COSTA MESA, Calif. _ The community college instructor who called President Donald Trump's election "an act of terrorism" during class was named faculty Colleague of the Year _ but she turned down the honor.
Orange Coast College's Olga Perez Stable Cox, 66, wants to avoid the national attention that hounded her after videos of her lambasting the new administration went viral in December, school officials said Wednesday.
"She didn't want the same level of attention and scrutiny," said Doug Bennett, Orange Coast's executive director of college advancement.
The honoree typically speaks at commencement, Bennett said, and Cox did not want that celebratory event to be marred by protests or controversy.
"She has the right to do that," he said. "And I respect the idea that she wants the commencement to be about the students who are graduating and not about people who are mad at her."
Anyone on campus, including students, can make a nomination for the honor. A committee of faculty, management and classified employees then makes a selection based on a rubric, Bennett said.
Cox was one of four employees honored last Thursday, each in a different category. Although she was not present, Cox was aware of the award and had earlier signed off on the nomination, Bennett said.
But the next day, she had a change of heart.
"When she was told all the things that go with the award, she decided to not accept it," Bennett said.
Rob Schneiderman, the faculty union president, said the award signals that "faculty, staff and management look at her teaching in an objective way. It's clear that she's an excellent professor. Everything else was out of context. ...
"Faculty do not all agree (as) to what she said, but most faculty do agree that within the context of her class, being expressive is acceptable," Schneiderman said.
A week after the presidential election, Cox opened each of her three human sexuality classes by describing the election as an assault. She appeared to call Trump a white supremacist and said "living in Orange County is scary."
She also said she is hopeful because more in the county voted Democrat than Republican.
The response to two videos, taken secretly by a student, was mostly negative and included threats that prompted her and her partner to temporarily leave their home.
In a January interview, Cox said her comments were meant to comfort students who were scared of the new administration and offer them resources should they face discrimination.
The controversy also brought hate mail to the school's College Republicans, which posted the videos on Facebook. The college earlier this year suspended the student who secretly videotaped Cox, but lifted the suspension following an onslaught of negative feedback from local Republican leaders and others.
"Olga, to her credit, made the right choice," said Joshua Recalde-Martinez, treasurer of the school's College Republicans, a student group. "However, the committee's nomination of her shows that campus officials continue to remain ignorant of why what Olga did was wrong, and shows that Orange Coast College continues to be a campus for only some students, not all students."
Cox has been with the college for 42 years, since graduating from Chapman University with a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She started her career at Orange Coast as a counselor and had different roles, including assistant dean of students, until she began teaching psychology courses and later focused on human sexuality classes.
Cox could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Bennett, the college administrator, said it's unclear whether the college will now find another faculty member to honor and serve as the speaker.
"For the campus and for the community, it's about moving forward," Bennett said. "Orange Coast College is about much more than the controversy that happened over the last few months."
