Is the faculty creating fear?

Date: May 5, 2004

Is the faculty creating fear?

Date: May 5, 2004

Some students are reluctant to be quoted amidst a campus controversy, whichever side they're on.

But if they are worried about reprisals from professors, they need to be reminded who specializes in reprisals.

Robert Campbell

Date: May 5, 2004

Are the students, claiming they will be retributed, not part of the shelby-spin? the one pro-thames student i talked to said she was 'waiting for evidence'...aka 'i can't think for myself'

can't they see that having waited, they were swayed by administration? they could just as easily be a pawn for the administration.

Date: May 5, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Seeker
"Has it ever occurred to anyone that the faculty may be creating the same kind of fear SFT is creating? Be it that SFT is creating fear from faculty and staff that do no support him, but is faculty creating fear from students who may support the SFT Admin? The pro-SFT crowd has complained about never having any students quoted in support of their cause. I know a great number of students are against SFT, but I wondered if the newspapers couldn't find a single supporter of SFT (at USM) when they had the JCJC kid quoted. No issue can be that one sided among the students. After talking with a couple of the writers at the American, they stated that they talk with a number of pro-SFT students when they do stories. But, the students refuse to be quoted in the paper; some speculated that faculty would seek retribution against them for pro-SFT comments. I would hate to think that any of our faculty would do this, but it seems that there is at least some fraction of the students who believe this. If you want to check for yourself, I encourage you to call Janet Braswell, or Nikki Maude. "

I'm not suprised. Any time you have a power imbalance, there are going to be some who are afraid that those who have the power (in this case faculty) will abuse it. It is part of the dynamic. It doesn't prove that the faculty as a whole, or any particular faculty member, may actually misuse that authority to punish a student for having a legitimate opinion. On the other hand, there are, in any group, always a few rogues so I would not be suprised to see of hear of an incident that could be so interpreted. I don't think a few such incidents prove the case for the whole. It also doesn't in any way reflect the far more orchestrated campaign of the administration to suppress legitimate dissent.

I hope that the implication in this post isn't that there is some faculty-wide conspiracy to shut students up if they support the President. I know not every faculty member on campus supports the President -- why are those students who speak out against Shelby not afraid of being graded down for their views? Surely some of them must take classes with faculty members supporting the President.

The sad thing is the way a climate of fear spreads everywhere and affects all relationships. The faculty did not create that climate.

Fire Shelby · Status: Offline

I have spoken face to face with numerous students who wanted to attend the first protest, but didn't because they were afraid that Shelby Thames would seek retribution by taking away their scholarships.

Date: May 5, 2004

Wow! And I thought the American was going out of its way to find people that could say "like a business," "Bleeds Black and Gold" and "conservatives vs. liberals". This from today's paper:

"Most of us have no real idea what's going on," said finance major Jason Sanford of Laurel. "The Faculty Senate seems to be ultra-liberal and biased. The only reason (Thames) appears to be stepping on toes is he's taking the university in the right direction."