SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A video of a distraught, profane Syracuse University student yelling at her professor in a large lecture class went viral this week.
Note: The video contains profanity.
In the 40-second clip, the professor appears to have the student's ID in hand. He asks how old she is and it becomes apparent it's a fake ID.
She desperately asks to get it back, but the professor takes the ID to the front of the class and begins cutting it up.
The student grows increasingly frantic, cussing him out and finally, abruptly storming out of the classroom.
Barstool Sports shared it on Instagram to more than 12,000 views. Someone posted the video to Reddit, where it earned 27,800 votes. One version on Twitter got 4,700 retweets.
Turns out: It's just a prank.
The student-actor is sophomore Victoria Patti. She said she's watched public policy Professor Bill Coplin pull the prank on the first day of classes three times now.
In her first class with him, she totally fell for the hoax, she said. In the past, he's smashed a cell phone.
Coplin -- who wrote a book on good citizenship -- and his welcoming prank are legends among alumni who tweeted, emailed and posted to Reddit.
They recalled the prank going back at least 10 years. It's something he does routinely with introductory public policy classes.
Patti said the point is to ignite debate and introduce the class to the idea that public policy -- documents, laws, people breaking laws -- is all around us.
That begins a discussion on whether it was right for Coplin to cut up the fake ID, Patti said. That in turn typically segues into a conversation about how societies could make policies people actually follow.
At the very least, she said, the schtick is designed to engage the class and get students active in the discussion -- and it's memorable.
Patti said she and many other students regard Coplin as one of their favorite teachers.
"He's a great professor and a great person. I basically took his class twice I liked him so much," she said.
Patti assures Syracuse.com no valid government documents were destroyed -- she used someone's expired ID in the act.
Coplin, reached by email, referred questions to a university spokeswoman. The spokeswoman did not respond to requests for an interview.
Patti said she never expected the long-time prank to cause such a stir. She and Coplin have traded emails surprised at how the video went viral, she said.
"I have to say I'm not proud of my profanity usage," Patti said, adding she wanted to fully thrust herself into the role to convince the class.
The sophomore dual major in Newhouse's television, radio film department and the Maxwell school's public policy department said up until now she hadn't considered acting.
"I think I have an excuse now to explore some drama classes."
Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers federal courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
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