UW Students Share How The Viral Psych 210 Moment Impacted Campus

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, a disruptor entered the largest lecture hall on the University of Washington campus, interrupting the Psych 210 class, “Diversity of Human Sexuality,” held in Kane Hall. You probably saw what happened next from viral videos: The intruder made what appeared to be Nazi salutes and allegedly shouted insults and slurs at students and the associate teaching professor, Nicole McNichols. Then, McNichols, accompanied by many students — some recording the encounter on their phones — followed the agitator out of the lecture hall and onto the university’s main plaza, also known as Red Square, surrounded him, and kept him there until he was later arrested by the University of Washington Police Department. 

“The incident on Wednesday in which an individual interrupted a lecture in Kane Hall while apparently making Nazi salutes and hurling insults at the instructor and students is completely unacceptable,” UW Spokesperson Victor Balta said in a statement shared with Her Campus. “The instructor and several students from the class followed the person until UWPD personnel arrived and took him into custody. The individual is not a UW student, and we have issued a ban from campus. The case is under investigation, and any relevant criminal charges will be referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The UW is committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment and will continue to do everything possible to ensure our community’s safety.”

Videos of the event were quickly posted to social media, where multiple angles quickly racked up millions of views. In the wake of going viral and as the investigation continues, students at UW tell Her Campus that the morale around school is high, with many feeling proud of their peers and professor for how they handled the situation. As a UW student myself, I can walk through campus and still hear students say, “I wonder what the charges will be,” or “I know someone in that class,” or “I guess he wasn’t prepared for people to actually respond to him.”

Julia Cholewinska, a senior at UW, tells Her Campus, “I think it’s refreshing to see a professor leading a charge like that rather than just doing the bare minimum — she could have just sent a class-wide email condemning the action. But, she went out of her way to interrupt her class to make sure that guy doesn’t do anything like that again, and send a message about her tolerance policy for behavior like that.”

Recent UW alum — and a previous TA for McNichols — Kenzie Taylor has found a sense of levity, and even some hope, following the events at her alma mater. “I, personally, thought [it] was funny and honestly inspiring, when it’s constantly felt like the bad guys have been winning,” she says. “I think if he had been beaten up, it’d be a different story, but embarrassment is what people should be feeling for acting that way.”

However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that a large group of students had to witness someone spewing hateful rhetoric in their class. “I know people in that class — some were pretty scared,” Max*, a junior, says. “But I think they’re all proud to have been a part of this.”

McNichols, who couldn’t be reached for comment at publication time, is not new to going viral. When the “Tube Girl” trend was still big back in 2023, the professor posted a video of her attempting the trend while on stage, in front of her students, garnering 2.5 million likes on TikTok. And that might not have been your only time seeing McNichols on your FYP; she went viral again a year later for another video about her sex education class. According to UW student newspaper The Daily, McNichols addressed the incident in a message to her 440-person class shared on Oct. 2 via Canva. “I want to take a moment to acknowledge how extraordinary you all were today,” the message read in part. “In an incredibly upsetting and disruptive situation, you showed care for one another, acted quickly, and supported me and your classmates. Your solidarity and compassion speak volumes about the kind of people you are.”

The incident is reportedly still under investigation.