On Feb. 10, during a virtual meeting of the New York City Community Education Council District 3, a Hunter College professor made remarks that were recorded while she believed she was muted, prompting an apology and an institutional review by Hunter College.

The CEC, a body within the New York City Department of Education, hosts monthly meetings where parents, students and community members may raise concerns regarding district governance, budgeting and school policy.

The February meeting included testimony from students and families addressing proposed school relocations or closures within the district.

During a public testimony from a student discussing the potential closure of a school, professor Allyson Friedman, a tenured faculty member in cellular neurophysiology and behavior at Hunter, was captured on the meeting recording saying, “they’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” and “if you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back.”

The Ticker reached out to Friedman for a comment. In an email response, Friedman said the comments were captured during what she described as a broader discussion about systemic racism and educational equity.

“Due to an inadvertent unmute, part of that conversation was captured,” Friedman wrote.

Friedman said she was referencing historical discussions of internalized racism, including a statement by historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson: “If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told.”

“My remarks were not directed at the student speaker, and they do not reflect my beliefs or values,” Friedman wrote. “Regardless of context, my words were wrong and caused real harm. I take full responsibility for their impact, and I am deeply sorry to the students, families, educators, and community members who were hurt.”

She said that she sent written apologies to district leadership and meeting organizers shortly after the incident.

Hunter also confirmed to The Ticker that it is aware of the incident and is conducting a review in accordance with CUNY’s conduct and nondiscrimination policies.

“We expect our community members’ actions and words to comport with our institutional identity, values, and policies,” Hunter said in a statement.

Hunter also went on to reaffirm its “enduring commitment to sustain an inclusive educational environment that is free of discrimination.”

The college has since placed Friedman and another Hunter employee involved in the incident, announcing that they would be conducting an investigation regarding the matter.

Although the remarks were made during a NYC DOE-affiliated meeting, Friedman participated in a private capacity.

Hunter is one of 11 senior colleges within the CUNY system, a state-funded public university governed by a Board of Trustees, who are appointed primarily by the New York governor.

Baruch College, like Hunter, operates under the same CUNY-wide policies that govern professional conduct, academic freedom and nondiscrimination. 

Faculty across the university system are subject to shared standards that apply irrespective of campus.

While the meeting was affiliated with the NYC Department of Education, any review of the incident falls under CUNY’s internal governance procedures rather than city authority.

CUNY institutions operate independently from the NYC DOE, despite occasional overlap in public-facing civic forums.CEC District 3 announced the matter will be addressed at its next meeting on March 3.