions to do more to defend professors and other staff, who are also commonly targeted. Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism.
|
9950
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Four years later, a student at Loyola University spent a year making harassing phone calls to a professor before attempting to burn down his house. A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students. But some within academia are now calling on institutions to do more to defend professors and other staff, who are also commonly targeted. Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism. In the digital age, many threats to faculty and staff do not just come from those affiliated with campuses.
|
9951
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
A University of Southern California psychology professor was stabbed to death on campus in 2016 by a student, despite warnings to police and university administrators of threats made by the same person over a year prior. And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students. But some within academia are now calling on institutions to do more to defend professors and other staff, who are also commonly targeted. Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism. In the digital age, many threats to faculty and staff do not just come from those affiliated with campuses. They can come from individuals anywhere around the world, making harassers harder to track down or punish.
|
9952
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
And in 2022, at the University of Arizona, an expelled student shot a professor, killing him. In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students. But some within academia are now calling on institutions to do more to defend professors and other staff, who are also commonly targeted. Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism. In the digital age, many threats to faculty and staff do not just come from those affiliated with campuses. They can come from individuals anywhere around the world, making harassers harder to track down or punish. Scholars now appear regularly in the press, maintain their own personal webpages, post regularly on social media, and are encouraged to write for broader audiences — these are now the expectations of a job once largely confined to their campus and field.
|
9953
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
In the months before the murder, various faculty members had reported a history of threats, harassment, and abuse by the student to the university and police. Over the last two decades, US colleges and universities have emphasized policies to protect students. But some within academia are now calling on institutions to do more to defend professors and other staff, who are also commonly targeted. Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism. In the digital age, many threats to faculty and staff do not just come from those affiliated with campuses. They can come from individuals anywhere around the world, making harassers harder to track down or punish. Scholars now appear regularly in the press, maintain their own personal webpages, post regularly on social media, and are encouraged to write for broader audiences — these are now the expectations of a job once largely confined to their campus and field. The Professor Watchlist, launched in 2016, has grown to include the names of more than nearly 1,000 scholars to its original roster of 200 and includes Angela Davis, Ibram X. Kendi, and Noam Chomsky.
|
9954
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Today’s academics have become public figures online and in the media in a climate of rising political polarization, racism and misogyny, and attacks on intellectualism. In the digital age, many threats to faculty and staff do not just come from those affiliated with campuses. They can come from individuals anywhere around the world, making harassers harder to track down or punish. Scholars now appear regularly in the press, maintain their own personal webpages, post regularly on social media, and are encouraged to write for broader audiences — these are now the expectations of a job once largely confined to their campus and field. The Professor Watchlist, launched in 2016, has grown to include the names of more than nearly 1,000 scholars to its original roster of 200 and includes Angela Davis, Ibram X. Kendi, and Noam Chomsky. The site regularly posts photos and information about those deemed as radical professors “advancing leftists propaganda in the classroom.” In recent years, as attacks on critical race theory, Black history, and books or courses addressing gender identity have exploded across the country, many educators are feeling even more under scrutiny and at risk for extremist threats.
|
9955
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
They can come from individuals anywhere around the world, making harassers harder to track down or punish. Scholars now appear regularly in the press, maintain their own personal webpages, post regularly on social media, and are encouraged to write for broader audiences — these are now the expectations of a job once largely confined to their campus and field. The Professor Watchlist, launched in 2016, has grown to include the names of more than nearly 1,000 scholars to its original roster of 200 and includes Angela Davis, Ibram X. Kendi, and Noam Chomsky. The site regularly posts photos and information about those deemed as radical professors “advancing leftists propaganda in the classroom.” In recent years, as attacks on critical race theory, Black history, and books or courses addressing gender identity have exploded across the country, many educators are feeling even more under scrutiny and at risk for extremist threats. Even for less famous academics, like Umamaheswar and Sinha, the very substance of their work already made them potential targets in this political climate.
|
9956
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The Professor Watchlist, launched in 2016, has grown to include the names of more than nearly 1,000 scholars to its original roster of 200 and includes Angela Davis, Ibram X. Kendi, and Noam Chomsky. The site regularly posts photos and information about those deemed as radical professors “advancing leftists propaganda in the classroom.” In recent years, as attacks on critical race theory, Black history, and books or courses addressing gender identity have exploded across the country, many educators are feeling even more under scrutiny and at risk for extremist threats. Even for less famous academics, like Umamaheswar and Sinha, the very substance of their work already made them potential targets in this political climate. Umamaheswar’s publications included research into “policing and racial (in)justice in the media.” Sinha’s publications included titles on “racial discrimination in the United States.” The two of them had co-authored a paper together on wrongful imprisonment.
