(BLOOMINGTON) — A petition is calling for Indiana University to take action against a lecturer accused of verbally abusing a McDonald’s employee with mental disabilities.
The aftermath was caught on video by people in line at the restaurant.
They posted it online, and it has been shared more than 41,000 times.
Since it went viral, the IU Neurodiversity Coalition created a petition to get IU leaders involved.
That petition was delivered on Monday.
The petition states: “She reportedly called the neurodiverse cashier a “stupid retard” and then used the word “retard” again to describe another neurodiverse individual that was in line behind her. She also allegedly said that, “people like that shouldn’t be allowed in public, much less operating a cash register.” She then apparently physically assaulted one of the witnesses who was videotaping her and demanded that she delete her video… easily ID’ed from the IU website afterwards because she had told onlookers at the McDonald’s that she was an ‘IU Professor’ when they suggested she needs to educate herself better about these issues.”
IU issued the following statement: “Indiana University is aware of the off-campus incident involving an IU employee and the associated social media response. University leaders have heard from individuals engaged in or concerned about the matter and are taking steps to learn more.”
The professor is not being named because she is not facing criminal or disciplinary actions from the university.
IU police said they first heard about this case from the professor herself claiming she is now getting death threats and hate mail.
