Heretical Ethics Class

[jessiepie]

Hi all,
Not sure if this is the correct venue for this, but I am searching for advice.
I am currently a student at a Catholic University (Avila) and was enrolled in an Ethics class. The Ethics class turned out to be a radical anti-Catholic soapbox for the Professor. For the past 3 weeks we have learned very little about Ethics and instead must hear things like “A fetus isn’t living so all pro-life arguments are falicious” and “The CAtholic Church is hypocritical and illogical”, Look this is a Catholic insitution. It sickens me. I am in the process of dropping the class because I spoke up (respectfully) and contradicted the Proffessor when he stated that birth control funding ends abortion. I stated that there was a study that came out of the Guttmacher Institute that showed that an increase in public funds towards contraception causes an increase in abortion. I was not even allowed to finish speaking before he talked over me and told me i was “wrong” and “illogical”. I have drafted a letter detailing all of his actions over the past three weeks. I am planning on sending it to the Cardinal Newman Society, The Sisters of St Joseph of Cardonlet (they fund the school), the Archdiociese, the professor, the department head, and the university’s president.
Sorry for rambling, I am wondering if anyone else has been through this before (or not) and has any advice for further ways that I should handle this.

 

[John21652]

Hi all,
Not sure if this is the correct venue for this, but I am searching for advice.
I am currently a student at a Catholic University (Avila) and was enrolled in an Ethics class. The Ethics class turned out to be a radical anti-Catholic soapbox for the Professor. For the past 3 weeks we have learned very little about Ethics and instead must hear things like “A fetus isn’t living so all pro-life arguments are falicious” and “The CAtholic Church is hypocritical and illogical”, Look this is a Catholic insitution. It sickens me. I am in the process of dropping the class because I spoke up (respectfully) and contradicted the Proffessor when he stated that birth control funding ends abortion. I stated that there was a study that came out of the Guttmacher Institute that showed that an increase in public funds towards contraception causes an increase in abortion. I was not even allowed to finish speaking before he talked over me and told me i was “wrong” and “illogical”. I have drafted a letter detailing all of his actions over the past three weeks. I am planning on sending it to the Cardinal Newman Society, The Sisters of St Joseph of Cardonlet (they fund the school), the Archdiociese, the professor, the department head, and the university’s president.
Sorry for rambling, I am wondering if anyone else has been through this before (or not) and has any advice for further ways that I should handle this.

You mentioned this in a similar thread in Moral Theology, here. I’m not sure why you started this thread, with the other one running, because the answers should be the same.

In that other thread I asked “why walk away”, which you indicated you were going to do. My answer was ‘don’t walk away’. The professor you write of is being extremely unethical in stating such firm opinions in a class where students should be learning about ethics and how it works. From what you tell us, his opinions are also very refutable.

I know it’s hard to make a stand against someone who is in a position of authority, but unless someone does, they get away with it. Don’t let him walk over you. If he interrupts you, ask him if being allowed to finsih a point is allowed, because you were taught that disrupting someone is unethical!! It will take a lot of moral courage to stand against such a person, but if we lack the courage to stand up for what we believe in, then we must question just how important to us is what we believe.

In writing to those you have mentioned, I personally think you are on the right track and your moral courage is on display. Now back it up in the classroom and show that professor he doesn’t have a flock of sheep as a class. Who knows, your moral courage just might give others the courage to speak up also. The 18th Century English politician and philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said that the only thing required for evil to triumph is that good men to do nothing. So, don’t do nothing!!

 

[nodito]

Take good notes in class. You’ll be able to quote him verbatim in your letter to those in authority, and good solid examples of heretical statements will make your case stronger than generalizations.

 

[jessiepie]

You mentioned this in a similar thread in Moral Theology, here. I’m not sure why you started this thread, with the other one running, because the answers should be the same.

In that other thread I asked “why walk away”, which you indicated you were going to do. My answer was ‘don’t walk away’. The professor you write of is being extremely unethical in stating such firm opinions in a class where students should be learning about ethics and how it works. From what you tell us, his opinions are also very refutable.

I know it’s hard to make a stand against someone who is in a position of authority, but unless someone does, they get away with it. Don’t let him walk over you. If he interrupts you, ask him if being allowed to finsih a point is allowed, because you were taught that disrupting someone is unethical!! It will take a lot of moral courage to stand against such a person, but if we lack the courage to stand up for what we believe in, then we must question just how important to us is what we believe.

In writing to those you have mentioned, I personally think you are on the right track and your moral courage is on display. Now back it up in the classroom and show that professor he doesn’t have a flock of sheep as a class. Who knows, your moral courage just might give others the courage to speak up also. The 18th Century English politician and philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said that the only thing required for evil to triumph is that good men to do nothing. So, don’t do nothing!!