|
9957
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The site regularly posts photos and information about those deemed as radical professors “advancing leftists propaganda in the classroom.” In recent years, as attacks on critical race theory, Black history, and books or courses addressing gender identity have exploded across the country, many educators are feeling even more under scrutiny and at risk for extremist threats. Even for less famous academics, like Umamaheswar and Sinha, the very substance of their work already made them potential targets in this political climate. Umamaheswar’s publications included research into “policing and racial (in)justice in the media.” Sinha’s publications included titles on “racial discrimination in the United States.” The two of them had co-authored a paper together on wrongful imprisonment. Both come from South Asian backgrounds, and it was not lost on either of them that S. is white. Based on their own knowledge of the criminal justice system, it would not have been implausible for law enforcement to not take her behavior to be a serious threat in the first place.
|
9958
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Even for less famous academics, like Umamaheswar and Sinha, the very substance of their work already made them potential targets in this political climate. Umamaheswar’s publications included research into “policing and racial (in)justice in the media.” Sinha’s publications included titles on “racial discrimination in the United States.” The two of them had co-authored a paper together on wrongful imprisonment. Both come from South Asian backgrounds, and it was not lost on either of them that S. is white. Based on their own knowledge of the criminal justice system, it would not have been implausible for law enforcement to not take her behavior to be a serious threat in the first place. A 2009 study on student stalking of faculty in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning found that questions of whether professors are at risk of being stalked by their students had received little attention.
|
9959
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Even for less famous academics, like Umamaheswar and Sinha, the very substance of their work already made them potential targets in this political climate. Umamaheswar’s publications included research into “policing and racial (in)justice in the media.” Sinha’s publications included titles on “racial discrimination in the United States.” The two of them had co-authored a paper together on wrongful imprisonment. Both come from South Asian backgrounds, and it was not lost on either of them that S. is white. Based on their own knowledge of the criminal justice system, it would not have been implausible for law enforcement to not take her behavior to be a serious threat in the first place. A 2009 study on student stalking of faculty in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning found that questions of whether professors are at risk of being stalked by their students had received little attention. Yet the 52 faculty members interviewed for the study reported 87 concerning incidents, ranging from repeated unwanted messages, following them around, obsessively watching them, sexually coercive behavior toward the faculty member, endangerment, threats, and attempts to harm or even kill them.
|
9960
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Both come from South Asian backgrounds, and it was not lost on either of them that S. is white. Based on their own knowledge of the criminal justice system, it would not have been implausible for law enforcement to not take her behavior to be a serious threat in the first place. A 2009 study on student stalking of faculty in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning found that questions of whether professors are at risk of being stalked by their students had received little attention. Yet the 52 faculty members interviewed for the study reported 87 concerning incidents, ranging from repeated unwanted messages, following them around, obsessively watching them, sexually coercive behavior toward the faculty member, endangerment, threats, and attempts to harm or even kill them. Some academics interviewed for the study made comments like: a “student would have to injure me to be taken off campus… someone has to get hurt before something is done.” Another added: “There is a tendency to immediately take the student’s side over the professor…[the] professor has no rights in this process.” Other faculty members failed to report the incidents at all, and some described feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, and a personal responsibility for the student’s behavior.
|
9961
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
A 2009 study on student stalking of faculty in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning found that questions of whether professors are at risk of being stalked by their students had received little attention. Yet the 52 faculty members interviewed for the study reported 87 concerning incidents, ranging from repeated unwanted messages, following them around, obsessively watching them, sexually coercive behavior toward the faculty member, endangerment, threats, and attempts to harm or even kill them. Some academics interviewed for the study made comments like: a “student would have to injure me to be taken off campus… someone has to get hurt before something is done.” Another added: “There is a tendency to immediately take the student’s side over the professor…[the] professor has no rights in this process.” Other faculty members failed to report the incidents at all, and some described feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, and a personal responsibility for the student’s behavior. “Made me question what I was doing to promote this,” one faculty member told researchers.
|
9962
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Yet the 52 faculty members interviewed for the study reported 87 concerning incidents, ranging from repeated unwanted messages, following them around, obsessively watching them, sexually coercive behavior toward the faculty member, endangerment, threats, and attempts to harm or even kill them. Some academics interviewed for the study made comments like: a “student would have to injure me to be taken off campus… someone has to get hurt before something is done.” Another added: “There is a tendency to immediately take the student’s side over the professor…[the] professor has no rights in this process.” Other faculty members failed to report the incidents at all, and some described feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, and a personal responsibility for the student’s behavior. “Made me question what I was doing to promote this,” one faculty member told researchers. “What would make them think they could do this to me?”
