UPDATE: George Buch eventually responded to repeated requests from 13 Action News for comment on the incident. He told us to refer to a statement that he made to UNLV's newspaper.
ORIGINAL STORY
A math instructor at UNLV is under fire after making comments on social media about "no safe spaces in my classes" for students who are in the country illegally.
Screenshots of the conversation that contained the comments began spreading like wildfire on Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday night.
George Buch also allegedly said that he would alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement about students who may be in the country illegally.
The Consolidated Students of the University Nevada issued a statement on Thursday morning that says:
Within these past few hours, CSUN has gained attention of the fellow comments made by UNLV Graduate Assistant George Buch, which threatens any undocumented students present in his classroom. As stated previously, CSUN will not tolerate behaviors that undermine our university community to damage the overall student experience. CSUN will continue to stand by any student that feels subject to a situation where they feel unsafe or uncomfortable, including any statements made by UNLV staff inperson or online. We are committed to speaking out against discrimination and hate speech in order to advance the cause of equality for all students.
Several community leaders and others talked about the incident during a gathering Thursday at UNLV's Free Speech Zone. They said they want the school to take action in response the comments.
Some students say they want to see Buch removed from his position, but the student body president said he at least wants the UNLV president to condemn the statements and discipline the teacher in some way.
Buch was seen teaching his class on Thursday.
George Buch not in his math dept office -graduate asst. under fire for these Facebook comments against making @UNLV a sanctuary school @KTNV pic.twitter.com/tV7XFtMtNz
— Tom George (@TheTomGeorge) December 1, 2016
It was reported two days ago that hundreds have signed a petition to make UNLV a safe space for undocumented immigrants.
.@vegas_buch Twitter account changed to private after @UNLV grad assistant's controversial comments on undocumented immigrants @KTNV
— Tom George (@TheTomGeorge) December 1, 2016
The Rogers Foundation has also called upon the Clark County School District to make their schools a safe place for children who are in the country illegally.
13 Action News has reached out to Buch in an attempt to verify that he made the comments that are being attributed to him. However, he has not returned our phone calls and his Twitter account has since been made private.
