‘Mild Discomfort’: Indian American Professor Challenges Dismissal by Florida College, Alleging Political Retaliation

When Vinita Prabhakar walked into her introductory English classroom at South Florida State College, assigning contemporary fiction was part of a teaching practice she had followed for years. Today, that classroom assignment has become the center of a constitutional lawsuit that is drawing national attention to academic freedom, free speech, and the political transformation of Florida’s public colleges.

Prabhakar, an Indian American English professor, is suing South Florida State College and its president, Fred Hawkins, alleging that she was suspended and then effectively fired after Hawkins objected to her assigning Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2013 short story Bettering Myself in a freshman reading and writing course. According to the federal complaint filed on July 29, the college’s actions violated her First Amendment rights and principles of academic freedom.

According to the New York Times,“Bettering Myself,” is an award-winning story narrated by a fictional teacher who drinks to excess, uses cocaine and discusses sex with her students.”

Prabhakar told the Times that “she had taught the story in her classes for nearly a decade without incident.” But in February, Hawkins, objected to the assignment after a student expressed “mild discomfort,” the Times reported. The president told Prabhakar that “he would not want his college-age daughter to read the story.”

The lawsuit is backed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan free speech advocacy organization that frequently litigates First Amendment disputes involving higher education.

From Adjunct Instructor to Legal Challenge

College records show that Prabhakar first joined South Florida State College as an adjunct English instructor before being appointed to a full-time faculty position effective Aug. 14, 2023. Board documents list her appointment as Instructor of English at the college’s Highlands County campus.

According to the complaint, Prabhakar had assigned Bettering Myself for nearly a decade because it offered students an opportunity to analyze narrative voice, characterization, and literary style. The story contains profanity, references to substance use, and sexual content, elements that Hawkins reportedly found objectionable.

The lawsuit alleges that Hawkins described the story as “political” and said he would not want his own college-aged daughter reading it. The following day, Prabhakar says she was informed she would be suspended with pay for the remainder of her annual contract, removed from teaching duties, and that her contract would not be renewed.

According to Prabhakar’s complaint, the question is whether a college president can remove a faculty member because he disagrees with a pedagogically relevant literary assignment.

According to the complaint, when she questioned the decision, she was told that “the president has the final say.”

A Battle Over Academic Freedom

Prabhakar’s attorneys argue that the president’s authority does not extend to punishing constitutionally protected classroom instruction at a public institution.

The lawsuit seeks reinstatement, back pay, and a declaration that the college violated her constitutional rights by retaliating against protected academic speech.

The case arrives amid continuing disputes over higher education in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers have reshaped university governance, curriculum oversight, and faculty hiring while arguing they are combating ideological bias on campus.

Although Hawkins is not a defendant because of his political views, his appointment itself attracted public scrutiny. A former Republican state legislator and close DeSantis ally, Hawkins was selected as president of South Florida State College in 2023 despite criticism from some observers that he lacked traditional higher education administrative experience.

A Broader Pattern

Prabhakar’s lawsuit is part of a growing number of First Amendment cases arising from Florida’s public colleges and universities.

Faculty members and public employees have increasingly challenged disciplinary actions that they contend punish protected speech, both inside and outside the classroom. Recent lawsuits have involved professors, staff members, and administrators alleging retaliation over classroom instruction, academic content, or political expression.

Legal scholars say these disputes test the balance between institutional authority and constitutional protections at publicly funded colleges.

For Prabhakar, however, the issue is narrower and more immediate. According to her complaint, the question is whether a college president can remove a faculty member because he disagrees with a pedagogically relevant literary assignment.

An Indian American Voice in a National Debate

For Indian Americans working in higher education, Prabhakar’s case also highlights the growing visibility of educators of immigrant origin in debates over academic freedom.

Indian Americans constitute one of the fastest-growing groups among university faculty in science, engineering, medicine, and the humanities. While many have become prominent voices in research and teaching, they have also found themselves navigating increasingly polarized political environments on American campuses.

Prabhakar has not publicly framed her lawsuit through the lens of her Indian heritage. Instead, the complaint presents her case as one involving constitutional protections that apply equally to all public college faculty.

Whether the federal court agrees remains to be seen.

But the outcome could have implications extending beyond one professor or one Florida campus. At its heart, the dispute asks whether decisions about literature taught in public college classrooms should rest with faculty exercising professional judgment or with politically appointed administrators exercising institutional authority.

As Florida continues to redefine the boundaries of higher education governance, Prabhakar’s lawsuit is likely to become another closely watched test of how far those boundaries can extend before they collide with the First Amendment.

Top image, courtesy of Joelsangle Productions LLC.