California Professor Fights Student, Goes on Paid Leave

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 09: A view of new pencils and an apple on a desk at the Redu project presented by Bing on October 9, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Joe Corrigan/Getty Images for Bing) (2010 Getty Images)

It was an all out rumble.

An instructor at Fresno City College is on paid administrative leave after getting into a fight with a female student who was allegedly slammed to the ground during the brawl.

The 19-year-old student, Kevynn Gómez, said she cursed at instructor Brian Calhoun before their March 22 fight because he was being rude to students and a substitute teacher in her class, according to a campus police report cited by the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/ZxHHy7).

Gómez said Calhoun grabbed her arm and used his forearm to pin her neck against a wall, so she punched him in the face. Calhoun then lifted the 5-foot, 101-pound Gómez and slammed her onto the ground before students pulled him away, according to the report.

Calhoun was cited for misdemeanor battery and ordered to appear in court on June 19.
It did not appear that Gómez was cited. At least six students and a substitute instructor support her account of the fight, according to the report.

But Calhoun's attorney, Roger Nuttall, said Gómez started the fight.

"This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't lashed out," Nuttall said.
Gómez's attorney, Catherine Campbell, disputed that, saying Calhoun attacked her client."He was out of control," she said.

The dispute began at the end of a Chicano-Latino Studies class that Gómez was in. The class, which was being run by substitute teacher Michael Medrano, was running late, and Calhoun was angry because his Survey of American Education class was scheduled to begin, according to an account of the incident given to police by students and Medrano.

Gómez said Calhoun yelled at the students, who were taking an exam, to leave. Gómez cursed at Calhoun after she turned in her exam, she said.

He then followed her into the hallway, where he demanded her name, told her she couldn't talk to him like that and grabbed her arm, Gómez said.

Kathy Bonilla, a spokeswoman for the college, confirmed on Tuesday that Calhoun has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press