It sounds to me as though the student was trying to push a specific (right-wing leaning?) agenda...and he may have (behind-the-scenes?) threatened Cypress College with a negative PR blitz if they didn't punish (and publicly-humiliate) the professor.

Or, members of the college's administration itself shared the student's agenda (or even possessed more steroidal versions of it, themselves)...so they decided to "make an example" of this professor by throwing her to the proverbial wolves.

Absolutely disgusting and hateful!