(RNN) - A professor at Fresno State University will not be teaching for the foreseeable future.
Shortly after America learned of the death of former first lady Barbara Bush on Tuesday, English professor Randa Jarrar used her verified Twitter account to share her views on Mrs. Bush.
“Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F*** outta here with your nice words,” Jarrar tweeted.
As expected, the tweet upset a ton of people. Before Jarrar switched her account to private, the tweet had generated more than 2,000 replies. She doubled down on her position in later tweets and even boasted, "I will never be fired."
What happens with her employment remains to be seen. She is, however, on leave.
She updated her Twitter bio to read, "Currently on leave from Fresno State. this is my private account and represents my opinions." The English department's website also lists Jarrar as on leave.
Outrage over her tweets reached the highest levels of the university and prompted university president Joseph I. Castro to issue the following statement:
Statement by @Fresno_State President @JosephICastro regarding tweets made today by a faculty member: pic.twitter.com/h3ZbQyMmxd
— Fresno State (@Fresno_State) April 18, 2018
The College Republicans of Fresno State also issued the following statement condemning Jarrar's actions and called for her termination:
The comments from Professor Randa Jarrar are wholly inappropriate and out of line. Barbara Bush's years of service to children and adults alike in promoting literacy are something to be celebrated. While Professor Jarrar's comments are protected under the First Amendment, the provocative and reckless manner that she conducted herself through her tweets last night is irresponsible. We believe that Ms. Jarrar has crossed the line and should be terminated from her position at Fresno State.
According to Newsweek, Jarrar is an Arab-American who grew up in Egypt and Kuwait. Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush spent parts of their presidencies involved in military conflicts in the Middle East.
According to Newsweek, Jarrar also tweeted, “If you’d like to know what it’s like to be an Arab American Muslim American woman with some clout online expressing an opinion, look at the racists going crazy in my mentions right now.”
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