Multiple students allege that Nicole Bolden, an Indiana University adjunct lecturer, openly reviled Republicans as ‘bigots’ during a recent discussion with a guest speaker in her PACE-C 250 class.
According to a student who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of academic repercussions, Bolden made the comments while hosting a guest speaker, Judge Noelle Allen, in class on March 18th, 2021. The discussion, originally centering around LGBTQ rights, eventually turned to the topic of artificial insemination, at which point former Attorney General Curtis Hill was brought up, potentially because of his 2020 opposition to the listing of same-sex couples as biological parents on birth certificates. The student alleges that Professor Bolden responded to the mention of Curtis Hill by stating that he “chaps her ass,” before going on to regard all Republicans as “bigots.” The student claims that Bolden then “half-heartedly apologized,” stating, “I know I said I would keep things neutral, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.”
The Crimson Post was able to confirm the claims with two other students who were in the class when the discussion took place. One student criticized the comments as “quite ridiculous,” remarking “Being a Republican myself, I never really thought I was a bigot.” A second student also confirms hearing the comments, remarking that he “wanted to say something.” These students have remained unnamed due to the fact that they are currently enrolled in Bolden’s class.
Bolden denied the allegations, stating, “I did not disparage Republicans as bigots.” She continued, “During our class discussion, it was suggested the reason for a particular belief was due to people being from the Republican Party. I pushed back and said that Republicans as a party did not subscribe to that belief, and that we as a class had read the Indiana Republican Party platform and had not seen that belief listed anywhere.” However, the students contacted by The Crimson Post attacked the veracity of Bolden’s denial, stating, “‘Republicans are bigots’ definitely came out of her mouth.”
In regards to Bolden’s alleged comments, the IU College Republicans told The Crimson Post that “the classroom should be a place of vigorous debate and the free exchange of ideas,” but it is “disheartening when these ideals are ignored and replaced by the prejudices of an educator.” They continued, “by vilifying 50% of the country as bigots, not only are you chilling the speech of students that may disagree, but you do the entire class a disservice by simplifying an issue as right or wrong.” The College Republicans concluded, “the professor could have taken issue with a policy position she disagreed with,” but instead used this “as an opportunity to push a partisan narrative.”
It is worth noting that Professor Bolden was a member of the inaugural class of Hoosier Women Forward, an organization that conducts a nine-month leadership program for Democratic women. She also serves on the board of the Indiana Stonewall Democrats, a Democratic LGBTQ organization, and is the co-founder of the Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus. Her recent tweets include a retweet of Democratic AGs claiming former President Trump “emboldens racists, amplifies racists, defends racists, is racist,” a retweet of Ayanna Pressley attacking Kyle Rittenhouse as a “white supremacist domestic terrorist,” and a tweet referring to former President Donald Trump and Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) as “traitor[s].”