Syracuse U. Won’t Expel Graduate Student Over Facebook Posting

January 18, 2012, 10:27 pm

A Syracuse University graduate student who had been prohibited from student-teaching because of a Facebook posting will be allowed to finish his degree this spring, the university said on Wednesday. The decision came just a few hours after a free-speech group publicly denounced Syracuse’s handling of the matter.

Matthew S. Werenczak, a master’s student in social-studies education, made the comment on Facebook last July while he was a tutor at a local high school as part of a Syracuse class.

Mr. Werenczak said that during a field trip, he had heard a local NAACP representative say, “We need to start hiring our teachers from historically black colleges.” Since he and another tutor had just introduced themselves as Syracuse students, Mr. Werenczak said he found the remarks offensive.

On his personal Facebook page, he wrote that the comment was an example of “racism” and implied that his hard work tutoring at “the worst school in the city” was not being valued.

A few months later, after a fellow student brought the post to the attention of the School of Education, Mr. Werenczak’s adviser wrote him a letter saying he might be removed from the program because the Facebook post was “unprofessional, offensive, and insensitive.”

Mr. Werenczak said in an interview that he had been shocked at the school’s reaction, and he thinks his outspoken criticism of parts of the program’s curriculum and classes was a contributing factor.

“You don’t always have to agree with the material presented to you in a college class,” he said. “I had differing opinions. It’s disappointing that freedom of expression at Syracuse only extends to certain people, or it only goes so far.”

Mr. Werenczak also said he was frustrated by a lack of due process at the university, which did not formally charge him with any violation of its policies or code of conduct.

In the letter, the adviser, Jeffrey A. Mangram, wrote that Mr. Werenczak could either voluntarily withdraw from the school or meet a series of conditions. Those included undergoing anger-management counseling, completing a diversity course, and writing a reflective paper to be reviewed by a committee. He was also prohibited from completing his required student-teaching in the fall semester.

Mr. Werenczak said he reluctantly opted for the latter choice, completing all of the requirements by early December. He said it was unclear whether the school would readmit him into the program until he was notified late Wednesday afternoon by Mr. Mangram.

Earlier Wednesday, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education issued a press release decrying the situation as a violation of free-speech and due-process rights. The advocacy group had also sent a letter to Syracuse’s chancellor, Nancy E. Cantor, on January 10.

“It’s a pretty clear-cut case of someone being punished for their off-campus speech,” Robert L. Shibley, the group’s senior vice president said on Wednesday before the school reinstated Mr. Werenczak. “He was effectively suspended without any real due process. There was no disciplinary hearing.”

Kevin C. Quinn, Syracuse’s senior vice president for public affairs, dismissed any due-process concerns, saying in an e-mail that “the matter was handled in accordance with the school’s standard process.”

Mr. Quinn said that Mr. Werenczak “will be allowed to continue his student-teaching this semester on the same terms and conditions as all other students.”

[Creative Commons licensed Flickr photo by west.m]

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22081781

It’s sad to see Mr. Werenczak punished for voicing his well-justified perceptions. Unfortunately, universities frequesntly get away with denying graduate students andf faculty due process, especially in PC cases like this one.
somethingclever

Context is important in teacher education. I suspect the faculty in the school of education are reacting not simply to this single instance of unprofessional behavior by this student, but to an ongoing pattern. If the student cannot control himself, he probably does not belong in a classroom.
jffoster

While we’re shutting Holdover Black Colleges and Universities down or merging them with real colleges and universities, maybe we could shut the Colleges of Education down too, or merge them with real colleges.
22258596

My oh my, how sure you are of yourself with absolutely no data in hand. Not exactly “something clever.”
Tolana

It would be nice to hear the other side of the story from the staff at the school where he tutors, too. Frankly, I think he’s entitled to his opinion, and I didn’t see anything in his comments that warrant the college’s reaction. From the information we have so far, it appears that he was punished for disagreeing with the school, nothing more.
proffy_mommy

Well, the article does say that he had previously spoken out against the curriculum of the graduate program. It doesn’t say how boisterously, but it’s clear he had tensions with the leadership prior to this exchange. I do think it’s clear that this was over-reaction, however. Given an opportunity, perhaps he would have deleted the post or revised it in some way to be less apt to offend others. However, it’s his personal Fb profile, and one assumes he’s not so famous as to have countless folks skulking about on his profile just to see what he’s up to.

