April 24, 2007

Freedom to Discuss Virginia Tech?

Emmanuel College last week urged all professors to talk to students about the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. One adjunct who did so for about 10 minutes — but not in the way Emmanuel envisioned — was promptly fired and barred from the campus.

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Nicholas Winset and his supporters see his dismissal as a violation of academic freedom and an example of the way colleges may overreact to a nationally traumatic event. Winset also says that key details about his class discussion provide context that has been lacking in some initial reports on the incident. He has posted a detailed discussion of the class that got him fired on YouTube and he discussed the situation in detail in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.

Winset’s course was in financial accounting and he brought up Virginia Tech Wednesday because the Boston-based college was urging instructors to discuss the situation to reassure students. Winset, who is in a transition from a business career to one in academe, said that he tells students on the first day of class that he’s not the most formal of professors and may swear in class from time to time, and that if they aren’t comfortable with that, other sections of the course may be better. On Wednesday, he said that he started class by saying that there would be an exercise related to Virginia Tech.

During a period of about 10 minutes of discussion about Virginia Tech, Winset said he picked up a marker and made a “bang bang bang” noise, and that a student made a “bang bang” noise back at him. During the discussion, Winset said he told students that “his heart goes out” to the victims’ families, but that he didn’t agree with the idea that this is a national crisis for students.

He said that students do not face a real danger of being killed by a mass murderer any more than they are in danger of being hit by lightning. He said his students were scared by the Virginia Tech killings, and that’s because people who run places like Emmanuel and the national press like to focus on tragedies like the one last week, rather than talking about issues like rape or AIDS, which pose real dangers to many college students but don’t tend to make CNN much. Further, he said that he suggested that press accounts of the victims have focused on those viewed as most photogenic and tragic (which he said has a strong correlation with being white in American society). He told his students, he said, that if all of the victims had been poor, minority individuals, press interest would have been lessened.

He critiqued the way some proponents of gun control have used Virginia Tech to argue their points. He said he called for students to have an “open mind” about gun control. “Do I really like the idea of every idiot in the country having a gun? No, but I’m not sure i like the idea of reasonable people not having them either,” he said.

Per his pattern, Winset said that he probably called the killer in last week’s shootings “an asshole” and he makes no apologies. “I think it’s appropriate.”

After the discussion, Winset returned to the regular material, and didn’t see any signs that he had offended any of his students. On Friday, he received a dismissal notice by messenger, banning him from campus immediately. He said that Emmanuel had previously offered him two courses for the fall semester, but that he’ll be an adjunct at another college, which he declined to name given the current controversy.

Winset said that the college never asked him what had happened in class, but that he suspects that the reports the college received about it came from a student who is failing. (A college spokeswoman said that Emmanuel tried to call him on Thursday and Winset, who was away from his home number on Thursday, said that when he arrived Friday, he had messages from late Thursday afternoon and his dismissal notice.)

So why did the college fire Winset? Emmanuel first released a statement saying that it responded to “an inappropriate incident” in which “an adjunct faculty member made statements regarding the shootings at Virginia Tech University which prompted students and parents to contact the administration with complaints.”

The statement went on as follows: “Emmanuel College has clear standards of classroom and campus conduct, and does not in any way condone the use of discriminatory or obscene language by any member of the college community. Emmanuel College, like other colleges in the country, cannot tolerate any behavior or action which makes light of or mimics the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech. At Emmanuel College, the well-being of our student body is a primary concern, and the action taken, which was to dismiss the adjunct faculty member, reflects this belief.”

A spokeswoman for Emmanuel, asked what specifically led to Winset’s dismissal and whether he had any due process rights, said that the college would say nothing beyond the statement.

Then late Monday, Emmanuel issued a second statement, with more detail. This statement said that Winset “was dismissed because he was reported by several witnesses to have violated the standards of conduct and civility we require of all members of the college community. According to students in his class, Mr. Winset staged a dramatization during a financial accounting class, mimicking the shootings at Virginia Tech and disparaging the victims as rich white kids combined with an obscene epithet. He did not do this as part of an open debate with his students. His insensitivity toward the students who were murdered at Virginia Tech expressed during class time, but far afield from the subject matter of his course, and his use of obscene and discriminatory language which is not tolerated from students, faculty
or staff at this institution, led to his dismissal from his adjunct position.”

