A University of North Texas system staff attorney resigned Friday morning hours after she said the n-word during an on-campus panel discussion called “When Hate Comes to Campus.”
UNT System Assistant General Counsel Caitlin Sewell submitted her resignation Friday morning effective immediately, according to a joint message from the university’s chancellor and president. Speaking about freedom of speech in front of a crowd Thursday night, she said the n-word while apparently trying to make a point about how the First Amendment can protect offensive language.
“We strongly believe in a culture that embraces, and vehemently defends, inclusion,” Chancellor Lesa Roe and President Neal Smatresk said in a statement posted on Twitter Friday afternoon. “While Ms. Sewell was trying to make a point about First Amendment speech, the references used are never condoned in our community, which prides itself on our diversity and caring nature.”