I think that it’s important that schools–at all levels–really start to consider what counts as personal and what counts as professional in this world of social media exchange. If he tagged the school where he tutors, Syracuse University or its school of education, or the field trip site, then it’s really unprofessional. If he just mentioned that this happened and he was offended, made an analytical comment about the nature of the offense, and stated feeling under-appreciated, then I would have to make the argument that it was purely personal. I think it’s likely somewhere in between the two–no tagging, perhaps, but clear references to people and/or places.

Either way, he’s learned a valuable lesson about what post and where and to whom….and the university learned a lesson they’ll likely forget when it’s convenient–people have rights as persons, not just as employees.
johnlaudun

Wow. Just wow. I could understand the usual internet biases for or against the student and the school, none of which are substantiated because there is so little in the article itself, but substituting “Holdover” for the H in HBCU? That was an argument with so little substance and so much bias in it as to set a new standard for vapidity.
kmurphy724

That, my friends, is how the Academy turns people into right-wingers. He will be fighting this political correctness his entire career.
firestaff

The disciplinary letter referred only to the Facebook comments and nothing else.
rhancuff

“Real colleges” as opposed to HBCU’s? Unbelievable. I’d be interested in hearing your criteria for declaring that schools like Howard University, for instance, aren’t “real colleges.”
mathmaven

I can understand why this guy was hurt and offended by the comment by the NAACP rep. Here he is in grad school, preparing to spend his life helping children and foregoing the material rewards of other career paths in order to do so. He was a strong enough student to get into a grad program at Syracuse and is probably forking over a ton in private school tuition. When he graduates, he will be entering a scary job market. And he just heard a comment which, in the context of his current life, sounded to him like if he were to apply for a teaching job, his application would not– should not– be welcomed, for no other reason than that he didn’t go to an HBCU. Under those circumstances, if I were him, I’d be offended too.
chandrak

It is unfortunate Syracuse University officials took this drastic and unprofessional action against the student because he wrote something he heard:
“We need to start hiring our teachers from historically black colleges.” That is a racist statement, no doubt. The student has the right to express his views.
pianiste

I’m a liberal and Professor Foster is something of a conservative, so I usually disagree with him. On one thing, however, we agree: Historically Black Colleges and Universities, especially the state-supported ones.

In the first place, “Historically” is a rhetorical hedge, because a state can’t come right out and say, “These are our Black Colleges and Universities.” “Historically” really means, “They were founded as Black Colleges and Universities and ought to stay that way.” That’s why Professor Foster calls them “Holdover.”

Although the segregation is voluntary–no black student is forced to attend an HBCU because he or she is denied entrance to a non-HBCU college or university on account of race (that’s illegal)–it’s still segregation. How about an “Historically Black Drinking Fountain” labeled as such? Or an “History Black Balcony” in a movie theater?

Professor Foster doesn’t advocate shutting down HBCUs. Some people do: Their graduation rates are generally pretty bad, their graduates generally don’t match up that well against black graduates of non-HBCU schools, and–at least in some cases–the contention that their generally poor performance is because of a discriminatory dearth of funding is a myth.* But Professor Foster and others (I among them) advocate the state HBCUs simply being designated as, or merged with, other, non-racially-labeled state colleges and universities.

Even some supporters of HBCUs as such are backpedaling. There’s another term out there now: “Minority-Serving Institutions,” which umbrellas HBCUs, HSIs (“Hispanic-Serving Institutions”) and TCUs ([Indian] “Tribal Colleges and Universities”. (Oddly, there’s no ASI, or “Asian-Serving Institutions,” designation.) Although TCUs might be a separate matter owing to the complex legal relationship of Indian Tribes to State and Federal Governments, one does notice the implication of “just happen to be Minority-Serving” in MSIs–we didn’t set them up as colleges for blacks and Latinos.” This is an improvement over the HBCU label.

* “An analysis of the state appropriations shows that historically black universities have received ‘significantly higher’ amounts of ‘both annual operating budgets and capital allocations’ per full-time student than have traditionally white institutions over the past 25 years, says a summary of [the state of Maryland's defense arguments in a lawsuit claiming underfunding for HBCUs].” — from the CHE, Jan. 3, 20012, “Lawsuit Against Maryland Over Treatment of Black Universities Comes to Trial”
maestrho

First and foremost, I concur that Syracuse overreached on this. If someone cannot post personal, albeit ignorant, comments on their Facebook page without it costing them their future then that really is ridiculous. I appreciate that they were prepared to engage a situation which clearly required intervention so that the young man could understand the context of the statement he overheard, but there are ways in which you address a situation and this was just a bit much … even given what appears to have been prior tensions.

The most important point, however, is that the NAACP representative’s statement actually is NOT a racist statement (although one could make the argument for “biased” or “prejudiced”), but, again, context is cleary necessary here. First of all, none of us donating 10 minutes of our lives to reading and responding to this story know the full conversation or the point that was being made when Mr. Werenczak overheard the statement. It is very possible (and highly probable) that the statement had nothing to do with him individually. Rather, the NAACP representative could very well have had a preference for hiring talented and dedicated teachers from HBCUs because of the perspective they bring to the classroom. For example, and I am speaking as an alumnus of Morgan State University, teacher education programs at HBCUs prepare students with a focus on content as well as culture (which, by the way, is not solely about race/ethnicity). Students at HBCUs have an awareness of the social dynamics associated with the type of students you find at “the worst school in the city” and an appreciation for what it takes to overcome the challenges inherent in that environment. But more specifically related to the present discussion is the ability of the young students at the school to model the teachers they see. A quote I’ve heard over the years is “you have to see a man to be a man” and while there are all manner of issues we could discuss relative to that statement, the spirit of it holds for this situation. It is very possible that the NAACP representative was lamenting the shortage of African-American teachers available to help his students aspire to achieve and that a targeted hiring campaign from HBCUs may be a good idea. He may have seen something in Mr. Werenczack’s performance (and the performance of other interns) that suggested a lack of understanding on their part of the dynamics of the students in the school. None of of that is clear from this “news” story, but what IS clear is that those who believe the statement to be racist are overreaching just like the administrators at Syracuse … too many assumptions, not enough information, too quick to pass judgment.

Lastly, the truest definition of ignorance is not the absence of information, but the refusal to attain it. For those of you who continue to bemoan the academic standards and rigor of HBCUs, you are embroiled in the mire of your own ignorance because you know that you are making these comments without any real information about these institutions. To use your screen name as the cover of your cowardice while you spew unfounded hatefulness is shameful and childish. I encourage you to spend some time actually learning about these institutions and the students and alumni who call them home before you make another unfounded post about them being “Holdovers.” The siren is never sounded for the elimination of women’s colleges or military schools, but HBCUs continue to live in the shadow of your skewed thinking and THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is biased and prejudiced.
phonenear

“Kevin C. Quinn, Syracuse’s senior vice president for public affairs, dismissed any due-process concerns, saying in an e-mail that ‘the matter was handled in accordance with the school’s standard process.’” Hahahahaha LOL – If this is their standard process, and there is not a back-story of other instances of inappropriate outbursts or behavior by the student in question (i.e, a back-story where the guy had already been cautioned, in which case any disciplinary letter to the student needed to mention that view), then there is a real problem of their process.

On the flip side, anyone who thinks that their Facebook postings don’t register within the campus or community is pretty inattentive and dumb.
drburlbaw

Some districts ask prospective hirees if they have a facebook page and, if so, to open it for the administrator doing the interview. Refusal to do so usually terminates the interview. Legal? Who knows but the practice is going on. We caution students to be aware of their past and present postings and what they write – we also discuss answer machine messages and email names – some are cute for freshman and/or party days but don’t give a professional image as they enter the professional world.
There is no private on the internet and things never go away – I can find postings I made to listervs that have been dead for 15 years.
bleckb

I guess all the data showing that there is a need for applicable role models for the students has no bearing on who administrators hire. We whites don’t have to worry about this. I can only see this student as another white cry baby who had his feathers ruffled. Welcome to life.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines Robert Talbert

“Jeffrey A. Mangram, wrote that Mr. Werenczak could either voluntarily withdraw from the school or meet a series of conditions. Those included undergoing anger-management counseling, completing a diversity course, and writing a reflective paper to be reviewed by a committee. He was also prohibited from completing his required student-teaching in the fall semester.”

This is the part that I find most personally offensive. The student is given the choice either to withdraw or to brand himself as a person with a pathological behavioral problem and seek counseling. I’ve seen this trend more and more in higher ed where those who find themselves on the wrong side of an issue are forced to self-identify as psychologically impaired or else face removal. It smacks of Soviet-era political tactics, and it needs to stop. Before long, the only people who will be allowed to say anything in a public forum are the ones who agree with the ones in power.
jamesebryan

If such is the case then they ought to spell out all of his problems, and the appropriate ways to correct them, rather than trying to depend upon one issue to fix all the others. I have seen instances in which attempts to “deal with” someone with multiple problems by using a single one as a pretext for action have backfired on the establishment, because they put all their efforts to address the situation on that one thing, which the individual was then able to defend, or argue was a single instance taken out of context, with the result that the individual was upheld and the establishment was then stuck with them, because it was then too late to present all the other issues.

This, on the other hand, from the evidence presented here and from what I read in his Facebook entries, seems to be a pretty classic example of those with a sense of righteousness exerting authority to enforce their values and punish those they perceive to violate those values, whether they are entitled to exercise such authority or not. But of course to such as them “Error hath no rights.”
cjba6163

Having read the actual facebook post and comments, I thought that part
of what made it “unprofessional” was the assertion that the school
should be grateful that he was suffering the inconveniences of getting up at 6:30am and working “with no AC.” 6:30 is really not unusually early for a K-12 educator, or for most adults who work full-time. And what about the students and regular teachers who spend every weekday in this apparently inadequately climate-controlled building? If this attitude informed his performance, perhaps it contributed to his efforts “not being valued”? I am obviously not aware of the full context, but if the NAACP representative perceived white Syracuse students as acting spoiled and condescending that may have influenced his or her view that graduates of HBCUs would be a better fit in that school.

Mr. Werenczak may in fact be a caring and committed educator, but his online comments made him appear self-centered and immature.
11134078

Syracuse seems to be trying to make a speciality out of over-reacting and avoiding anything smacking of due process—or even rudimentary fairness. First we had the Bernie Fine business, now we have this. What’s next? What’s still hidden?
pianiste

According to the punished student, the NAACP rep said, “We need to start hiring our teachers from historically black colleges.” Since graduates of HBCUs are more than likely–to put it mildly–to be black, the NAACP rep was saying, in effect, “We need to start hiring black teachers.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is racist.

Secondly, that somebody calling himself “maestrho” accuses other people of “us[ing] your screen name as the cover of your cowardice while you spew unfounded hatefulness is shameful and childish,” would be hilarious if it weren’t so, well, hilarious. All chandrak did was say–as do I–that the NAACP rep’s statement, if reported accurately, is racist, as racist as if somebody said, “We need to start hiring white teachers.” He didn’t “spew unfounded hatefulness,” he just stated an opinion–a well-grounded one, I think. And he’s no more a “coward” than is maestrho for commenting under a pseudonym.

If there are still state-supported women’s colleges, they ought to be changed, too. And “military schools” aren’t restrictive as to race or sex (I think a couple of lawsuits have brought that about).
edwoof

Yes, this was his Anita Hill moment.
jffoster

Ah well, the jig is up. I’m not really jffoster; that’s just a screen name and Maestrho is on to me. So I confess.

Nu sînt ‘jffoster’ .
‘I am not ‘jffoster.’