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
|
9963
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Some academics interviewed for the study made comments like: a “student would have to injure me to be taken off campus… someone has to get hurt before something is done.” Another added: “There is a tendency to immediately take the student’s side over the professor…[the] professor has no rights in this process.” Other faculty members failed to report the incidents at all, and some described feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, and a personal responsibility for the student’s behavior. “Made me question what I was doing to promote this,” one faculty member told researchers. “What would make them think they could do this to me?”
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
inhaSinha had never met or taught S. He had never been employed on the same campus as his wife. Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger.
|
9964
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Some academics interviewed for the study made comments like: a “student would have to injure me to be taken off campus… someone has to get hurt before something is done.” Another added: “There is a tendency to immediately take the student’s side over the professor…[the] professor has no rights in this process.” Other faculty members failed to report the incidents at all, and some described feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, and a personal responsibility for the student’s behavior. “Made me question what I was doing to promote this,” one faculty member told researchers. “What would make them think they could do this to me?”
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
inhaSinha had never met or taught S. He had never been employed on the same campus as his wife. Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger. Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her.
|
9965
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“Made me question what I was doing to promote this,” one faculty member told researchers. “What would make them think they could do this to me?”
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
inhaSinha had never met or taught S. He had never been employed on the same campus as his wife. Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger. Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense.
|
9966
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“What would make them think they could do this to me?”
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
inhaSinha had never met or taught S. He had never been employed on the same campus as his wife. Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger. Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day.
|
9967
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Seven months of tweets.
inhaSinha had never met or taught S. He had never been employed on the same campus as his wife. Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger. Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan.
|
9968
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Now, they resided over six hours away from S. As much as she was a harasser, she was also a stranger. Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally.
|
9969
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar.
|
9970
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Sinha wondered if he needed to look more closely into the Twitter account to better understand her. The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions.
|
9971
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The couple discussed the tweet on their drive to a park where they often took walks. From the passenger seat, Umamaheswar looked up the Twitter account in question. She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions. Anyone Umamaheswar collaborated with professionally or even interacted with online had become a potential target.
|
9972
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She gasped. It took a moment to process: thousands of tweets had been posted under the S.’s name. Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions. Anyone Umamaheswar collaborated with professionally or even interacted with online had become a potential target. The Twitter account with S.’s name featured an image of a white woman’s face, which was recognizable to Umamaheswar as the same person she once taught.
|
9973
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Most were racist, sexual, vulgar, and violent. Little of the ranting made sense. The user tweeted at all hours, sometimes nearly a hundred times a day. And the tweets seemed to focus solely on three people: Umamaheswar, Sinha, and the former colleague who alerted them to the account, the Vassar professor Catherine Tan. Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions. Anyone Umamaheswar collaborated with professionally or even interacted with online had become a potential target. The Twitter account with S.’s name featured an image of a white woman’s face, which was recognizable to Umamaheswar as the same person she once taught. The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day.
|
9974
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Tan, like Sinha, had never taught or met S. and did not know her personally. But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions. Anyone Umamaheswar collaborated with professionally or even interacted with online had become a potential target. The Twitter account with S.’s name featured an image of a white woman’s face, which was recognizable to Umamaheswar as the same person she once taught. The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day. “Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome.
|
9975
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
But Tan had published papers with Umamaheswar. The user behind this account had linked Tan back to her, likely through this academic work and their benign social media interactions. Anyone Umamaheswar collaborated with professionally or even interacted with online had become a potential target. The Twitter account with S.’s name featured an image of a white woman’s face, which was recognizable to Umamaheswar as the same person she once taught. The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day. “Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely.
|
9976
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The Twitter account with S.’s name featured an image of a white woman’s face, which was recognizable to Umamaheswar as the same person she once taught. The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day. “Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments.
|
9977
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day. “Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself.
|
9978
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The tweets frequently denigrated Umamaheswar, Sinha, and Tan for being Asian: “Fat Indian bitch,” read one tweet, referencing Umamaheswar by her first name in another tweet that day. “Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body.
