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Racial slur appears dozens of times in UCSD study guide

Posted at 6:07 PM, Nov 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-13 21:07:01-05

LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) - Students in a UC San Diego computer science course are still trying to understand why someone put a racial slur in their study guide dozens of times.

The CSE 134B midterm study guide was a collaborative effort among the students. Only those in the class had access to it and could edit it anonymously.

The night before the exam, students like Raymond Arevalo were shocked to see the n-word in it 85 times.

"I got on the study guide and saw the instance of the n-word, and then I noticed another instance," said Arevalo. "I was really shocked and kind of mad because this wasn't the first time this has happened before in other classes I've been."

Arevalo says he has experienced a negative culture in the computer science program at the school. He says far too often minorities and women are targeted in the male-dominated field.

He shared images of the defaced midterm online, hoping to raise awareness of the problems he believes exist.

"People continue to do these things knowing that they won't get in trouble, and it's like a small joke to them, if the person were to get in trouble that would be nice," said Arevalo.

The story was first reported in The Triton, an independent, student-run news source. There they posted the version of the study guide with racial slurs.

"We're here to learn and get educated, not make others feel ashamed or threatened for just being them," said Olivia Thomsen, a UCSD student.

10News called and emailed the class professor for comment but did not hear back.

10News also reached out to university officials, they did not comment and referred us to their Principles of Community.