According to material provided to The Times, UCLA's Department of Philosophy issued a personal statement after a former postdoctoral fellow and lecturer sent a video of a mass shooting and an 800-page manifesto with "specific threats" to the individual. Classes have been cancelled.
An email sent to students on Monday night and provided to the Times said Matthew Harris made threats to the philosophy department and people in the department.
"The content includes a video titled 'UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting' and an 800-page manifesto with specific threats to certain members of our department," according to the email.
“In light of this, we will continue to discuss via Zoom until the authorities say it is safe. I will keep you informed about this situation. But I would avoid going anywhere near Dodd Hall or the Department of Philosophy until further notice.
UCLA's chief media and executive communications officer Steve Retia said that university police are "aware of a related email and posting sent today to certain members of the UCLA community and are actively working with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies." joined."
Retia did not provide further details on Monday night.
Harris' YouTube channel has more than 300 videos, most of which were uploaded on Monday.
A video titled "UCLA Philosophy (Mass Shooting)" was posted on Sunday and contains disturbing imagery, including footage of a 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival and clips from the 2003 film "Zero Day". which is loosely based on the Columbine High School mass shooting.
The Times obtained a partial copy of Harris' email to the UCLA Department of Philosophy.
Harris makes reference to caste and uses a number of abusive words. He included links to his manifesto and videos, including a video threatening mass shooting.
"Da war is coming," he wrote. "Our goldhead was [deleted] ahead for the Caucasoid princess."
In reviews left on bruinwalk.com, a site where students can leave anonymous reviews of professors and other staff members, two students described Harris' disturbing and erratic behavior as a lecturer.
According to one review, Harris is "extremely unprofessional and has sent his personal p*rhenographic material to a student."
In a separate post, another student described her class at UCLA as "always" the least favorite and said that several students had complained to the department about her behavior.
The student said that after the end of the academic quarter, Harris changed someone's grade 43 times and changed his grade three times.
A Spring 2019 Philosophy Department newsletter states that Harris will be joining the university as a postdoctoral fellow in philosophy after completing his dissertation at Duke University.
"He works on the philosophy of caste, personal identity and related issues in the philosophy of mind," the newspaper said.