|
9979
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“Squinty eyed retard with a cucktonut husband,” read another, referencing Sinha. “I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent.
|
9980
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“I like that alex is probably abusive to her,” read one tweet. “And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state.
|
9981
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“And all she has is Catherine to call her awesome. Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives.
|
9982
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Live in hell bitch.” Another read: “I have super detailed deaths I like to think about them experiencing.” When Umamaheswar and Sinha returned home from the park that day, Sinha told himself he needed to monitor this account closely. Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats.
|
9983
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats. The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets.
|
9984
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Screenshot everything. Head off any potential threats of danger. Umamaheswar did not want to keep looking at the comments. But logging on at home, Sinha studied them. He had to take a moment to collect himself. The graphic nature and racist sentiments sent a wave of fear and anger through Sinha’s body. In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats. The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets. Sinha went to work capturing the images as Umamaheswar began writing letters to her current administration, as well as to Vassar on behalf of Tan, alerting them to her history with S. As Sinha began cataloging the online comments, he felt compelled to read every single one.
|
9985
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
In the last year, a white man had murdered six Asian women in three Atlanta area spas, and anti-Asian hate crimes had increased by over 300 percent. “There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats. The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets. Sinha went to work capturing the images as Umamaheswar began writing letters to her current administration, as well as to Vassar on behalf of Tan, alerting them to her history with S. As Sinha began cataloging the online comments, he felt compelled to read every single one. And the tweets just kept coming. Almost every week, except for the periods when S. was suspended by Twitter before restarting under a new account.
|
9986
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats. The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets. Sinha went to work capturing the images as Umamaheswar began writing letters to her current administration, as well as to Vassar on behalf of Tan, alerting them to her history with S. As Sinha began cataloging the online comments, he felt compelled to read every single one. And the tweets just kept coming. Almost every week, except for the periods when S. was suspended by Twitter before restarting under a new account. At least 40,000 tweets and counting, Sinha said.
|
9987
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“There was this moment of ‘wow, this has been happening all this time?’” Sinha said. “We moved to another state. We’ve been living our lives. We’ve been raising our kids.” Yet all the while, in the background, this person had been obsessing about them daily, writing hateful lies and threats. The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets. Sinha went to work capturing the images as Umamaheswar began writing letters to her current administration, as well as to Vassar on behalf of Tan, alerting them to her history with S. As Sinha began cataloging the online comments, he felt compelled to read every single one. And the tweets just kept coming. Almost every week, except for the periods when S. was suspended by Twitter before restarting under a new account. At least 40,000 tweets and counting, Sinha said. Some referred to him as a “dirty Indian hacker.” And: “Probably called a dirty terrorist as a kid and lived up to it.” One tweet from April 16th, 2022, read: “Yo someone literally has to get rid of this faggot alex.
|
9988
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
The account had started posting in October of 2021. Seven months of tweets. Sinha went to work capturing the images as Umamaheswar began writing letters to her current administration, as well as to Vassar on behalf of Tan, alerting them to her history with S. As Sinha began cataloging the online comments, he felt compelled to read every single one. And the tweets just kept coming. Almost every week, except for the periods when S. was suspended by Twitter before restarting under a new account. At least 40,000 tweets and counting, Sinha said. Some referred to him as a “dirty Indian hacker.” And: “Probably called a dirty terrorist as a kid and lived up to it.” One tweet from April 16th, 2022, read: “Yo someone literally has to get rid of this faggot alex. Who the fuck cares if he’s got a brothel of Asian women ready to suck his dick.” A month later, a post with an image of grisly murder in Game of Thrones and the words: “A crown for a king.
|
9989
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
And the tweets just kept coming. Almost every week, except for the periods when S. was suspended by Twitter before restarting under a new account. At least 40,000 tweets and counting, Sinha said. Some referred to him as a “dirty Indian hacker.” And: “Probably called a dirty terrorist as a kid and lived up to it.” One tweet from April 16th, 2022, read: “Yo someone literally has to get rid of this faggot alex. Who the fuck cares if he’s got a brothel of Asian women ready to suck his dick.” A month later, a post with an image of grisly murder in Game of Thrones and the words: “A crown for a king. Don’t we all just want to say goodbye to Alex.” And: “I would like for these professors to die.” A dark realization came over Sinha: “She calls for people to murder us. She says that she wants me raped,” Sinha told me.
