Cynthia Villagomez Wiki

            Cynthia Villagomez Biography

Cynthia Villagomez and Leila Hamoud seen in a viral video taken at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina in December 2022.

Cynthia Villagomez is the Winston-Salem State University professor seen in a viral TikTok and Instagram video showing student Leila Hamoud arrested in December 2022 by campus police after a disagreement over an assignment.

Winston-Salem State University is a historically black university. Hamoud, the student, was arrested in the classroom and charged with disorderly conduct, according to CNN. The video was posted to TikTok by @okayybriaa.

WSSU language department professor Cynthia Villagomez currently has a 2.3 rating on Rate My Teacher, though many of the reviews were left behind after the incident broke out on social media on December 16, 2022.

“We understand that the militarization of the police is a frequent problem in our community; however, that is not what happened in this incident,” Chancellor Elwood Robinson wrote in a letter to the campus community.

“We strive for a knowledgeable, thriving, inclusive, and safe community where all of our faculty, staff, and students feel respected and supported. To do this, we will take the appropriate and timely measures in the face of any situation that contradicts those ideals.”

Viral Video

Here’s what you need to know about the viral video incident involving WSSU professor Cynthia Villagomez and student Leila Hamoud.

Viral Video Shows Student Leila Hamoud Being Handcuffed By Police Inside A Classroom.
A Winston-Salem State University professor had one of her students arrested for the simple fact that he did not apologize to her. She not only took her career card out of her, but when the other students approached her, she made herself the victim of it.

The video shows the handcuffed student as she cries and yells at Villagómez: “I hate you, I hate you. I swear to God, I hate you.

Instagram

The Shade Room, which posted the video on Instagram, wrote: “Leila says she was kicked out of the classroom for not apologizing after raising her voice to Dr.V who yelled at her first. Also, in the video, many students came to Leila’s defense, calling out and calling out Dr.V, for making the situation worse.”

Later, Leila Hamoud recorded her own videos of her explaining her version of her story.

In that video, Hamoud says that the class had a group final where they had to write an essay and a play. Six hours before the presentation, he alleges that Villagómez told him that the article was “completely wrong.”

Arrested

At least 317 people have called it “awful,” though most of it is a reaction to the viral video. People wrote comments like, “Awful teacher. He yells at the students and hopes the adults don’t talk back. They arrested a student for yelling at him.”

Another person wrote: “I saw a tiktok video of her arresting a student for not apologizing. If the teacher isn’t fired, the best way for her to lose any kind of teaching career is to make sure no one ever enrolls in her classes again. If you have her as a teacher for next year, change her class. No students, no classes, no money.”

The university spokeswoman told WXII 12 News that it was not Villagomez who called the police about Hamoud. It was another staff member who heard the commotion.

Gingles told the television station that an assignment “disagreement” occurred between the student and the teacher regarding a final exam around 8:30 a.m.

Police were called by another university employee who overheard the disagreement, according to Gingles. It was not Villagómez who called the campus police.

Incident

She told journalist Louis Tran: “Once campus police are on the scene under our university policy and under police and public safety policy, their first and foremost role is to make sure that everyone involved in the incident is insurance. That’s what they did.”

Gingles added: “They wanted to assess the situation, see what was going on and then provide a positive resolution if necessary and otherwise their policies require them to take the necessary procedures. They made the call to arrest the student and escort him off campus.”

The university is still reviewing the incident, she told Tran.

Gingles told CNN that any disciplinary action against the student “will be reviewed at a later time.”

Of the teacher she said: “She is very excited and shocked by all this. There have been various threats to her safety, which of course are cause for alarm.”

The Chancellor, Elwood Robinson, wrote a lengthy letter about the video and the incident to the campus community.

“As many of you know, there was an incident this morning involving a student and a faculty member that escalated on social media. We now have more information about the event and want to share key information with our campus community,” he reads.

Villagómez describes herself as an assistant professor at Winston-Salem State University.

She was previously an associate professor and program director of the Department of History for eight years at WSSU.

In 2021, the university announced that Villagómez had been awarded a scholarship. “Winston-Salem State University was awarded a $500.00 mini-grant from the American Historical Association led by Dr. Cynthia Villagomez, Academic Coordinator for History, History, Politics, and Social Justice,” the announcement read.

Villagomez has been cataloged with these specialties by the university: “The Middle East in Global Perspective. Promotion of intercultural communication through knowledge of current events: to provide a greater understanding of what is happening in the Middle East”.