I did not start the other thread, actually. I did comment on it. Just a clarification.

 

[Rocky24]

Wow! You must have lots of courage for doing that! I wish I could defend the Church in my college like that. You are doing justice and defending the Church by writing the letter! Keep on writing that letter, you’re doing justice in the name of Christ’s church!

 

[BobCatholic]

Take good notes in class. You’ll be able to quote him verbatim in your letter to those in authority, and good solid examples of heretical statements will make your case stronger than generalizations.

And don’t forget to tape record some of the juicy parts. Nothing like his own voice to testify against him!

 

[promethius]

Hi all,
Not sure if this is the correct venue for this, but I am searching for advice.
I am currently a student at a Catholic University (Avila) and was enrolled in an Ethics class. The Ethics class turned out to be a radical anti-Catholic soapbox for the Professor. For the past 3 weeks we have learned very little about Ethics and instead must hear things like “A fetus isn’t living so all pro-life arguments are falicious” and “The CAtholic Church is hypocritical and illogical”, Look this is a Catholic insitution. It sickens me. I am in the process of dropping the class because I spoke up (respectfully) and contradicted the Proffessor when he stated that birth control funding ends abortion. I stated that there was a study that came out of the Guttmacher Institute that showed that an increase in public funds towards contraception causes an increase in abortion. I was not even allowed to finish speaking before he talked over me and told me i was “wrong” and “illogical”. I have drafted a letter detailing all of his actions over the past three weeks. I am planning on sending it to the Cardinal Newman Society, The Sisters of St Joseph of Cardonlet (they fund the school), the Archdiociese, the professor, the department head, and the university’s president.
Sorry for rambling, I am wondering if anyone else has been through this before (or not) and has any advice for further ways that I should handle this.

Been there, done that… At a catholic university I had a sociology prof who hated all things male, white, christian (particularly catholic), Jewish, etc…

I got kicked out of class every other week… basically whenever I piped up. Example: she made us watch a video about the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins team names being offensive. At one point during the video, an American Indian woman said that “native americans are the only people in the world still undergoing discrimination.”

When the prof asked for thoughts on the movie, I reflected that the Catholics in China and Russia, the Jews in the middle east, the blacks in South Africa (or any tribal wars), Nicaraguans in Mexico, and several other examples. Her responses? “You obviously weren’t paying attention, get out of my classroom”.

I DO recommend writing the letter. I didn’t, but to the school’s good credit, they “let her go” after one more semester (the semester I had her was her first as a prof).

That and her weird broken shoes… she never wore shoes that weren’t broken…

 

[Future_Prodigy]

I am planning on sending it to the Cardinal Newman Society, The Sisters of St Joseph of Cardonlet (they fund the school), the Archdiociese, the professor, the department head, and the university’s president.
Sorry for rambling, I am wondering if anyone else has been through this before (or not) and has any advice for further ways that I should handle this.

Make sure you follow through on this! I never did in my undergrad and regret it.

Been there, done that… At a catholic university I had a sociology prof who hated all things male, white, christian (particularly catholic), Jewish,

Sounds exactly like my undergrad. I am still struggling to make sense of some of the brainwashing I was forced to endure. Try surviving 5 years of this bias applied to human geography and religion :banghead:

You mentioned this in a similar thread in Moral Theology, here. I’m not sure why you started this thread, with the other one running, because the answers should be the same.

In that other thread I asked “why walk away”, which you indicated you were going to do. My answer was ‘don’t walk away’. The professor you write of is being extremely unethical in stating such firm opinions in a class where students should be learning about ethics and how it works. From what you tell us, his opinions are also very refutable.

I know it’s hard to make a stand against someone who is in a position of authority, but unless someone does, they get away with it. Don’t let him walk over you. If he interrupts you, ask him if being allowed to finish a point is allowed, because you were taught that disrupting someone is unethical!! It will take a lot of moral courage to stand against such a person, but if we lack the courage to stand up for what we believe in, then we must question just how important to us is what we believe.

In writing to those you have mentioned, I personally think you are on the right track and your moral courage is on display. Now back it up in the classroom and show that professor he doesn’t have a flock of sheep as a class. Who knows, your moral courage just might give others the courage to speak up also. The 18th Century English politician and philosopher, Edmund Burke, once said that the only thing required for evil to triumph is that good men to do nothing. So, don’t do nothing!!

I understand your point, but I more than sympathize with the OP. They are forced to pay hundreds of $ for this class and walk the party line on essays and exams or fear getting a bad mark which has plenty of ramifications for post grad work (if they do intend to do that). It’s a hard decision to make. I dropped classes in the past for similar reasons. They are on the right track though, do indeed write those bodies.