Yeah, I would actually argue that what the university did was the epitome of tolerance, making sure that their teachers were held accountable for violating their code of conduct.
He unleashed an intentional attack on Republicans and on Mitt and Ann Romney in particular for at least two class sessions. The University did the right thing in suspending him. However, he should not be on paid-semester leave; he should be fired instead. Free speech in the classroom is one thing; advocating personal political views in an uncharitable way to a captive student audience is quite another.
He was only suspended because someone had the guts to video tape this jerk and post it on the internet which forced MSU’s hand to “do something”. Then he gets on the radio (I’m from MI) and whines like a big baby while he is still getting paid. Life is real tough isn’t it?
I agree that a paid sabbatical does not seem like much of a punishment. And the comments really did go over the edge, sometimes professors say things in the classroom where you can debate whether or not it was appropriate, this was not one of those times.
It is the tip of the iceberg and people are sick of it. My husband had to put up with this type of baloney when in the 80’s he was in graduate school for SW. At that time, the big bogey man was Ronald Reagan and he had one Prof in a required class for graduating that basically arranged the whole material for the required course about how bad Ronald Reagan was and that Ronnie was the devil himself. I remember in the very early 80’s having a zoology professor blasting Christianity and belief in God which really had nothing to do with zoology. I can imagine that there are millions more now that can share similar stories of professors forcing their political views down the throats of captive students. But now, students are fighting back and recording these guys and posting what they are saying and teaching in the classrooms and holding them responsible for their words and actions. I likewise had a biochemstry professor that spent more time in the classroom on his antiwar views than on the krebs cycle of energy. I am surprise that MSU even did something even though it is just a meaningless little slap on the wrist.
But something was done. Some people aren’t satisfied with anything. The article stated that they don’t know if he will even teach next semester. He may end up fired.
I am sure if he is really fired from MSU, he will be picked up by some other university and become a martyr for the cause, go on Good Morning America and Oprah and become a hero.But something was done. Some people aren’t satisfied with anything. The article stated that they don’t know if he will even teach next semester. He may end up fired.
See, some people aren’t satisfied with anything.It is hard to be satisfied, KendraDZ, when academia is overwhelmingly biased toward the left and MSU professor is but the tip of the iceberg. Maybe they aren’t all as overt as “Professor Penn” but they are nonetheless part of the left wing bias which exerts an undue influence on undergrads.But something was done. Some people aren’t satisfied with anything. The article stated that they don’t know if he will even teach next semester. He may end up fired.
I went to college and I never had some wacko Liberal as a professor. People in college are usually voting age. If a professor is influencing them as easily as so many think, then they shouldn’t be voting anyway. Some Republicans make it seem like no one says anything bad about Democrats. Politics is a game and both teams have it out for the other. I’m not going to get all up in arms because some professor made rude comments. He is out of the classroom this semester and the university doesn’t know what they are going to do with him next semester. This isn’t a middle school classroom that he was teaching, he was teaching adults. If college-aged people don’t have a backbone and can’t form an opinion on their own so sad for them, it isn’t some professor that they see 3 hours a week fault.
Okay, but let’s deal in reality. They are being taught for a reason. They are still sponges to a large degree. Whether or not someone somewhere is saying something bad about a democrat is neither here nor there, and also unprovable, unless you have some evidence.
. Even the sociology programs were super-balanced, and our religion programs were awesome. There was a pro-life movement on campus, and while it created huge, and I mean HUGE turmoil on campus, the school was extremely supportive of their right to protest and write chalk messages everywhere..“…academia would not be trying (so) hard to sway them.” As a college professor myself, I would say that most of the “academicians” I know or know of try to teach their students to think for themselves and to think (and write) critically. Most of us don’t have the time or inclination for this nonsense perpetrated by Prof. Penn.
I guess my college experience wasn’t reality. Gosh, I totally forget that.
I’m not going to have a chit-chat with someone who thinks that I’m not “dealing in reality.” So, have a nice night. 