The college also released a statement from Tom Wall, professor of philosophy and chair of the Faculty Senate, who said, “This is not an issue of academic freedom. In my 38 years at Emmanuel College there has never been a case in which academic freedom has been violated. In fact, Emmanuel has a broader sense of academic freedom than many institutions since we encourage the discussion of controversial issues in all of our disciplines — as long as the discussion is carried out in a fair and civil manner. This was decidedly not the case in Mr. Winset’s class. Creating fear and anger in his students with outrageous and disrespectful behavior and language is clearly about power. In no work place would such behavior be tolerated.”

Reached Thursday night after Emmanuel released the second statement, Winset reiterated that his comparison of the media treatment of black and white victims of various tragedies is a legitimate point of social commentary, and that he did not believe his students “were frightened by a magic marker.” He said that students are encouraged to argue with him about all issues he raises in class, and that some disagreed with his analysis of Virginia Tech.

Winset said he was stunned that the head of the Faculty Senate would back the administration without talking to him, and said he objected to the language in Wall’s quote. While Winset said he does not believe he has or would scare a student, he said professors should anger students by raising tough ideas, and that Wall’s reference to Emmanuel as a work place was telling. “They think it’s a business and if you offend the clients, you’ve done something wrong,” Winset said. “Well it’s not just a work place. It’s a university, and universities are different.”

Several of Winset’s students are angry — not about his lecture, but about his removal. Peter Muto, a sophomore business management major, said he wasn’t at all offended by the discussion, and wonders why more students weren’t asked for their views on what happened that day. “I have numerous friends in the class, and none of them took offense to this, nor were any of them scared or freaked out,” he said. Muto said Winset is his favorite professor in part because of his informal tone. He is bright, funny and talks with students “like a regular person,” Muto said, unlike professors who “give boring lectures every class.”

Muto said it was “outrageous” that Emmanuel fired Winset, and that students are being forced into another section just as the semester is drawing to a close.

Winset said he was bothered in numerous ways by Emmanuel’s first statement. Among other things, he said, they have “banned joking,” which isn’t what he did in class that day, but which he doesn’t think the college has any business banning. By raising the issue of discrimination, he said, the college is “using the standard PC thing — if you are in doubt, call your opponent a bigot and see if it sticks.”

And while Winset freely admits to swearing, he questions whether he is really the only one at the college who has ever used an “obscene” word, in whatever definition the college would use. “Sometimes I curse in my class. Sometimes my students curse in class. My students and I curse outside of class,” he said. “When I curse in class, I slap myself and say ‘bad teacher.’ “

As for academic freedom for adjuncts, Winset said it is “abysmal” at Emmanuel if an adjunct can be fired without a hearing based on saying some unpopular things one day in class. “The whole point of tenure and free speech is to protect speech that is unpopular. If it is popular speech, you don’t need to protect it.”

Jonathan Knight, who handles academic freedom issues for the American Association of University Professors, said he had concerns about the Winset case. “At a minimum, the administration should have met with the instructor” prior to taking action, he said. It’s a “terribly serious” matter to make a dismissal decision based on some student and parent complaints, without providing an opportunity to respond, Knight said.

As for what Winset did in class, Knight said that “the administration wants to have it both ways and it’s unacceptable. They want to say ‘we want you to discuss this matter, but to discuss it in a particular way.’ “

There is a risk of colleges’ taking offense at things professors say or do after a tragedy like the Virginia Tech killings, Knight said, and there is “a risk of overreaction.” He said colleges can’t expect everyone to agree on what an event means or how it should be discussed. “There is no playbook about how people should react and how they do react,” Knight said. “How they do react cannot fit into any easy prescription of what is appropriate.”

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

What In The Hell Is Going On Here?

What in the Hell is going on Emmanuel College. Civility? ... CIVILITY??? ... on a college campus? About that Guido Calabresi, former Dean of the Yale Law School, once said, “It was tasteless, even disgusting, but that’s beside the point. Free expression is more important than civility in a university.”

And in “The Community of Scholars,” my old friend Paul Goodman said, “It is my thesis that the agent of this clinch is administration and the administrative mentality among teachers and even the students. It is the genius of administration to enforce a false harmony in situations that should be rife with conflict.

Historically, the communities of scholars have perennially been invaded by administration from the outside, by Visitors of king, bishop, despotic majority, or whatever is the power in society that wants to quarantine the virulence of youth, the dialog of persons, the push of inquiry, the accusing testimony of scholarship.