Sîntem de fapt Marie, Regină Rumânei.
‘We are in fact Marie, Queen of Rumania.’
maestrho

First … I am not a “him” … My name, pianiste, is Dr. Kimberly Hardy and I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut. My screen name is the same regardless of where I post and you have (clearly) avoided the true point of my mentioning this in the original post. It is sad that you seem to have required something as concrete as this, but nevertheless …

Your re-hash of the comments is inaccurate and absolutely miss the point. You appear less interested in an intellectual discourse and more interested in going tit-for-tat through the message, but this would be an unbearable game to play with you as you mind seems made up as to where you stand on this issue. I will, however, simply say this (and feel free to admonish it as you wish), your “if reported accurately” disclaimer far and away solidifies part of my initial comments. We really do not know what the full statement was or the intent behind said statement. It is the INTENT that would make for a richer conversation about what it means that there would be preferences and why (which I attempted to touch on – albeit briefly). To pretend as though the preferences are irrelevant and unwarranted will not advance the conversation to a place where they actually ARE irrelevant and unwarranted.

Perhaps one day, pianiste, we can begin that dialogue. You now know who and where I am and I welcome the opportunity to engage in an exchange of ideas, not barbs.
angler2008

As some have mentioned, this is most likely a case where this students had other issues. The culture of “nice” in education departments makes it nearly impossible be candid with students. They might get offended; we might hurt their feelings. In so many cases, students exhibit behavior patterns that are subtle, right on the fringe of problematic, and nothing is said. It is not until the student gets on the wrong person’s nerves that problems are addressed. In my case, a student was allowed to do little things for 2 years before he finally messed with the wrong person. Those of us who complained all along about the student were told, “You worry too much; He’s just a kid; You are too sensitive.”

When the student pissed off the wrong person, then suddenly, the very people who told us to get over it were asking for our support in the matter. We rallied for the student. It was not fair to let the student get to the end of the program and then kick him out when. The student hadn’t changed at all. He was consistent. Us faculty and admin were not.

Yes, the student has every right to his opinion. Yes, he should be able to share his frustrations with his support network. However, the reality is that there is always a chance that no matter how justified, the opinion will offend. My frustration with this matter, and countless others, has to do with the refusal to be “real” with students. Teachers and professors are expected to be something other than human. A diversity class, etc. does not get at the issue–how to demonstrate professional disposition in a “politically correct” environment. As a university student teaching supervisor (female and minority), I spare nothing in terms of helping my interns (all white) think of self preservation above all else:

There is no such thing as free speech in a public space. I find that so many people want things both ways. I go into schools where teachers say the most racist, sexist, elitist things, but the moment those same words are uttered in public, all of those who agreed with the comments earlier are suddenly offended. “Don’t be the spokesperson because no one will have your back.”

Use moments like those in the article as teachable moments. The teachers who expressed the opinion about HBCU’s forgot one important thing: “Be care what you say because you are being heard.” Note that and make sure to not make the same mistake.

Make all Facebook pages unsearchable. Clean up pages to remove any items that will call their professionalism into question because current friends on the site can still see and share posts. Stay away from campus intranet sites where students vent and gossip. Do not post any more ratings to the RMP site.

Nothing is confidential. Do not publish vents or express any displeasure about your school placement, peers, students, professors, politicians, bosses, random people, on and on and on. Call someone and vent. Don’t text. Don’t email. Don’t write anything down. Honestly, call a close family member who will be less likely to quote you to others when they share (and friends do share) the story. How many times has a comment about a serious issue turned into controversy due to second hand and third hand retelling?

Discuss the issue with the university supervisor if you feel that the issue is too important to ignore. ALWAYS use care when discussing conflicts. The supervisor is responsible for mentoring interns so that they can handle moments that stir conflict. Do not become a target because you expressed an opinion.

