Teacher under fire for 'insensitive' test question asking which ethnicity is least likely to do graffiti

A lecturer at California State University, Long Beach, has apologized for including a controversial question on a health sciences take-home exam given to students.

As Los Angeles’s NBC 4 reports, the exam asked students “which of the following gangs generally do the least graffiti?” Students were meant to choose from one of four ethnic groups: black, Asian, Hispanic or white.

Cal State student Alex Rambo drew attention to the problematic question on Twitter, calling it “idiocy.”

A taste of the kind of idiocy I’ve been dealing with in my health science education class. This is a question on my final exam… pic.twitter.com/bQJgkmmXSb

— Jim… James… Jimothy? (@Al_RamBro) December 11, 2018

Commenters soon responded with outrage and disbelief.

Dear @CSULB — I will not support or donate to my alma mater until this professor has been removed. This is disgusting and racist, and does not align with the core values of the school I graduated from. @lbpost @presstelegram @KTLA@FOXLA @CBSLA @ABC7

— 🏀LeTone James👑 (@welcometonezone) December 11, 2018

Wait, what? How is this question even relevant to health science??

— Amber Santos (@amber_n_santos) December 11, 2018

This is not okay G

— Seanley Kubrick 🇧🇿 (@SeanLegend34) December 11, 2018

According to NBC 4, the lecturer, Matt Fischer, explained that the question was included because the health sciences class had discussed the topics of gangs and graffiti. Rambo disputes this.

“I don’t remember going over anything about gangs in class,” Rambo told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. “The question was pretty offensive.”

“I’m not calling him a racist, but I do think that the question was definitely insensitive,” he added in a separate interview with NBC 4. 

A question on a @CSULB health sciences exam asks which ethnic gang generally does the least graffiti. This student, who posted the question on @twitter, thinks its offensive & “racially insensitive.” We also spoke w/ the lecturer who asks the question. Tonight @ 11 p.m. @nbcla pic.twitter.com/eacuEost20

— Hetty Chang (@HettyNBCLA) December 13, 2018

The Press-Telegram reports that while Fischer, who is white, was surprised at the backlash the question has received, he insists that no offense was intended.

“Wasn’t meant to be racist in the least,” he told the newspaper. “I’m sorry they were so offended by it.”

The question will reportedly be removed from future exams.

The university, meanwhile, is launching an investigation into the matter.

“The college takes situations like this very seriously as we are deeply committed to creating learning environments in which all students thrive and succeed,” Monica Lounsbery, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, told the Press-Telegram. “Once we have completed the investigation, we will evaluate all of the information and determine an appropriate course of action.”