Kor37 9 Posted April 24, 2007 Professor Fired After Mock Student ShootingsPretended to Shoot Students During Virginia Tech Talk AP BOSTON (April 24) - An adjunct professor was fired after leading a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings in which he pointed a marker at some students and said "pow." The five-minute demonstration at Emmanuel College on Wednesday, two days after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus, included a discussion of gun control, whether to respond to violence with violence, and the public's "celebration of victimhood," said the professor, Nicholas Winset. During the demonstration, Winset pretended to shoot some students. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset to illustrate his point that the gunman might have been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed. "A classroom is supposed to be a place for academic exploration," Winset, who taught financial accounting, told the Boston Herald. He said administrators had asked the faculty to engage students on the issue. But on Friday, he got a letter saying he was fired and ordering him to stay off campus. Winset, 37, argued that the Catholic liberal arts school was stifling free discussion by firing him, and he said the move would have a "chilling effect" on open debate. He posted an 18-minute video on the online site YouTube defending his action. The college issued a statement saying: "Emmanuel College has clear standards of classroom and campus conduct, and does not in any way condone the use of discriminatory or obscene language." Student Junny Lee, 19, told The Boston Globe that most students didn't appear to find Winset's demonstration offensive. A ridiculous decision by the college after they ASKED teachers to discuss the shootings with students! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trekz 7 Posted April 24, 2007 I agree with Kor. If the college asked teachers to discuss the shooting wqith students and didn't give them clear-cut standards, they should expect a variety of ways would be selected to discuss it. Perhaps the professor should have thought twice about mock shooting students with a MARKER!, but it seems benign to me - IT WAS A MARKER! - and an overreaction by this college. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
He Who Shall Not Be Named 2 Posted April 24, 2007 Dumb move by the college. Dunb, dumb, dumb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kira T Phaserman 0 Posted April 25, 2007 People have bugs up their asses from the school shootings. Maybe if people didn't over react to some stuff we wouldnt have so many people wanting to shoot up a school Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gummy 0 Posted April 25, 2007 I would think that colleges would encourage discussions about the Virginia Tech Incident to get the students to discuss their fears, thoughts, etc... This college screwed up by firing the Prof like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites