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Who is Michael Abram? California professor berates hard-of-hearing student for not listening: 'She's not trying'

The student tells Abram she can only hear him a 'little bit', but he again lashes out at her

In a viral TikTok video circulating online, a California professor can be seen berating a hard-of-hearing student for 'not paying attention' despite other students in the class trying to explain their classmate's limitations. The clip, which has been shared on YouTube and in several tweets, has sparked massive outrage against the academic, leading the institution to put him on administrative leave.

Who is Michael Abram?

Abram is a professor of human physiology at the Oxnard College, which falls under the Ventura County Community College District. The viral video shared by TikTok user @salwaabakar sees him in a Zoom class with some students, where he's yelling at a student. Some users on Twitter have also said he is a 'licensed radiologist', who works at "both Oxnard College and Ventura College. He was taken off of the directory at Ventura College but there has been no statement issued. He teaches Anatomy & Physiology."

In the TikTok video posted on February 19, Abram can be seen berating the student, identified as Salazar in the video, for 'not trying' to be attentive in his class. The clip that has garnered 1.2 million likes and over 14,000 comments begins with Abram yelling "I’ve been talking to you." The student tells Abram she can only hear him a 'little bit', but he again lashes out at her.

"You can hear me a little bit?" Abram snaps in the video, adding: "Why didn’t you answer all the times I spoke to you then?" Without letting her explain, Abram continues being snarky about having "having some real communication" in a private Zoom call with her counselor. When another student referred to as Abygail interrupts and tries to defend her, he shoots her down too. Abygail explains Salazar takes time to respond as she needs a translator to help her in class. But Abram insists Salazar is 'not paying attention'. “She’s not trying," Abram says, before snapping at her asking: "Are you her translator, Abygail?”

Without listening to Abygail's attempt at explaining the situation, Abram once again asks Salazar to set up a Zoom meeting with her counselor, saying "You’ve got too much distraction to even understand what’s going on." A second TikTok video shows Salazar telling Abram her translator is sitting right next to them and doing their best to explain the lesson. Abram snarks again, saying the translator should teach her the class instead of "laughing and smiling and giggling with somebody else.”

A third video shows Salazar finally standing up for herself, asking Abram why he's attacking her. He quickly iterates "I’m not attacking you. I’m just significantly disappointed in you. That’s all. That’s all it is. I’m not attacking you."

The college's reaction

Soon after the video garnered massive outrage, the Ventura County Community College district's official Twitter account released a statement, saying, "The Ventura County Community College District is deeply troubled by the behavior seen in a video posted on social media by students on Feb. 18, showing an interaction between a student who is hard-of-hearing and an Oxnard College faculty member."

Board Chair Joshua Chancer said in the statement: “The Ventura County Community College District is opposed to any language or behavior which is offensive or harmful to anyone based on gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability. Comments in the video do not reflect the District’s values of integrity and honesty in action and word, respect and the constant pursuit of excellence.”

They concluded adding: "District leadership has initiated an investigation and placed the faculty member on immediate administrative leave. This investigative process could take approximately three months, and the District is committed to being thorough and fair."