Classrooms are supposed to be places of learning, not lines getting crossed.

So when a college professor turned a student’s presentation about being a circus contortionist into an inappropriate remark, the room went from playful to painfully uncomfortable in seconds.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for reporting my college professor to my school?

I (F21) have been going to college since September of last year.

In December, we got a different professor (M38). I’ll call him K.

At first, it seemed like K would be a great fit for the class.

K was a nice guy.

He wasn’t too old, so he got along with a lot of the students, he was funny, and everyone who knew him loved him.

He seemed to make a genuine effort into getting to know his students.

A week before winter break, he had everyone do a PowerPoint presentation about themselves.

Which, although some of us found childish, we all liked him, so nobody complained.

Multiple students did their presentations before me, and all was fine until it was my turn.

So she got up to do her presentation, excited to share her passions with the class.

I am a contortionist, and the summer before college I got to perform in a traveling circus.

I had been to that circus many times before, so it was very cool that I got to be part of the show.

Contortion being my biggest hobby, I obviously mentioned it in my presentation.

But her professor wasn’t near as supportive as she had hoped.

When I mentioned that I got to perform in a circus, and that it was my dream job, K burst out laughing.

He said: “I’ve never heard someone be this excited to be a clown”.

Everyone else in class started to laugh.

It’s a bit ignorant to assume that everyone in a circus is a clown, but fine.

She tried to continue on with the presentation.

My mood changed, however, when I showed them a picture of me in contortion.

(Like many poses in contortion, I was pretty much bent in half.)

That’s when things really went off the rails.

When I showed that picture, one of my classmates yelled: “Now that’s an arch”, to which K, who should be more professional than that, responded: “I bet you’re quite popular in the bedroom”.

My heart dropped when he said that.

I could not believe it.

She decided she couldn’t move forward with this blatant disrespect.

I refused to finish my presentation.

My classmates said I was overreacting.

But when she tried to confront K, he completely dismissed it.

After class, when I was about to walk out, I turned to K and said: “Gross joke”.

Then he said: “We’re all adults here. We can joke with each other. Sometimes you just have to put your ‘big girl pants’ on and suck it up”.

I didn’t respond and walked out.

She just couldn’t believe something like this could happen in a college classroom.

At home, I could not stop crying because I really felt uncomfortable with that joke.

I can usually handle it, but for some reason I felt like an idiot standing there.

Luckily, her family took it seriously and pushed her to take action.

I told my mom about what happened and she made me send an email to the school.

They took it very seriously and said they would take immediate action.

January 8 was my first day back at school after winter break.

We were introduced to a new professor.

This replacement seemed to have a much stronger sense of boundaries.

She’s okay, but she is quite strict and not everyone likes her.

She had a long lecture about inappropriate comments and how we as adults need to respect boundaries since we’re no longer little kids.

But now her classmates blame her for getting rid of K.

Now a lot of my classmates are mad at me because they are blaming me for K being gone.

I don’t know if K still works at our college. I’m not sure what happened to him.

But everyone thinks I’m an AH now.

AITA?

This just isn’t appropriate behavior for the classroom.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter believes this student did something noble. Not just for herself, but for future students too.

Everything about this professor’s attitude was rotten to the core.

It’s clear this professor was on a major power trip.

This commenter points out that other students may have also reported the behavior.

Actions have consequences, even when someone swears it was “just a joke.”

This professor definitely should have known better.

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