To be honest, most of my interns do well and end up with jobs at the schools where they are placed. Then there are some who tell me that my advice is absent of backbone. A few weeks into the internship, the same students find themselves in a conference where the discussion is all about terminating them from the program because of something they said or questioned.
maestrho

I concur! When I read that he needed anger management courses I thought that was terribly extreme. As a clinician I don’t know that such was really necessary and more about the university wanting to err on the side of caution in rather an extreme way. As I noted above, it really is about the WAY in which such things are addressed. The ultimate goal of the school was clearly punishment (and a bit of CMA to be sure!), but I think that this could have been a teachable moment couched in an informative and thoughtful conversation with his advisor or some other university official. He went through the motions to stay in school, but that doesn’t address the bigger issue at hand.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Paul-Wangsvick/26717288 Paul Wangsvick

Basically:

One could infer that the NAACP representative was offended by the inequalities in the worst city schools by saying that there are not enough minority teachers from HBC’s serving in these systems.

Mr. Werenczak was offended by the aforementioned remarks and shared his grievances via facebook.

Syracuse was offended both by the controversial remarks and by how Mr. Werenczak expressed his views.

Some posters are offended, for a variety of reasons, because they have their differing views, for a variety of reasons, on the matter.

Me on the other hand? I’m offended that the lesson in all of this is that if we’re not PC (enough) about what we say, to whom, where and how, there are those among us who can’t put on their big girl panties, for a variety of reasons, and come to terms with embracing–as opposed to stiffling–disagreement.
matturn

maestrho, your post is well written and enlightening, and adds much to this discussion.

However, to be fair to pianiste, you *are* using a pseduonym just as much as they are, and the NACCP rep *may* have been racist. You are right that there are non-racist explanations for what the rep said, but there are also racist ones. Agreeing with your arguments greatly reduces the probability that the statement was racist, but even if all are accepted, they don’t rule it out.

pianiste’s rebuttle is relatively poor. They do choose to ignore nearly everything you said. When trying to determine the rep’s motivations, you do much more to develop the possibilities. But taken as a possiblity rather than a fact, pianiste’s contention may well be true.

To suggest that making this point is to “spew unfounded hatefulness [that] is shameful and childish” is taking just as narrow a view of pianiste’s motivations as pianiste is of the NAACP rep.
pianiste

OK, so maestrho is a man, not a woman, and she exonerates herself from using a pseudonym. (Of course, 95 percent of commenters on the CHE blogs–those who agree with Professor Hardy and those who don’t, alike–use pseudonyms. ‘Tis the way o’ the blogosphere.)

But she doesn’t address:

1. ‘Twas Syracuse University that went beyond an exchange of opinions and tried to kick the student out of school. The student didn’t try to have the NAACP rep fired.

2. Professor Hardy–protestations of “an exchange of ideas, not barbs” notwithstanding–is the one who goes over the top with “us[ing] your screen name as the cover of your cowardice while you spew unfounded hatefulness is shameful and childish.” Chandrak did no such thing as “spew…hatefulness” and Professor Hardy is wrong to say so.

3. The segregationist nature (albeit voluntary) of HBCUs, and the problematic Constitutionality (a court case will come, one of these days) of state-supported ones.

BTW, this is borderline gibberish: “We really do not know what the full tatement was or the intent behind said statement. It is the INTENT that would make for a richer conversation about what it means that there would be preferences and why (which I attempted to touch on – albeit briefly). To pretend as though the preferences are irrelevant and unwarranted will not advance the conversation to a place where they actually ARE irrelevant and unwarranted.” It isn’t a barb, though; it isn’t sharp enough.
pianiste

What’s a “rebuttle”?

And why is my view of the NAACP rep’s saying “We need to start hiring teachers from historically black colleges” is racist in that the rep is obviously advocating hiring teachers on account of their race, “narrow”? Even Professor Hardy doesn’t dispute the rep’s meaning, just that we don’t fully know the rep’s “intent” in meaning it.

