Professor Fired for Teaching “Political” Story Sues College

English professor Vinita Prabhakar is suing South Florida State College after she was abruptly fired for teaching a story the college president deemed “political,” according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Florida district court. 

Prabhakar assigned her freshman English students “Bettering Myself,” an award-winning story by Ottessa Moshfegh that centers on a Catholic school math teacher who drinks to excess and talks about sex with her students. One of her students told Prabhakar the story made them “a bit uncomfortable,” to which Prabhakar “acknowledged that the story could be difficult” and invited the student to talk more about it in class the next day, the complaint states. 

At some point, the student who expressed discomfort spoke to another professor or administrator about the assignment, though “it is not known whether the student actually complained about the assignment or merely discussed the fact that the work had been assigned reading,” according to the complaint. An employee registered a complaint about the assignment, and Prabhakar learned from her department chair that the issue had “escalated.” 

Following several days of back-and-forth with other administrators about the assignment, Prabhakar met with South Florida State President Fred Hawkins on Feb. 11. During the meeting, Hawkins said “he would not want his own college-aged daughter reading” the story, and that he didn’t “ever want to see this story again,” the complaint states. He also told Prabhakar he’d been in contact “with Tallahassee” and the Board of Trustees about the matter. Hawkins, who became president of the college in 2023, is a former Republican state legislator and an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A day later, college officials removed Prabhakar from the classroom and told her that her contract would not be renewed. When she asked why, a human resources director told Prabhakar it was because she taught a story that wasn’t in the textbook and that “the president has the final say.” 

Prabhakar has taught “Bettering Myself” for a decade without incident, according to the complaint. She sued to “vindicate her constitutional and statutory rights” and seek reinstatement. 

“For 20 years, I’ve taught students how to engage with stories that excite them, challenge them, and broaden their experience of what it means to be human,” Prabhakar said in a news release from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is representing her. “I don’t plan on stopping now. If what happened to me becomes the norm, colleges across America will become less curious, less vibrant, and less free.”

Prabhakar joins a growing list of professors who have sued their institutions after being fired, alleging First Amendment violations. 

Spokespeople for South Florida State did not return Inside Higher Ed’s request for comment.