Student strips to her underwear after being told outfit was inappropriate
A US university student who was challenged on her outfit by her professor has fought back by stripping to her underwear for a presentation.
Letitia Chai clashed with Professor Rebekah Maggor last Wednesday while she presented a draft of her thesis.
Read more: Rescuers bitten after saving 'stray' bobcats
Read more: Loose moose peers into couple's house
The professor at Cornell University asked Chai: "Is that really what you want to wear?"
" I was wearing a long-sleeve blue button-down shirt and denim cut-offs," Chai wrote in a Facebook post.
"She, a white woman, continued: 'Your shorts are too short'."
Maggor asked Chai: "What would your mom think?"
"My mom is a Feminist, Gender, Sexuality Studies professor," Chai responded.
"She has dedicated her life to the empowerment of people in all gender identities. So, I think my mother would be fine with my shorts."
On Saturday, when it came time to present her thesis, she stripped down to her underwear.
"Strip, everybody!" she said.
About half of the room followed suit, the Cornell Sun reported.
Chai had invited the public to see her Saturday presentation, and it is not known how many of those who also stripped were classmates or supporters.
Chai has since deleted her Facebook post.
"I do not tell my students what to wear, nor do I define for them what constitutes appropriate dress," Maggor said.
"I ask them to reflect for themselves and make their own decisions."
Eleven of the 13 students in the class issued a statement in support of Professor Maggor.
Cornell University
Professor Rebekah Maggor.
"Aspects of the Facebook post (Chai) made detailing Wednesday’s incident do not align with our collective agreement of how events transpired that day and the intentions behind them," the statement read.
"All of us feel that our professor’s words and actions were unfairly represented in the post, with certain quotes taken out of context."
Nevertheless, the students wrote they were supportive of Chai's protest.