But today Administration and the administrative mentality are entrenched in the community of scholars itself; they fragment it and paralyze it. Therefore we see the paradox that, with so many centers of possible intellectual criticism and intellectual initiative, there is so much inane conformity, and the universities are little models of the Organized System itself.”

All I can say EC is “I wish you well as you wallow in your cloister of inane conformity.

Damn!

RWH, at 8:05 am EDT on April 24, 2007

There is no freedom of speech on college campuses

I teach at a private university and find the same unfortunate situation that is described in the “Freedom to Discuss Virginia Tech” article. Professors who do not preach the president’s party line are dismissed for any number of reasons. Freedom to speak your mind if it differs from the administration is punished. Students are deprived of diverse viewpoints. Administration decides what is politically correct. Anyone who offers other viewpoints is gone.

Students in colleges and universities should be outraged that the only education they get will be the one the administration deems correct.

Professor Steve, at 8:05 am EDT on April 24, 2007

No one denies that this adjunct was released in the midst of the term without a hearing, and that was certainly a breach of what should be considered proper procedure. He may have used bad judgment in his use of the marker, and he certainly used bad judgment in the regular use of profanity. One can be informal without encouraging the coarsening of society.

However, his point about that the media has treated the VT shootings differently than other tragedies due to issues of race and the economic backgrounds of the victims is at the least a valid area for discussion. Furthermore, all administrators must be aware that any class is going to include malcontents who would happily have a professor fired simply because of the student’s own poor performance in the class. Emanuel College’s actions seem, at best, suspect here.

Scott, at 8:15 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Administration just doing a little “financial accounting”

I can’t speak to how his firing was handled, but I encourage everyone who, like myself, is strongly inclined to support Winset on the principle of academic freedom to take a dozen minutes or so to watch the guy’s Youtube video. It gives a glimpse of his classroom style, teaching presence, and course content. One gets the impression that sundry discussion topics compete with the subject of financial accounting. To be clear, I’m not saying “he seems like an arrogant flake in his youtube video, therefore he should be fired.” I’m saying, the dude had 15 minutes to persuade me that his firing was unjust and he only succeeded in painting himself as a royal ass undeserving of sympathy. I especially chafed at his dismissal of “prissy” people (who, apparently, fail to appreciate the pedagogic value of dry erase marker gun play). In the 4th installment of his video he claims: “Students are afraid all across the country. . . Female students can and do get raped. Should we teach everyone to be afraid?”

Brian, Asst Prof at Large Midwest U, at 8:25 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Ditto, Prof. Steve

I absolutely agree, Prof. Steve. I teach in a public community college and we all know what the penalty for not being in line with the administration is. The person who opposed the illegal prayer at graduation and contacted the ACLU found her/his job had evaporated. The idea that we have true free speech is, unfortunately, absurd in way too many cases.

Prof Vic, at 8:50 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Scott

I disagree. Explain your assumption that using the marker or swearing are examples of bad judgement on his part. Is there a handbook somewhere for acceptable uses for magic marker? As far as cursing, well the examples of valueable literature replete with cursewords are numerous.

The bad judgement came at his absurd dismissal. As far as the “coarsening of society", it is not an established, valid or worthwhile goal of the university. Indeed some “coarse” people in society might disagree with you.

Collegiality implies tolerance and empathy, and also implies that the free and open exchange of ideas is more important to society than a subjective measurement on the “coarse o’meter".

Bob, at 8:50 am EDT on April 24, 2007

All the professor’s points about the media circus surrounding this tragedy and the media’s lack of coverage of other far more dangerous killers — e.g. Malaria etc..are correct. But how one makes a point should also be important. It ought to be possible to be engaging without being rude and in your face. Of course telling the truth as one sees it should be part of academic responsibility. How one tells the truth should also be part of an academics’ repertoire.

