The University of Delaware recently released an adjunct professor for posting crude comments she reportedly made on social media about Otto Warmbier. Warmbier, an American college student from the University of Virginia, tragically passed away after being a captive in North Korea for stealing a propaganda banner in a hotel on June 19, 2017.
Professor Dettwyler, an adjunct professor of anthropology, will not be rehired in the future. She had last taught a course in the spring.
In a written statement, school officials said: “The comments of Katherine Dettwyler do not reflect the values or position of the University of Delaware. We condemn any and all messages that endorse hatred and convey insensitivity toward a tragic event such as the one that Otto Warmbier and his family suffered. The University of Delaware values respect and civility and we are committed to global education and study abroad; therefore, we find these comments particularly distressing and inconsistent with our values. Our sympathies are with the Warmbier family.
“In a now deleted Facebook post, Dettwyler reportedly wrote in part that Warmbier “got exactly what he deserved.” She continued by saying that Warmbier was “typical of a mindset a lot of the young, white, rich, clueless males” she teaches.
A former student of this professor screen-shotted a sample email that she received during the spring semester. The voice behind the words written in the email seems to describe the character of the professor.