You are a college administrator and you receive a student complaint. A white prof says to his class, “If you look at the protests and you’re more concerned about the looting than systematic racism against African Americans, then you’re probably a racist.” What, if any, action would you take against the prof?
What would you do?
- Thread starter CAJUNEER_rivals
- Start date
I’d ask him why it’s an either/or issue. In both instances (racism and looting) innocent people are being harmed. If his intellect can’t handle that, then maybe he shouldn’t be teaching.
I would consider it but with profs being tenured I am not sure what the opttions are. I would replace the prof in that course if possible.
I would do nothing. It wasn’t abusive. People don’t have a right not to be offended. I don’t agree with the prof. And wouldn’t take any action against a prof who said institutional racism doesn’t exist.
I can see that point. I have a probably with professors pushing racism and that is pretty much what the prof in that example is doing. Fueling racism
I would have the Dean of whatever school this Prof taught in to sit him/her down and figure out why She/he said it and what the benefit of that assertion was to his/her lesson. If there was not legitimate reason for the assertion to be brought into classroom discussion, I would immediately place the prof on administrative leave, have the Dean of the school take over his/her classes, and investigate his conduct as a professor during his time at the University. If there were no other incidents that arose during his/her time at the university, I would reinstate the prof, and make sure the Dean discusses clearly that the classroom isn’t a place for political assertions or declarations from the prof, only a place for analysis and debate, and that when a prof takes such a clear position on an issue it defeats the ability for proper instruction and discussion to take place.
To me, that’s killing a gnat with a sledgehammer. If politics are discussed people are going to take positions. People are going to get offended. Your method is a little too much “thought police” to me.
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Its a 1st Amendment issue. That professor has (and should have) every right to speak their mind, just as every student has the right to refute it. This should be the stated purpose of the university - to give everyone differing opinions on the issues - and allow them to make up their own minds. Unless this is some rinky-dink college, there should be other professors from which to choose if this one is too left-wing for your tastes.
The real question is why extremists (both sides) are being hired in the first place. Those folks aren't real teachers, they are indoctrinaters who couldn't get anyone else to listen to their BS so they are "professing" it to an audience without the experience, ability, or willingness to stand up to them. But usually they are in departments that have little interaction with the mainstream student. Instead, they spew their drivel and hatred to just a handful of misfits and mental midgets who will soon get a real kick in the pants when they graduate with thousands of dollars of debt and no job prospects. They'll join in on the protests, believing the conspiracy theories about "the man" and "the establishment" and then, after several years, come to the conclusion they were simply sold a bill of goods that was nothing but emptiness.
Choose your university wisely. This was a much bigger problem before the internet and social media. Today, you don't know what your professors and university stands for and believes in then that is on you.
The real question is why extremists (both sides) are being hired in the first place. Those folks aren't real teachers, they are indoctrinaters who couldn't get anyone else to listen to their BS so they are "professing" it to an audience without the experience, ability, or willingness to stand up to them. But usually they are in departments that have little interaction with the mainstream student. Instead, they spew their drivel and hatred to just a handful of misfits and mental midgets who will soon get a real kick in the pants when they graduate with thousands of dollars of debt and no job prospects. They'll join in on the protests, believing the conspiracy theories about "the man" and "the establishment" and then, after several years, come to the conclusion they were simply sold a bill of goods that was nothing but emptiness.
Choose your university wisely. This was a much bigger problem before the internet and social media. Today, you don't know what your professors and university stands for and believes in then that is on you.
Maybe so, but unless a profs personal position being asserted in a classroom setting helps foster an understanding of the subject matter, I don’t think it’s the place for political assertion. Although the college level is surely more open to this type of assertion, the goal of education in all settings should be to establish critical thinking first. Even in archeology, it’s always a positive for someone in the field to have the confidence to think outside of structured academic perceptions. When profs push their political views on students, it can become dangerous.
So focusing on this destruction means you're racist.
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If these idiots would quit this ****, then the message would get across a lot quicker.
As far as his statement...“If you look at the protests and you’re more concerned about the looting than systematic racism against African Americans, then you’re probably a racist.”
I can see his point to a certain extent. Because you would be forgetting what the message is all about. Perhaps the media should quit putting 90% of the focus on the rioting nut jobs and show the peaceful side of protest then people might begin to understand.
Police should not be trying to guard a peaceful protest but should be focusing on the rioters that are destroying places with looting and fires.
If these idiots would quit this ****, then the message would get across a lot quicker.
As far as his statement...“If you look at the protests and you’re more concerned about the looting than systematic racism against African Americans, then you’re probably a racist.”
I can see his point to a certain extent. Because you would be forgetting what the message is all about. Perhaps the media should quit putting 90% of the focus on the rioting nut jobs and show the peaceful side of protest then people might begin to understand.
Police should not be trying to guard a peaceful protest but should be focusing on the rioters that are destroying places with looting and fires.
I hope this is a university setting because the idea of a university is to pursued knowledge "for its own sake". For the professor to make an assumption someone "probably" is a racist if looting is weighed more than systematic racism is only an opinion and worth pursuing for its own sake and more so in the environment of a university where teaching, intellectual freedom, and critical thinking are foundational. Part of this inquiry is why the professor hold this opinion. My intrigue into why people think what they do and why they behave in manners they do would motivate me as the administrator to have a conversation with both the professor and student to seek understanding. It is possible the body of knowledge on current understanding of racism grows from the pursuit of intellectual freedom to thwart making grand assumptions about people's beliefs. Personally, it's easy to make this claims as the professor did if the property looted isn't his.
Only in realms of policy violation would I even consider negative taking action. Otherwise, I would socialize the conversation in a positive manner, where possible, in the setting of the university to stimulate thinking. More often, one's point of view isn't generally objectively right as much as the person feels it is.
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I don’t think it’s the position of the prof to proffer such an opinion. In a discussion like that, my belief is that the prof act as a moderator for robust debate within the classroom. I think at a minimum that should be discussed and also point out how he is failing his students by speaking in such definitive statements from a position of power. It’s the difference in teaching vs indoctrinating.