Atin Basu, Associate Professor, at 10:10 am EDT on April 24, 2007

I can echo the sentiments having observed administration listen to malcontented students who can be quite vocal. I have read some respectable columnists in mainstream news magazines/newspapers who offered similar opinions to the fired adjunct, even the stats on being struck by lightning &c. Except for his vulgar language and silly bangbang with the marker, the teacher was not particularly unconventional in his opinions about this sad event. However, he was not tenured so easily disposable if making ripples, much less waves. Maybe the “offended” students who was a legacy with alumni parents who could donate a building or something. (That counted for a lot at my undergraduate school. Remember how the Wrenn Cross got put back at William and Mary?)

another adjunct, at 10:15 am EDT on April 24, 2007

VTech discussion, academic freedom

I am an adjunct political science instructor at a Northern Virginia community college. I discussed at length the VTech incident with my classes and had a free and wide ranging discussion which hit the hot button items of gun control, mental health, student behavior, cultural standards, and items touching on education and public policy. My methods include current events as a modified “case study” approach in political analysis, particularly breaking political events which lack the historical evidence that a true case study approach offers. The firing of any professor of any discipline for discussing a topic the administration said was “fair game” is ridiculous and warrants a strong defense for the fired employee. This case indeed involves everyone in education regardless of discipline or employment status; it involves everyone in American society. How any college administration can react in this way is almost incomprehensible, other than illustrative of the lack of common sense that most bureuacracies share. My classes did not resolve anything, we practiced our analytical skills, we reflected on a significant event, and possibly allowed some “safety valve” emoting and discussing which most significant events require. This college should step up and admit its mistake and reinstate this particular professor; that would be the common sensical thing to do.

Pat Smith, Adjunct Professor at Northern Virginia Community College, at 10:15 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Now I Am Frightened!

I had no intention of entering this discussion on its merits, but I have (1) read Scott’s article, (2) read all of the posts thus far, and (3) at Brian’s request, viewed the four YouTube videos made by Nicholas Winset. I can tell you that the most frightening individual in this discussion – at least to me – is Brian. I’ll explain:

First, I doubt that, were Mr. Winset and I on the same faculty, we would become close friends ... but what do I know. On the other hand, based on viewing his 12 minutes of fame, if I were leaving my office for lunch and bumped into him on the way, I’d probably invite him to come along. He is clearly brighter, more articulate, and I think more interesting than 90% of my most recent business school colleagues.

There is a great deal I could say about his video explanation, but I will confine my remarks to two points. First, Brian’s being bent out of shape about Winset’s use of “prissy” is close to outrageous. It’s not a word I would have used in that context – I would probably have described the subject of his sentence as “intellectually challenged” or perhaps even “brain-dead” – but he went to great pains to define his use of the term. And, given his definition, I found myself in complete agreement with him.

Second, Mr. Winset was fired by Emmanuel College (1) without warning, (2) without discussion, (3) without due process, (4) by letter, and (5) by EC’s Department of Human Resources. About that, Brian said, “I’m saying, the dude had 15 minutes to persuade me that his firing was unjust and he only succeeded in painting himself as a royal ass undeserving of sympathy.”

The good and the bad of this is that all education is local. There are Emmanuel Colleges scattered all over the American academic landscape, but they are fairly unimportant in the scheme of things. As Mr. Winset asked, “What kind of a message does this send to the students?” I can answer that: “Precisely the messages that those sanctimonious, authoritarian jackasses at EU intended to send.”

And for you students at Emmanuel ... well Simmons and Wheelock are just a block away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-cBKXyRvyM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlJDyMXvsiY&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02JpWpMubIE&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFAZMMTb_w&mode=related&search=

RWH, at 10:15 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Damn ... I Wish I’d Said That!

I probably shouldn’t pick on Scott, but I just can’t resist. About Mr. Winset he said, “ ... he certainly used bad judgment in the regular use of profanity. One can be informal without encouraging the coarsening of society.” The coarsening of society indeed.

As it is, I tend to be a fairly articulate person who occasionally – and always appropriately and accurately – uses what some (Scott I assume) call profanity. Let me explain:

I recall when my oldest son was about five or six and began experimenting with profanity, I told him something along the lines of “a word is simply a sound you make with your mouth. ‘Damn,’ ‘shit,’ ‘fuck’ are all words ... and hardly more evil than ‘darn,’ ‘shoot,’ or ‘oh fudge.’” I tried to help him understand the difference between those words and “nigger” (in virtually every context) and “bitch” (in many contexts) ... and I think he grew up with a good sense of when words were appropriate and when they weren’t. I felt a little guilty about it, because I tend to be somewhat Rousseauian in raising children, but he was forbidden to use “nigger” and “bitch.” He never did to the best of my knowledge, but I was prepared to punish him for doing so.

