The State University of New York at Binghamton tried unsuccessfully this fall to suspend a social-work student after he displayed posters criticizing an adjunct instructor at the university. Now, the student says, the social-work department is trying to force him out by unfairly giving him bad grades.
The student — Andre Massena — is enrolled in the master’s program in social work. Last summer he tacked up posters on the campus criticizing the Binghamton Housing Authority for evicting a single mother and her children, and asking people to call the social-work department to complain. David K. Tanenhaus, the housing authority’s executive director, is an adjunct instructor at Binghamton.
The social-work department at first told Mr. Massena to retract the statements he had made on the poster, apologize to the department and to Mr. Tanenhaus, and withdraw for a year to “reflect upon his readiness to enter the field of social work.” Mr. Massena appealed for help to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an advocacy group that monitors free-speech violations, and the social-work department rescinded the punishments, citing “regrettable procedural misunderstandings.”
In an interview on Monday, however, Mr. Massena said two adjunct faculty members had unfairly given him final grades this semester that fell below the 3.0 that graduate students must earn in classes to maintain enrollment in the social-work program. He said Deborah R. Oliver, a social worker at a nearby high school and an adjunct instructor at Binghamton, had refused to call on him in a class on advanced social-work practice with individuals.
“I would have my hand up, and other students could not believe it,” he said. “She completely ignored me.”
After the social-work department dropped its complaint against him, in November, Ms. Oliver gave Mr. Massena 59 out of 100 on a paper — even though, he said, he had earned 90’s on his papers beforehand. He received a B- as a final grade, below the 3.0 required.
Mr. Massena earned a C+ in Nancy J. Frank’s class on advanced social-work practice with organizations, receiving only 50 out of a possible 100 points for class participation and professional accountability. “I came to class on time, spoke, and quoted reading material,” said Mr. Massena, who vowed to appeal the low grades.
In an e-mail message sent to The Chronicle and to Binghamton professors on Monday, a person who said she was a student and used the pseudonym “Lisa White” said she had witnessed “professors’ unethical behavior” toward Mr. Massena. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education posted the message on its Web site and said it would help Mr. Massena battle any retaliation by the social-work department.
Both adjunct instructors named in the message and by Mr. Massena said they stood by the grades they had given him. “He got what he earned,” said Ms. Oliver, who added that Mr. Massena’s low grade on the paper was justified because it was “horrendous.”
“He didn’t even have his name or page numbers on it,” she said. Ms. Oliver also denied that she had ignored Mr. Massena in class. “I am not involved in whatever drama was going on at the school,” she said.
Ms. Franks, who is also manager of medical social work at United Health Services, a hospital system, said “falling asleep in class, not paying attention to others, and having a laptop open during class” would all earn a student a low grade in class participation and professional accountability. “It is not just about showing up and raising your hand,” she said.
In a statement sent by e-mail to The Chronicle, a spokeswoman at Binghamton, Gail Glover, said: “At this time, Mr. Massena is enrolled in the MSW program and is registered to take classes in the spring. He is participating fully as a student.” —Robin Wilson
