Wake Forest English professor is put on leave after students find naked images of him masturbating he posted on Reddit – which he kept online even after faculty began gossiping
- Omaar Hena is a tenured English literature professor who has taught for more than 15 years at Wake Forest University in North Carolina
- Hena, whose wife is a nurse, posted images of himself masturbating online and exchanged suggestive messages with those who commented, students allege
- In early February rumors about the images began circulating on the college social media app Fizz: Hena was put on leave of absence in mid February
A popular tenured English professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina has been placed on leave after posting online naked photos of himself masturbating.
Dr Omaar Hena had been posting the images for the last seven years, faculty members told student newspaper Old Gold & Black.
In early February, rumors about the images began circulating on the campus social media app Fizz.
Just a few weeks later, Hena, who has taught at the university for 15 years, was put on leave of absence. Neither the university nor Hena has commented on the decision.
Dr Omaar Hena taught at Wake Forest University in North Carolina for 15 years. He has now been placed on leave after explicit images of him emerged online
Hena shared graphic photos and videos on Reddit, and milder suggestive content on Instagram
After the campus rumors spread, many students began following Hena on Instagram – where some of the explicit images were posted. Hena even struck up conversations with some students, it’s alleged.
According to the Old Gold & Black report, one sophomore was messaged by Hena on February 10 at 6:40pm, with the professor saying: ‘Thanks so much for following!’ with a purple heart emoji.
The student replied: ‘of course!’
Hena responded: ‘Love your queer energy. And I’ve been a fan of wake radio people forever’ with purple heart, sparkle and rainbow emojis.
The pair continued to chat, and Hena told the student he would be willing to ‘meet up for a drink’ with her and ‘any folks’ in Wake Radio.
One of Hena’s Instagram photos shows him dressed as Aladdin in a classroom, captioned: ‘I can show you the world.’
A commenter, @janescluesman, wrote ‘Has anyone asked for a magic carpet ride yet?’
He replied: ‘OMFGG I wish!!!’
Hena’s Reddit posts were significantly more explicit, with video of him naked, seen by the student newspaper.
Old Gold & Black reported he was filmed fondling his genitals while looking into the camera.
Photos contain suggestive captions such as ‘wanna ride?’ or ‘dirty dirty boy’.
University policy states: ‘Faculty are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with generally accepted standards of conduct and behavior for the profession.’
Wake Forest University is a private university in Winston-Salem, founded in 1834
Hena is pictured in London. He has not commented on his being placed on leave, and his future is uncertain
Some students expressed anger at Hena’s absence.
One user posted: ‘F*** y’all for getting Omaar Hena fired.
‘Even though he posts heinous things, it’s his choice, and he was by far the best professor I’ve had at this school.’
Another user wrote: ‘Let’s all go on strike to bring Omaar Hena back.’
In a February 2023 post on Rate My Professors, dug out by Old Gold & Black, a student gave Hena a maximum five rating and commented: ‘His online persona is inappropriate, however, he is a great professor with great insight on the topics he teaches.’
Others disagreed.
One student on Rate My Professors gave Hena the lowest possible score, and commented ‘@omaarcomin Very inappropriate Instagram.’
