In the past week, a parent of a currently enrolled student called to complain on behalf of his daughter. The complaint was directed at a faculty member who used considerable class time to espouse a personal opinion about the Presidential campaign. The class and course were unrelated to political policy or current events and the student complained that class time was being spent on topics irrelevant to her learning and the stated course objectives. Please remember the following statement from The Faculty Handbook (p. 11):I would think that we faculty cannot misuse the class time even if the campus were not a state institution.
As citizens, faculty members have every right to become involved in the political affairs of the nation, state, and community. The campus and its resources, however, being a state institution, cannot be used to support any specific candidate or cause without offering the same opportunity to anyone else who might wish to do so.
BTW, what an awkward sentence structure that is: "The campus and its resources, however, being a state institution" Shouldn't such a document drafted by PhDs have impeccable grammar? Oh well, perhaps I am asking for too much--after all, I have seen one too many horrendous usages, like, "sweat shops" instead of "sweatshops" :)
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