Golden West College Updates Fate of Racist Professor Who Claims She Isn’t Racist

Last week, Tarin Frances Olson went viral for racially abusing a Chinese-American couple and their baby, telling them that they were “disgusting” and needed to “go back to their home country” because they were making her “culture extinct”.

Netizens quickly discovered that the woman was a therapist and a professor, employed with Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. As news of her racist rant quickly went viral, more and more people demanded an answer from the organization. Initially, the college gave a lukewarm response on their FaceBook page:

“It has recently come to our attention that there was a video posted on Facebook of a GWC faculty member making comments that the College does not condone or support. Golden West College believes in an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students,” the post read.

Now, Golden West College has updated their stance, sending an official statement to Nextshark:

“Golden West College takes all of the recent concerns and comments expressed by members of our community very seriously. The recent video posted online of a faculty member’s comments in public are extremely disappointing and do not reflect the values or mission of the College.

“We expect that our faculty and staff adhere to the District’s ‘Board Policy 3050 – Code of Professional Ethics’, which requires that the conduct of employees, as ‘public employees’, shall be worthy of the respect and confidence of the community the District serves. Employees should, therefore, avoid conduct which is in violation of the public trust or which creates a justifiable impression among the community that such trust is being violated. We deeply regret that the words expressed were painful and hurtful to our students and all of the supportive members of our community.

“We are reviewing all internal policies and viable options for next actionable steps. We do not anticipate the faculty member in question to be on campus this week and because this is a personnel matter, additional details may be limited as further review continues. We value and support the free and open exchange of thoughts and ideas in an environment that embraces mutual respect and civility.

“We appreciate the continuous feedback of the community and are asking that all concerns be sent to publicaffairs@cccd.edu. If a call back is needed, please leave your contact information.”

News traveled fast, and public figures, such as Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, made official statements about the incident:

“I mean, this country is a country of immigrants and of diversity, and this city is a very diverse, beautiful place I think people love and feel very comfortable in,” Garcia told CBS2 News. “So, I never want any families to feel like they’re not welcome here; we’re welcoming of everybody.”

Still, Olson appears to be baring down on her words, even promising to expound upon what she meant:

“I feel my perspective will be twisted if discussing the skewed video which cut out part of the incident.[…] If you would like to have a full normal interview about the displacement of European-Americans then I gladly am available to enlighten the public,” she told CBS2 News.

This is a developing story; Nextshark will continue to update accordingly.

Images via FaceBook / Tony Kao

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