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2837694

Personally, I never use “fuck” ... and for no good reason other than I simply don’t need it. I hate to hear it used in comedy routines. In fact, I challenge you to pay strict attention to the content of a routine in which the comedian says “fuck this” and “fuck that.” Invariably the line will be not the least bit humorous or clever ... and it will almost always get a laugh. It really pisses me off.

I teach mathematics, and I have a paragraph in my syllabi that says, “In a very real sense, I believe if Professor A is teaching MATH ***, then Professor B should define the homework assignments and Professor A should be completely unaware of what they are. Then, in class, when a student asks, “Can you help me with Problem X?”, that should be the FIRST TIME Professor A even sees the problem. To assign a problem and then actually work (or otherwise think about) it before the student asks for help is just “chicken.” In short, I detest slick proofs of theorems and slick solutions of problems in class and generally think they work to the disadvantage of a student trying to learn mathematics.

Consequently, I occasionally go off in the wrong direction when responding to a student’s question, and when we reach a point where it’s obvious we have to back up and try something new, a well placed “shit” or “damn” lets everyone know we’re all in the same boat ... and it’s time to give it another shot.

Jeepers Creepers (did you know that’s a substitute for Jesus Christ?), it just occurred to me that I do use fuck on rare occasions ... but never in class. Just ask me if I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when “W” is no longer in office ... and I’ll respond “fuckin’-A ... and what could be more descriptive than that?

RWH, at 10:15 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Feelings vs. thoughts

One of my concerns is the move from thinking to feeling when discussing issues that are difficult to understand. Rather than discussing how a room of students feel about something, let’s challenge ourselves and them to consider thinking about the event, the ramifications, the context, the reasons — or lack thereof, etc. Can we role model the intellectual art of holding two divergent thougts at a single moment, and giving consideration to both?

Can we expect that as part of our campus civility code?

Alden, at 10:20 am EDT on April 24, 2007

As I see it, there are two main issues at play here: 1. adjuncts have less freedom than tenured folk 2. religious schools don’t like cussing.

To the second point, I think that cussing was more to the issue than the admin lets on. Or, at the very best in this, that was the best legitimate reason the admin could dream up on short notice.

To the first point, “academic freedom” does not exist for professors who get their wage-earning classes semester-by-semester. With no job security, there is no security of thought. It is as simple as that. Disagree? How about the Ward Churchill’s claims about 9-11? It took a good 4 years to work that one out. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Churchill).

Is there a take-away lesson from this? Don’t cuss where they pray, and don’t go afield unless you are paid to do so…

http://www.burntoutadjunct.blogspot.com/

Piss Poor Prof, It’s adjuncting, not freedom..., at 10:50 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Okay, in order to make myself less frightening, let me refine my “undeserving of sympathy” statement. If the college is violating the conditions of his employment by denying him due process, then the colleges in the wrong. Like I said, “I can’t speak to how his firing was handled.” It’s terrible that adjuncts don’t have jobs security. There are persuasive arguments one could make about the problems facing adjuncts, including their economic vulnerability and lack of academic freedom. But I had more sympathy for him before I saw his Youtube performance. I didn’t like his use of the word “prissy” because it was a hair’s breadth away from “sissy” which is demeaning to gays and women, as if to say “those who don’t like me playfully re-creating the shooting scene are just being girly and prissy.” It’s not a capital offense, but it was offputting. It didn’t make me want to rally around him and make him a poster boy for academic freedom. Neither did his criticism (in the fourth installment) that the student who complained was someone who was doing poorly in this class. He said he didn’t know that, but that he was more or less certain that that was the case. I wouldn’t count talking to the world about your students’ grades as among the “best practices” in student confidentiality, ethics, or college instruction.

Did article mentioned that the class was in “financial accounting?”

Brian, at 11:00 am EDT on April 24, 2007

Learning Opportunities Lost

Can we ever learn if we don’t hear all sides? If I disagree with Mr. Winset, or if I am uncomfortable with his antics, perhaps that is all the more reason to listen to what he has to say, engage him in dialogue, and learn from the exchange.

I have more to say at http://worshippingparadise.blogsp...07/04/administrative-disharmony.html.

Tom Bremer, at 11:25 am EDT on April 24, 2007

To Brian:

Nice back-tracking ... and I admire you for that. Yes, the article did say the course in question is in financial planning. The article also said “... the Boston-based college was urging instructors to discuss the situation to reassure students.”

