USC instructor accused of racist comment also defended displaying Confederate symbols
A University of South Carolina teacher accused of making racist comments to a student on Thursday once defended displaying Confederate symbols, something he also said he does himself.
"You know, being a Southerner is more than, you know, proudly waving your Confederate flag. And I'm all for it. You know, I have a picture of Robert E. Lee, a couple of them there, in my study," political science teacher Tobias Lanz said during a 2006 lecture.
Lanz gave the lecture, titled "The Agrarianism of Wendell Berry," during a lecture series held by the Abbeville Institute, a group that says it opposes efforts to "purge the Southern tradition and its symbols from the American landscape."
On Thursday, Lanz was accused of making a racist comment toward a student in class, which drew an apology from USC President Harris Pastides.
During a class discussion about welfare, junior Angela Bogni's phone rang, and Lanz said, "that may be the welfare office calling you now," according to a post by Bogni on Twitter.
When Bogni, who is African-American, confronted the teacher after class, he said he was joking and the comment was not meant to be derogatory, according to a video she posted on Twitter. But she said nobody found it funny.
"Today was my first experience with head-on racism at this institution," Bogni wrote in a statement on Twitter. "No one laughed ... in a class of over 200 students."
After class, Bogni confronted the teacher, recorded the interaction and posted it on Twitter. In the video, the teacher said he heard a phone go off, but didn't know whose it was and was making the comment generally.
"I didn't know it was you. I just made a joke. I had no idea," Lanz said in the video. "I would never do that to a student. ... It wasn't even to be derogatory, it's just funny we were talking about welfare and 'hey they're calling us.' "
The video does not include Lanz's comment about the call, only the student confronting the teacher afterward.
Both Pastides and the university's official Twitter account publicly condemned the comments.
"I’m sorry for what you experienced today and deeply troubled by comments that perpetuate racist stereotypes. This is not representative of @UofSC. We stand with you," Pastides tweeted.
Some people defended Lanz, a political science teacher, on Twitter.
"He’s telling the truth in the video," one man said in response to her post. "He didn’t direct that comment at you. We were talking about welfare and your phone went off and he made a comment (like he does every time someone’s phone goes off)."
University spokesman Jeff Stensland said "the department is looking into the matter," but did not say whether any action has been taken against Lanz.
Lanz, in his 2006 lecture, also used a racial stereotype. While decrying the wasteful nature of suburban homes, he said: "You put a lawn down. You use lots of water. You have a lawnmower made in Japan. You have Middle Eastern oil, right, and probably an illegal Mexican guy mowing it for you," he said. The crowd laughed.
Lanz did not respond to an email and several phone calls seeking comment.
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 10:06 AM with the headline "USC instructor accused of racist comment also defended displaying Confederate symbols."