BY CAITLIN CEFAI

A Monash University tutor has been suspended from teaching while his repeated use of an offensive racial slur during a class is investigated.

Teaching Associate Gary Lacey was teaching into the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, within the School of Social Science on February 27 when he repeatedly used the N-word in his 8am 'From Freud to Friends: Ethnic Identity in Popular Culture' (ATS2000) tutorial

The use of the word was immediately criticised by students, including one who left the class.

The broader student body was made aware of the incident from an anonymous post on Facebook group Monash Stalkerspace.

The post included a screenshot of an email sent by ATS2000 course coordinator Associate Professor David Slucki.

He wrote that he had been “informed of an incident that occurred in a tutorial”, and that it was “currently being looked into”.

Meredith Leviston, a student in Dr Lacey’s 10am tutorial on the same day, provided more insight by commenting on the post.

“A Black student came into the class…and expressed that she felt uncomfortable by his use of the word so much [and] that there was no reason for him to say that word so much," she wrote.

"He argued with her, that he was using it for the purpose of analysis, and that his wife is Kenyan therefore he is allowed to use that word.

"He continued to push back and was very defensive and the student left the class upset."
 

Ms Leviston said in the following 10am tutorial, Dr Lacey “proceeded to seemingly brag about the incident” and continued to “use the N-word and went on a lot about people being offended by everything”.

Ms Leviston wrote on Facebook that it was not the first time Dr Lacey had faced criticism for using the same racial slur.

“[Dr Lacey] told my class he got in trouble for [using the] word last year when he taught [the same unit].”

Anukruti Pathak, an international student from India, who was in Lacey’s 5pm online tutorial on the same day of the incident corroborated Ms Leviston's account.

“[Dr Lacey] basically alluded to the fact that he thinks it’s okay to say the N-word for the purposes of this unit, as a sort of analysis,” Ms Pathak said.

“Then he mentioned that students had gotten upset at him for saying it, but he didn’t really look remorseful, he just thought it was quite funny,” she said.

Dr Lacey spoke with MOJO News on March 3 about the initial incident. He admitted to teaching the unit using the same terminology last year, but said that he had never previously had a problem doing so.

Dr Lacey said that the unit was “about depictions of race and ethnicity in popular culture” and that in this particular week of the unit, students were introduced to the concept of stereotypes with the ‘Diversity Day’ episode of The Office.

“That sort of leads into a discussion of who really has licence to use stereotypes and the language - including sort of reclaimed racial slurs.”

Dr Lacey said he discussed the use of the N-word with his class using examples from the shows of African-American comedians Dave Chapelle and Chris Rock, as well as a personal friend who is a biracial Australian comedian.

Dr Lacey – who has social connections with Kenyan, Ethiopian and African-Australian communities – said he has received “great support from them” and that “no-one [he has] talked to [in these communities] has understood why citing the word without a euphemism is a problem.”

“I used the words - in full… in our community, I have talked about this word with some people, and I never use the euphemism, we just say the word. We don’t believe that the word itself has any real agency, it’s only the way in which it’s used that gives it that agency, and so we do that.”

Dr Lacey said he would be using the euphemism ‘N-word’ while speaking with MOJO News, as he did not “want to be crucified again”.

Dr Lacey said he understood why the student who attended his class, called out his behaviour and then left, was offended.

“She didn’t have the context of it and didn’t even know what the class was because she walked into the wrong class and she happened to be Black. So she sat down and saw a white man, saying this word a few times, and got understandably very upset.”

“She told me I shouldn’t be using this word, and I should use the euphemism the ‘N-word’, and I didn’t want to get into a debate with her about it because it wouldn’t be appropriate, but I tried to explain the context to her to reassure her that this wasn’t a case of some rampant racism going on.”

Dr Lacey said he understood that his actions were offensive to students.

“Obviously I offended her, and I extended the apology to that and said - in that case - I won’t use this word again. And that was really it, at the end of the class I also issued an apology again because I didn’t want to cause anybody any upset.”

In terms of the academic use of the N-word, Dr Lacey said literature from scholars, such as Arizona State University’s Neal Lester, provided a “fairly strong body of literature and opinion - that thinks using the euphemism for a word like this actually gives it more power”.
He said he stand by his choice to follow that approach.

Dr Lacey denied Ms Leviston’s claim that he said he could use the N-word because his wife is a Black Kenyan woman.

“No, that’s not true. I don’t believe that I have [a] licence– I don’t use that word at all, except in this academic setting. I’ve certainly never said I can use it because I have a Black wife.”

Dr Lacey said he believed his ongoing employment with Monash was unaffected and that he “had no formal communication from anyone other than the lecturer”.

“[Assoc. Prof. Slucki] said that he’d been informed of it and [Monash] could not give me work at the moment. What I think has happened is that I’ve been suspended from teaching in this unit.”

Assoc. Prof. Slucki declined to comment and referred MOJO News to Monash Media, which provided a statement.

“Monash University is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for everyone and are proud of our richly diverse and culturally inclusive community. Monash does not tolerate racism of any kind,” it read.

The Monash Student Association provided a public statement on its social media platforms condemning Dr Lacey’s behaviour, and standing behind the actions of students who were affected by his use of the slur.

On March 7, all Monash staff were emailed by Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner informing them that the university had developed an anti-racism statement composed of two parts.

“This Anti-Racism Statement comprises two distinct components – one section specifically dedicated to Indigenous peoples and one section addressing racism in all its forms.”

ATS2000 student Carly Gauci was supposed to have Dr Lacey as her tutor, however she said he had since been replaced.

Ms Gauci said Assoc. Prof. Slucki and the other tutors in the unit have responded appropriately, encouraged students to speak up about situations they feel uncomfortable about, and acted fast to ensure the rest of the students enrolled in the unit could continue with their studies.

Ms Pathak agreed.

“The staff here at Monash are so respectful, they’re extremely sensitive. Which is why this was so jarring because [Dr Lacey] was just so adamant about not caring about the things he was saying.”
A change.org petition has been created to have Dr Lacey fired from Monash University.