The University of Delaware has cut ties with an anthropology professor who posted on Facebook that an American student who died last week after his release from a North Korean prison « got exactly what he deserved. »
Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student, was « typical of a mindset of a lot of the young, white, rich, clueless males who come into my classes, » wrote Katherine Dettwyler, 62, who taught at the university during the spring semester under a now-expired contract.
« These are the same kids who cry about their grades because they didn’ t think they’ d really have to read and study the material to get a good grade, » the adjunct professor said in a comment about a National Review article.
Warmbier, who was 22, was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after being accused of stealing a propaganda poster from his Pyongyang hotel. On June 13, a North Korean state court had ordered him released, but he returned home with a severe, unexplained neurological injury.
Dettwyler blamed the student’s parents for « his growing up thinking he could get away with whatever he wanted. »
In response to her comments, which no longer appear online, the University of Delaware said it would not rehire her.
« The comments of Dettwyler do not reflect the values or position of the University of Delaware, » it said in a statement on Sunday.
On Monday, the professor declined to comment on the decision.
« Because of all the death threats directed at me and members of my extended family, I have made the decision not to speak on the record to anyone in the media, » Dettwyler said in an email.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa in New York; editing by Frank McGurty and Grant McCool)