|
9990
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
At least 40,000 tweets and counting, Sinha said. Some referred to him as a “dirty Indian hacker.” And: “Probably called a dirty terrorist as a kid and lived up to it.” One tweet from April 16th, 2022, read: “Yo someone literally has to get rid of this faggot alex. Who the fuck cares if he’s got a brothel of Asian women ready to suck his dick.” A month later, a post with an image of grisly murder in Game of Thrones and the words: “A crown for a king. Don’t we all just want to say goodbye to Alex.” And: “I would like for these professors to die.” A dark realization came over Sinha: “She calls for people to murder us. She says that she wants me raped,” Sinha told me. “She would pay money to watch us bleed to death.” The tweets continued: “I wanna be put in a situation where they’re hanging off the side of a cliff about to fall to their deaths begging for mercy and I can step on their hands and say me first and then watch them fall to their deaths.” “I want them to suffer.”
“When I didn’t respond to threats, they targeted my family.”
nIn 2011, citing the alarmingly high rates of rape on campuses, the Obama administration began calling for colleges and universities to investigate accusations of assault with greater urgency and rigor.
|
9991
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Don’t we all just want to say goodbye to Alex.” And: “I would like for these professors to die.” A dark realization came over Sinha: “She calls for people to murder us. She says that she wants me raped,” Sinha told me. “She would pay money to watch us bleed to death.” The tweets continued: “I wanna be put in a situation where they’re hanging off the side of a cliff about to fall to their deaths begging for mercy and I can step on their hands and say me first and then watch them fall to their deaths.” “I want them to suffer.”
“When I didn’t respond to threats, they targeted my family.”
nIn 2011, citing the alarmingly high rates of rape on campuses, the Obama administration began calling for colleges and universities to investigate accusations of assault with greater urgency and rigor. Two years later, Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which strengthened civil rights under Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 to prohibit gender-based discrimination in educational institutions and programs.
|
9992
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
She says that she wants me raped,” Sinha told me. “She would pay money to watch us bleed to death.” The tweets continued: “I wanna be put in a situation where they’re hanging off the side of a cliff about to fall to their deaths begging for mercy and I can step on their hands and say me first and then watch them fall to their deaths.” “I want them to suffer.”
“When I didn’t respond to threats, they targeted my family.”
nIn 2011, citing the alarmingly high rates of rape on campuses, the Obama administration began calling for colleges and universities to investigate accusations of assault with greater urgency and rigor. Two years later, Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which strengthened civil rights under Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 to prohibit gender-based discrimination in educational institutions and programs. This move required institutions to use more stringent methods to investigate and make judgments and offered more guidelines for believing and supporting those who make allegations of rape, assault, or sexual harassment.
|
9993
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
“She would pay money to watch us bleed to death.” The tweets continued: “I wanna be put in a situation where they’re hanging off the side of a cliff about to fall to their deaths begging for mercy and I can step on their hands and say me first and then watch them fall to their deaths.” “I want them to suffer.”
“When I didn’t respond to threats, they targeted my family.”
nIn 2011, citing the alarmingly high rates of rape on campuses, the Obama administration began calling for colleges and universities to investigate accusations of assault with greater urgency and rigor. Two years later, Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which strengthened civil rights under Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 to prohibit gender-based discrimination in educational institutions and programs. This move required institutions to use more stringent methods to investigate and make judgments and offered more guidelines for believing and supporting those who make allegations of rape, assault, or sexual harassment. Under the Trump administration, some of these policies were rolled back and changed, allowing accused individuals to receive more due process protections.
|
9994
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Two years later, Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which strengthened civil rights under Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 to prohibit gender-based discrimination in educational institutions and programs. This move required institutions to use more stringent methods to investigate and make judgments and offered more guidelines for believing and supporting those who make allegations of rape, assault, or sexual harassment. Under the Trump administration, some of these policies were rolled back and changed, allowing accused individuals to receive more due process protections. Many universities have historically mishandled student allegations of rape and sexual misconduct on campus, and Title IX laws became a crucial tool in curbing discrimination and harassment against students and employees based on sex. But there have also been cases in which the federal law has been manipulated and weaponized against those on campuses who are from marginalized and vulnerable groups, including faculty. The saga of S. is far from an anomaly.