I think Winset addressed that deviation from normalcy quite well in his YouTube video ... and I think he gave the impression – at least as I understood it – that he is a “no nonsense” sort of teacher who does not often deviate from course content in class.

RWH, at 11:25 am EDT on April 24, 2007

My last sentence was illiterate. It should have read: “Did the article mention that the class was financial accounting?” In other words, let’s not lose sight of the fact that he was using his place at the podium to discuss things far afield from subject he was presumably hired to teach.

Brian, at 11:55 am EDT on April 24, 2007

“... the Boston-based college was urging instructors to discuss the situation to reassure students.” Okay, I’ll concede the argument about him being off-topic. If the college urged all instructors to talk about the tragedy, then it’s ridiculous to impose some unspoken standard and single him out. It may seem like I’m backtracking, but maybe you’re persuading me? Isn’t that a more flattering interpretation? Though, I part ways on this point: “he is a ‘no nonsense’ sort of teacher who does not often deviate from course content in class.” I didn’t get that impression whatsoever.

Brian, at 12:10 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

language

“I didn’t like his use of the word “prissy” because it was a hair’s breadth away from ’sissy’ which is demeaning to gays and women....”

One word is not the other, even if (as it seems) they have a vague etymological connection. Just how far should language policing go?

Also: Your finding this person “offputting” or undeserving of your sympathy is not the point. Even the offputting souls among us should have the opportunity to defend themselves. Additionally (though it is somewhat less of an evil)the students in his class, who (at least from what I’ve read) seem mainly to be bothered by his dismissal, are shoved over into another section with only a couple of weeks left in the term.

rl, at 1:35 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

Academic freedom of speech in higher education had its origins in the need for academics to discuss their field without risk of retaliation. If Mr. Winset’s discussion fell in that area, he should not have been discharged.

My real sympathy lies with all the world’s students who pay money for a course and should have that course live up to its catalog promise.

Marvin McConoughey, at 2:00 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

I confess: I am a “prissy”

After watching part four of Nicholas Winset’s youtube video, he seems like a strong business instructor, focused on critical questions.

My joke to my classes regarding the VaTech tragedy went like this: “I love the people that say, ‘Arm the teachers!’ I’d love to have a Glock [here I pointed to my hip] while trying to teach the proper placement of a comma.”

In both sections, I had students say, “People might learn better.”

I said, “Fear isn’t conducive to learning.”

That was the end of it.

schencka, grad student at University of Arizona, at 2:40 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

What happened here at Virginia Tech was clearly a tragedy. Is that tragedy degraded by someone mentioning other tragedies that are happening around the world? Clearly I think not. The fact is that non-tenured, and sometimes tenured, professors are regularly prevented from discussing the real issues in the world....the ones we don’t want to do anything about, at least some of which were presented by Winset. Professor Jim

james E. Littlefield, Virginia Tech, at 3:05 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

the best support

I think that the best and most honorable support comes from someone who does not necessarily believe in what you say, but—how does that cliche go?—defends your right to say it. Even though I do not necessarily agree with the way this classroom discussion seems to have been handled, I see no reason to impose my own sense of it onto this part-time instructor. Is he a good teacher? That is, or should be, the point. I’m more afraid of our dwindling right to speech now that I am of dangerous, intruding students or the many other ills that make so many of us paranoid.

Jeff, at 3:40 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

Where Did McConoughey Get That?

Scott, I will soon have written more about this event than you have. Sorry about that.

As I read Marvin McConoughey’s “definition of academic freedom, to wit ...

“Academic freedom of speech in higher education had its origins in the need for academics to discuss their field without risk of retaliation,”

I thought, “That can’t be right. I’ll bet that the college where he teaches has inserted that part about ‘their field’ into the definition to restrict the intellect pursuits of the scholars (faculty and students).” I knew academic freedom had its birth in the early German universities – not before – and the early German students took precisely one exam and looked to all of their professors to teach over a broad range of topics.

So I went on line, typed in “academic freedom” and “definition,” and looked at all of the posts on the first page. Needless to say, he is wrong. Not a single one restricts what a teacher can say or write to something called “their field.”

Two articles are particularly insightful:

1. the Report of the First Global Colloquium of University Presidents (January 2005 at Columbia University) at which they proffered the following definition ...

