TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A Princeton University professor canceled a course he teaches on cultural freedoms and hate speech after his use of a racial slur during a class discussion led some students to walk out. 
 
 Colleagues say Professor Emeritus Lawrence Rosen has often used the slur during lectures on free speech. They say this is the first time he's received such a negative response from students. 
 
 A small group of students walked out of Rosen's anthropology class on Feb. 6 after he used the slur three times, according to DailyPrincetonian.com, the university's student newspaper which first reported Rosen's comments. Rosen asked the class "Which is more provocative: A white man walks up to a black man and punches him in the nose, or a white man walks up to a black man and calls him (the racial slur)?" 
 
 Rosen refused a demand from several students to apologize and argued with at least one student. Two students later filed a complaint with school officials. 
 
 The university later issued a statement defending Rosen. The professor and the students did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment. 
 
 "The values of free speech and inclusivity are central to Princeton University's mission and critical to the education we provide to our students," the statement said. "The conversations and disagreements that took place in the seminar led by Professor Rosen (last week) are part of the vigorous engagement and robust debate that are central to what we do." 
 
 The school said it will continue "to look for ways to encourage discussions about free speech and inclusivity with the students in Professor Rosen's class and the campus community more broadly." 
 
 Speaking Monday night at a town hall meeting with students that had been scheduled before the controversy erupted, university president Christopher Eisgruber said he respected Rosen's decision to use the word, citing the importance of having conversations where people feel "uncomfortable." 
 
 "I think it's very important for our culture to have academic freedom that allows people to have pedagogical choices on how to teach difficult subjects," Eisgruber said on the video posted on Facebook by The Tab .com. "I respect Professor Rosen's decision about how to teach the subject in the way that he did by being explicit and using very difficult words." 
 
 Carolyn Rouse, chairwoman of Princeton's Anthropology Department, who is black, wrote a letter to the editor of the The Daily Princetonian defending Rosen's use of the slur. She wrote that by the end of the semester, Rosen hoped his students would be able to argue why hate speech should or should not be protected using an argument other than "because it made me feel bad." 
 
 Noting that Rosen has used the same example year after year, Rouse said this was the first year he got the response he did from students. 
 
 "I feel bad for the students who left the class not trusting the process," Rouse wrote. "Rosen was fighting battles for women, Native Americans, and African-Americans before these students were born. He grew up a Jew in anti-Semitic America, and recognizes how law has afforded him rights he would not otherwise have." 

 Several students walked out of an anthropology lecture Tuesday afternoon when a professor allegedly asked a question in which he used the word “n****r,” according to several students in the class. Another student said he intends to drop the class due to the professor’s remarks. 
 
 Recordings of the incident were also provided to the ‘Prince.’ 
 
 According to students, during lecture for the course ANT 212: Cultural Freedoms — Hate Speech, Blasphemy, and Pornography, anthropology professor Lawrence Rosen asked students, “What is worse, a white man punching a black man, or a white man calling a black man a n****r?” 
 
 The lecture focused on the topic of oppressive symbolism. 
 
 “He was describing what is acceptable as free speech and what is not,” explained Devyn Holliday ’18 in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. 
 
 According to students, Rosen allegedly said the word “n****r” twice more as part of discussions after his original question. 
 
 Rosen was unavailable for comment at the time of publication. 
 
 “All the black students were looking at each other, as if asking whether he actually said that,” said Destiny Salter ’20. There were about six black students in the lecture, Holliday said. 
 
 According to Holliday, E Jeremijenko-Conley ’20, who identifies as white, responded to Rosen by saying, “I’m not comfortable with a white professor using the N-word.” 
 
 Holliday told the ‘Prince’ that Malachi Byrd ’19 allegedly asked Rosen, “So are you just going to keep using the N-word?” 
 
 According to Salter, Rosen allegedly responded, “Yes, if I think it’s necessary.” 
 
 After this, Byrd walked out of lecture. Later on, three more students also walked out, according to Jeremijenko-Conley. 
 
 Byrd did not respond to request for comment. 
 
 Byrd later returned to class and allegedly confronted Rosen using an expletive, according to an anonymous source. 
 
 According to Holliday, Rosen did not directly address the students’ concerns. Instead, he walked around the question, and defended his use of language. Rosen allegedly said, “It’s supposed to deliver a gut punch, so that’s why I used it.” 
 
 “Every single time he used the N-word, he used the word in its entirety,” said Salter. “He said ‘you need to suspend your disbelief for the sake of this class.’” 
 
 Byrd eventually re-entered the hall and asked if the professor would continue to use the word n****r in lecture. Students began to argue with Rosen, demanding he apologize. Holliday and Salter both said that the students argued with Rosen for the duration of lecture, because he would not give an apology. 
 
 According to Salter, Rosen allegedly said in the class, “I don’t think I need to apologize; I did not oppress anyone.” 
 
 Holliday expressed concern that before changing the topic of the lecture to pornograhic images, he said to students, “I’m going to give you the option of whether you’d like to see them.” 
 
 However, this option was not provided before Rosen said the N-word, according to Holliday. 
 
 Jeremijenko-Conley and Salter said that they filed a complaint with Justine Levine, director of studies for Rockefeller College. 
 
 Levine said in an email that she will work with the students to resolve the issue, according to Jeremijenko-Conley and Salter. 
 
 Kevin Ramos ’21 said he plans to drop the class in light of the incident. 
 
 “The professor saw how uncomfortable the students were with his language,” said Ramos. “If he doesn’t respect the students’ opinion, then it’s not worth learning from him.” 
 
 Rosen has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship as well as Guggenheim Fellowship for Social Sciences.
– A Princeton professor has canceled a class on hate speech after a handful of students walked out in protest last week when he used a racial slur multiple times during a lecture, the University Press Club reports. Students tell the Daily Princetonian that during a Feb. 6 class for "Cultural Freedoms—Hate Speech, Blasphemy, and Pornography" professor Lawrence Rosen asked, "What is worst, a white man punching a black man, or a white man calling a black man a [racial slur]?" Students say he used the slur twice more in the ensuing discussion. One student says the lecture was about "what is acceptable as free speech and what is not." Four students reportedly walked out of the class as others demanded an apology from Rosen that wasn't forthcoming. “The professor saw how uncomfortable the students were with his language,” says one student. “If he doesn’t respect the students’ opinion, then it’s not worth learning from him.” Two students filed a complaint with Princeton officials, but the university issued a statement defending Rosen, the AP reports. "The conversations and disagreements that took place in the seminar led by Professor Rosen are part of the vigorous engagement and robust debate that are central to what we do," the statement reads. Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton, says he respects Rosen's use of the word and stresses the importance of conversations that make people "uncomfortable." Faculty members say Rosen often used the racial slur during lectures and had never gotten such a negative response. Rosen announced the cancellation of the class on Monday.