A UC Berkeley professor is being pilloried after telling students to “get out of the Bay Area” if they want a girlfriend.
The computer science professor, Jonathan Shewchuk, made the comments on an online discussion board, Roqua Montez, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley, confirmed with SFGATE.
The post, which was a reply to a student, read:
“If you want a girlfriend, get out of the Bay Area. Almost everywhere else on the planet is better for that. I’m not kidding at all. You’ll be shocked by the stark differences in behavior of women in places where women are plentiful versus their behavior within artillery distance of San Jose and San Francisco.”
Shewchuk’s comments were in response to a student who was asking for advice about finding work in the Bay Area and dating in the area, the Daily Cal reported. Screenshots of the post and the discussion surrounding it circulated through several social media outlets, including Reddit and X.
After learning about the post, the university’s computer science chair Stuart Russell and electrical engineering and computer science chair Claire Tomlin spoke with Shewchuk, Montez said. Shewchuk then issued an apology.