“At its simplest, academic freedom may be defined as the freedom to conduct research, teach, speak, and publish, subject to the norms and standards of scholarly inquiry, without interference or penalty, wherever the search for truth and understanding may lead.”

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/president/communications files/globalcolloquium.htm

2. the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel is a very extensive and interesting statement about many dimensions of higher education. A segment of their definition states ...

“27. The principle of academic freedom should be scrupulously observed. Higher-education teaching personnel are entitled to the maintaining of academic freedom, that is to say, the right, without constriction by prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work, freedom from institutional censorship and freedom to participate in professional or representative academic bodies. All higher-education teaching personnel should have the right to fulfill their functions without discrimination of any kind and without fear of repression by the state or any other source. Higher-education teaching personnel can effectively do justice to this principle if the environment in which they operate is conducive, which requires a democratic atmosphere; hence the challenge for all of developing a democratic society.”

http://www.caut.ca/en/issues/academicfreedom/unesco.asp

I would like to say much, much more about this topic, but, as always, enough is waaaay more than enough. I will say, however, that the more reading I did on this subject today the angrier I became at Emmanuel College ... not that they fired Nicholas Winset – he’s lucky to be gone – but that they would ever dream that their pathetic “culture for learning” could possibly serve their students or society well.

Emmanuel says about itself, “We are a community with a passion for teaching and learning that believes education will create a just and better world. We believe education empowers people. It transforms their lives. It opens doors. We believe in the value of a liberal arts and sciences, our proud tradition since 1919. We challenge ourselves, faculty and students alike, to be rigorous in our pursuit of the truth ... We believe education is inclusive, that the world of ideas demands diversity.”

Apparently at EC, believing is not always seeing.

RWH, at 3:40 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

Emmanuel College & Professor Winset

What’s the deal? The Administration encourages Professors to discuss the Virginia Tech tragedy with his students, but then fires him when they don’t like what he says or the way he says it.

Then why encourage professors to speak on a touchy subject at all? In the middle ages, thought and thinkers were supposed to be servants of the church and not question its fundamental docrtines. Have we returned to a medieval era where thinkers and thought are now deemed the servants of administration?

Was Professor Winset “off topic"? Well he’s a professor of Finance, not philosophy or history or sociology.

And why is the administration vague in explaining what precisely was wrong with what Winset said. While I may not agree with everything he said, I hardly see that as reason for punishment.

Maybe like the Catholic Church that once had an Index of prohibited books, the Administration should publish and disseminate (at its own expense, of course) an Index of Prohibited opinions and manners of express, and stop pretending to respect academic freedom or even civility.

Prof Rob, What’s the Deal?, at 4:05 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

Academic Freedom isn’t free

Academic freedom is based on the concept that teachers must have autonomy to express ideas within the learning structure, without persecution from the established powers. Academic Freedom and responsibility are not mutually exclusive either. Un-popular notions are not necessarily irresponsible; they are just different opinions. In the classroom or in life, one does not have to agree. That’s your right. My advice to those who wish that we all live in their monotone world is… venture from your glass houses and lose your innate need for sterility.

The real issue is … academic freedom only really exists for a select few and adjunct instructors have no rights other than to be used and thrown away at the whim of their administrators. Just about anyone that is ballsy enough to complain because they didn’t like the instructor’s ideas as presented, is given credence and/or absolute power.

Reality is… this incident was not handled properly. Due process meant sweeping out the instructor, after all adjunct’s are a dime a dozen.

Justice was not done here!!!

billa, at 4:05 pm EDT on April 24, 2007

15 minutes of ****

Brian — I admire you for speaking up too, but what bothers me most about your first post is the temerity and self-righteousness with which you pass judgement on Winset. You didn’t give him due process by reading his 15 minute video any more than the school did — and you don’t know enough about his teaching record, student evaluations, annual professional reviews, and other personnel history to pass judgement on him.

Hoosier Prof, at 11:45 am EDT on April 25, 2007

Invitation to Engage Subject

Once the administration asked all of its professors to discuss the topic, the right to control the classroom pre-empts all but a few transgressions.

The four part youtube video demonstrates to me that this is one dedicated individual. All who are interested should view them all. See RWH lucid comment above for websites.

My hope is he goes to a school that appreciates him. As RWH points out, Simmons and Wheelock are just a block away.

Quizzical, at 9:25 pm EDT on April 25, 2007

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