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A Black graduate of Utah State University is receiving $45,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging his professor drew a racist caricature of him that was displayed in front of his class.
Greg Noel, 32, sued Utah State in March over the discrimination and racism he said he faced in the classroom, per the Atlanta Black Star.
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident in 2018 when Noel was working in a lab and lost all of his work due to a computer outage. Noel admitted to using profanities and pushing a chair after the computer deleted his work.
Following the incident, Noel's professor called a one-on-one meeting where he allegedly accused the student of being violent and abusive.
"Was that you going full Haitian?" the professor asked, according to Noel's lawsuit.
For years after the incident, Noel claimed the professor continually and purposefully ignored him during class discussions. In 2020, the professor allegedly drew a caricature of Noel as an "angry Black man," according to the lawsuit.
Noel said the image reflected off of the professor's computer screen and was visible to the entire classroom.
The incidents led Noel to file a complaint with the Office of Equity in March 2020. The office initially sided with Noel, saying he was subjected to a hostile environment, but later overturned its ruling after the professor filed an appeal.
The student said he felt "betrayed" by the school and decided to retain a lawyer.
“Enough is enough. I felt betrayed by Utah State University. I felt completely betrayed,” Noel told the Salt Lake Tribune.
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