If the NAACP rep didn’t say what he’s quoted as saying, or something close to it, then I apologize.
buckaroo5

My question is why would an University Advisor, Jeffrey A. Mangram, find anything that was the truth offensive ? And if that be so then were is the need for undergoing anger-management counseling, completing a diversity course,
and writing a reflective paper to be reviewed by a committee. He was
also prohibited from completing his required student-teaching in the
fall semester. None of this makes any sense ? Induce me that it does ? Please !!!
racmonti

I sadly agree with Angler. Facebook is open to the world and it’s best to advise our students to be very careful about comments and photos they post, and that are posted about them. I hadn’t heard that employers are demanding that private FB pages (which everyone should have) be opened for their review. I really hope this isn’t a widespread practice.
elizabeth66

Please note how he is really being punished for calling African Americans racist. Among some groups, only whites can be racist. That’s baloney, and we all know that. Making this student take anger managment, write a paper, etc. makes me angry because the university is pandering to the African Americans. Political correctness strikes again. This incident also shows the evil of Facebook: anything you say can and will be used against you.
609zr

I have several comments, all of which would probably get the thumbs down, but when hiring a new faculty member I look for two things:
1. From where did they get their degrees. Those from the most prestigious campuses get short listed.
2. Did the candidate major in the subject for which he/she is applying in all three degrees. If yes, he/she gets short listed.

Second, on censorship. The student quoted someone. So what. The student was offended. So what. Multiple commenters on this site are offended by other commenters on the same site. So what. Am I the only one old enough to have grown up with the values of “Suck it up” and “Turn the other cheek.” Stop playing the “I’m offended” card. It makes you look like a ………… Sorry, I can’t say, someone might be offended.
Guest

I agree with chandrak that “the student has the right to express his views.” Whether or not the NAACP representative’s statement was racist (I do not think it was), the student was posting his thoughts on Facebook.

There is absolutely no justification for using Facebook postings as the basis to deny someone employment, especially if the Facebook posting was protesting against perceived racial discrimination (against whites). That is called retaliation.

The many people who have posted on this thread trying to rationalize the punitive measures taken against the man who posted on his Facebook page are terrifying me. Have they all internalized the system of censorship this much? This is normal to them?

Sadly, I have had to change my screen name for the DISQUS account because these stories keep popping up way too much, and even though I am “politically correct” about race, I am not politically correct on gay issues, and who knows what star chamber I might get dragged into? This is really the end of discourse. Truly tragic.

Wake up, people.
austinbarry

Perhaps they should call it “voluntary re-education”, and the offense he committed should be called “thoughtcrime”.
austinbarry

It sounds like schools have become repressive places where paranoia is encouraged and any personal opinion is not tolerated. It’s good that you are telling your students how to survive, but your advice sounds very much like how one would brief an undercover agent being sent to the old Soviet Union. Is this what we want our kids to grow up in? If not, shouldn’t we try to fix it?
angler2008

austinbarry,
I feel the same way. Your description of the advice I give seems accurate. It is sad. Yes we should fix it, but it is cases like this one where we are all outraged, but how many of us wrote letters in his defense? Called the university to express dismay? Publically stood up for this student? I think the student’s behavior is unprofessional because of the venue he used, but he has a right to his feelings and opinions. The trouble is that in expressing himself, he gets used by the university. They can point to him and claim that such sentiment is not tolerated in their welcoming community.

Over and over again, students are encouraged to express themselves, etc. When they end up in trouble, they are left to handle it on their own. It is sad. Would I publically defend this students? No. I do not have tenure and if I did have tenure, the university where I teach would still punish me in some way. We have a union and some faculty are still being mistreated. Many faculty here all express their concerns only to get mobbed by their fellow colleagues.
This has not happened to me, but it occurs all of the time and we all just sit there saying nothing and doing nothing–myself included. It turns out that faculty I know from all over the country report the same type of campus atmosphere.

I give this advice because they need to graduate after investing so much money/debt into an education. To see them lose all that they worked for is to high a price.
amwellman_2014

“Real colleges and universities” ?????
michael_frausto

As a Dean of Students and as an Ed.D. student, I find myself in the student’s corner on this one assuming the article is accurate and unbiased. Educational leadership has to balance the opinions of a myriad of stakeholders and of PC onlookers with loud voices. Sometimes the student ends up becoming expendable for the sake of the institution. I am not speaking to the motive of Syracuse, but I truly do not understand their initial response. Due process is important in that it keeps us all in check, it conveys the message that the school values the student and it reiterates the honor and value that the school should have in the mind of the student. May each of us walk worthy of our vocation and calling in life.