|
9995
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Two years later, Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, which strengthened civil rights under Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 to prohibit gender-based discrimination in educational institutions and programs. This move required institutions to use more stringent methods to investigate and make judgments and offered more guidelines for believing and supporting those who make allegations of rape, assault, or sexual harassment. Under the Trump administration, some of these policies were rolled back and changed, allowing accused individuals to receive more due process protections. Many universities have historically mishandled student allegations of rape and sexual misconduct on campus, and Title IX laws became a crucial tool in curbing discrimination and harassment against students and employees based on sex. But there have also been cases in which the federal law has been manipulated and weaponized against those on campuses who are from marginalized and vulnerable groups, including faculty. The saga of S. is far from an anomaly. Professor and journalist Sarah Viren detailed the false sexual harassment accusations against herself and her wife filed with the Title IX Office at Arizona State University.
|
9996
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
This move required institutions to use more stringent methods to investigate and make judgments and offered more guidelines for believing and supporting those who make allegations of rape, assault, or sexual harassment. Under the Trump administration, some of these policies were rolled back and changed, allowing accused individuals to receive more due process protections. Many universities have historically mishandled student allegations of rape and sexual misconduct on campus, and Title IX laws became a crucial tool in curbing discrimination and harassment against students and employees based on sex. But there have also been cases in which the federal law has been manipulated and weaponized against those on campuses who are from marginalized and vulnerable groups, including faculty. The saga of S. is far from an anomaly. Professor and journalist Sarah Viren detailed the false sexual harassment accusations against herself and her wife filed with the Title IX Office at Arizona State University. In a follow-up podcast, Viren delved into interviews with other academics who reached out to her after she shared her story, including that of a Mexican American professor who was accused of sleeping with students and another professor up for tenure who was accused of harassment by a student she had never met.
|
9997
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
Under the Trump administration, some of these policies were rolled back and changed, allowing accused individuals to receive more due process protections. Many universities have historically mishandled student allegations of rape and sexual misconduct on campus, and Title IX laws became a crucial tool in curbing discrimination and harassment against students and employees based on sex. But there have also been cases in which the federal law has been manipulated and weaponized against those on campuses who are from marginalized and vulnerable groups, including faculty. The saga of S. is far from an anomaly. Professor and journalist Sarah Viren detailed the false sexual harassment accusations against herself and her wife filed with the Title IX Office at Arizona State University. In a follow-up podcast, Viren delved into interviews with other academics who reached out to her after she shared her story, including that of a Mexican American professor who was accused of sleeping with students and another professor up for tenure who was accused of harassment by a student she had never met. In one glaring example, at least 20 people, many of them academics from various states and schools, said they were harassed, threatened, called racial slurs, and stalked by an individual who apparently has also threatened to throw acid, chop off hands, murder, and mutilate some of them.
|
9998
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
But there have also been cases in which the federal law has been manipulated and weaponized against those on campuses who are from marginalized and vulnerable groups, including faculty. The saga of S. is far from an anomaly. Professor and journalist Sarah Viren detailed the false sexual harassment accusations against herself and her wife filed with the Title IX Office at Arizona State University. In a follow-up podcast, Viren delved into interviews with other academics who reached out to her after she shared her story, including that of a Mexican American professor who was accused of sleeping with students and another professor up for tenure who was accused of harassment by a student she had never met. In one glaring example, at least 20 people, many of them academics from various states and schools, said they were harassed, threatened, called racial slurs, and stalked by an individual who apparently has also threatened to throw acid, chop off hands, murder, and mutilate some of them. “We know that being openly queer, not white, a woman, among many other social positions can set one up for excess surveillance, for questioning,” tweeted one of the academics who said she was stalked, Shantel Buggs, an assistant professor at Florida State University, whose research centers on culture, race and racism, gender, and work inequity in academia.
|
9999
|
The obsessive tormenter who made professors’ lives miserable
In a follow-up podcast, Viren delved into interviews with other academics who reached out to her after she shared her story, including that of a Mexican American professor who was accused of sleeping with students and another professor up for tenure who was accused of harassment by a student she had never met. In one glaring example, at least 20 people, many of them academics from various states and schools, said they were harassed, threatened, called racial slurs, and stalked by an individual who apparently has also threatened to throw acid, chop off hands, murder, and mutilate some of them. “We know that being openly queer, not white, a woman, among many other social positions can set one up for excess surveillance, for questioning,” tweeted one of the academics who said she was stalked, Shantel Buggs, an assistant professor at Florida State University, whose research centers on culture, race and racism, gender, and work inequity in academia. Sociologist Victor Ray, an associate professor at the University of Iowa, tweeted about his experience and said he was stalked by the same individual.
|
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