#Marymount Manhattan professor slept during anti-racism town hall, students say

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Manhattan Marymount College at 221 East 71st St.
Helayne Seidman

Catching some z’s at Marymount Manhattan College isn’t looked upon kindly — no matter who you are.

Students at the pricey Upper East Side school are demanding the dismissal of Patricia Simon, a theater arts associate professor who they accuse of falling asleep at an anti-racism virtual town hall last month.

A petition with more than 1,800 signatures claims Simon, who has been affiliated with the college for nearly 30 years, failed to “align with the anti-racist views and actions” put forward by the school in a series of virtual town hall meetings.

For petition organizer Caitlin Gagnon, the nap was the last straw.

“This action has only capitalized on a pattern of negligence and disrespect that Patricia Simon has exhibited over and over again…,” thundered Gagnon, who included a photo of a photo of Simon — eyes closed, head rested on her hand.

“Professor Simon has a history of ignoring instances of racism in the form of racial profiling within the program, and enabling the racist and sizeist actions and words of the vocal coaches under her jurisdiction,” she wrote.

In an email, Simon told The Post that the students had it all wrong — she only looked like she was asleep because the camera caught her glasses at the wrong angle.

“I wear trifocals and can best see the screen through the lower portion with my head tilted back,” wrote Simon, who also coordinates the college’s musical theater program. “I was at no time asleep or disinterested. My ears were open and I heard everything that was said. My heart was open as well.”

Reps for President Kerry Walk and Marymount, where tuition plus room and board runs 56,304 a year, didn’t respond to several requests for comment. Gagnon also did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In the wake of protests touched off by the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, Marymount has sent out many statements of support for the Black Lives Matter movement and institutional self-criticism.

“Not only have we failed to honor the experiences of people of color, and Black people in particular, in our programs and services; we also know that students, faculty, staff, and alumni have endured repeated instances of racism, injustice, and discrimination perpetuated on our campus, with no apparent redress,” Walk told students in a June 12 message, which promised a more racially in-tune approach on campus going forward.