Communications professor gets paid leave for communicating the n-word

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Racial tension was already high on campus when the incident occurred. The communications professor said a classroom discussion was on the syllabus for the day when one of her graduate students asked how they could handle racial problems in their own classrooms.

“As a white woman I just never have seen the racism … It’s not like I see ‘N--ger’ spray painted on walls,” she said during her lecture to the graduate students who teach undergraduate classes, according to the students’ online letter.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...rsity_professor_on_leave_for_using_nword.html

I think this is pretty stupid for a communications professor to not know how to communicate properly.

Additional piece of stupidity:

disclosing personal information about other students that may pose external safety risks, and disdain and mockery for graduates in the COMS 930 course who request additional resources and support.

Dr. Quenette has created a culture of disrespect for all students by calling undergraduates “stupid” and doubting their intellectual abilities. Dr. Quenette has made it a habit to disparage the reputations of veteran GTAs in the Communication Studies department by naming them and mocking their classroom policies and procedures, and disclosing private information regarding research projects involving other GTAs. Dr. Quenette exposed information about the personal location of a former GTA in the midst of a domestic violence situation. Dr. Quenette breached FERPA regulations by showing the midterm grades of previous students during the new GTA orientation, specifically, the grades of Cassandra Bird and Michael Eisenstadt.

https://medium.com/@schumaal/what-f...ed-in-coms-930-at-the-8f4914d4bbd5#.sym4hi29b

Irony is this is all done in a public speaking class. She should not be a communications professor but should have retraining on how to communicate. With some retraining maybe she could again be a professor.

 

[bigfield]

It's sad that American culture has gotten to the point that people cannot reference the word 'nigger' in front of an adult audience. There is a difference between referring to someone as a nigger and referencing the word itself.

Placeholders such as 'the n-word', 'the f-word' or 'the c-word' are for children. Adults, including university students, should be able to hear references to words such as 'nigger', 'fuck' or 'cunt' without automatically flipping out.

 

[Nexus]

I think this is pretty stupid for a communications professor to not know how to communicate properly.

Is there some rule in the English language that says you can't pronounce the word nigger when discussing it? And what's with the "n--ger"? That looks like something fundamentalist Jews do when writing YHWH or Yahweh. Maybe it makes since since political correctness is like religion with its us vs them heretic worldview.

She should not be a communications professor but should have retraining on how to communicate. With some retraining maybe she could again be a professor.

If only we had re-education camps.

 

[Metaphor]

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...rsity_professor_on_leave_for_using_nword.html

I think this is pretty stupid for a communications professor to not know how to communicate properly.

Additional piece of stupidity:

disclosing personal information about other students that may pose external safety risks, and disdain and mockery for graduates in the COMS 930 course who request additional resources and support.

Dr. Quenette has created a culture of disrespect for all students by calling undergraduates “stupid” and doubting their intellectual abilities. Dr. Quenette has made it a habit to disparage the reputations of veteran GTAs in the Communication Studies department by naming them and mocking their classroom policies and procedures, and disclosing private information regarding research projects involving other GTAs. Dr. Quenette exposed information about the personal location of a former GTA in the midst of a domestic violence situation. Dr. Quenette breached FERPA regulations by showing the midterm grades of previous students during the new GTA orientation, specifically, the grades of Cassandra Bird and Michael Eisenstadt.

https://medium.com/@schumaal/what-f...ed-in-coms-930-at-the-8f4914d4bbd5#.sym4hi29b

Irony is this is all done in a public speaking class. She should not be a communications professor but should have retraining on how to communicate. With some retraining maybe she could again be a professor.

The irony is that she's being pilloried for speaking clearly.

The word "nigger", when in the context of a racial epithet, is offensive.

Using the word "nigger", to reference the word "nigger", is not offensive. It's how the English language works.

Of course, like He Who Must Not Be Named (which ironically names the forbidden object), saying 'N-word' or writing 'n*gger' helps nobody. Either people know what word you're talking about (and presumably, can still be triggered by it) or they don't know, in which case you have failed to communicate.

G*d, the world is stupid.

 

[laughing dog]

Of course the world is stupid. And, of course, students (by definition) have lots to learn. It will be interesting to see how the U. of Ks reacts to these accusations. In particular, if this professor did publicly reveal student(s) grades to others who had no "business reason" to know, that is a violation of FERPA.

 

[Toni]

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...rsity_professor_on_leave_for_using_nword.html

I think this is pretty stupid for a communications professor to not know how to communicate properly.

Additional piece of stupidity:

disclosing personal information about other students that may pose external safety risks, and disdain and mockery for graduates in the COMS 930 course who request additional resources and support.

Dr. Quenette has created a culture of disrespect for all students by calling undergraduates “stupid” and doubting their intellectual abilities. Dr. Quenette has made it a habit to disparage the reputations of veteran GTAs in the Communication Studies department by naming them and mocking their classroom policies and procedures, and disclosing private information regarding research projects involving other GTAs. Dr. Quenette exposed information about the personal location of a former GTA in the midst of a domestic violence situation. Dr. Quenette breached FERPA regulations by showing the midterm grades of previous students during the new GTA orientation, specifically, the grades of Cassandra Bird and Michael Eisenstadt.

https://medium.com/@schumaal/what-f...ed-in-coms-930-at-the-8f4914d4bbd5#.sym4hi29b

Irony is this is all done in a public speaking class. She should not be a communications professor but should have retraining on how to communicate. With some retraining maybe she could again be a professor.

Her use of the word is within context and is not at all the same as calling anyone in particular, a generic person or a group by that epithet. However, her example and demonstrated lack of ability to discuss a legitimate question or even to open discussion about how to handle racism in classes is unprofessional.

The other references are also unprofessional and probably against all sorts of rules, quite justifiably.

I have no idea what you mean by 're-training' as university professors are typically not trained to teach classes. Also, they tend, as a group, not to be amenable to training, much less, 're-training.'

 

[RavenSky]

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...rsity_professor_on_leave_for_using_nword.html

I think this is pretty stupid for a communications professor to not know how to communicate properly.

Additional piece of stupidity:

https://medium.com/@schumaal/what-f...ed-in-coms-930-at-the-8f4914d4bbd5#.sym4hi29b

Irony is this is all done in a public speaking class. She should not be a communications professor but should have retraining on how to communicate. With some retraining maybe she could again be a professor.

Her use of the word is within context and is not at all the same as calling anyone in particular, a generic person or a group by that epithet. However, her example and demonstrated lack of ability to discuss a legitimate question or even to open discussion about how to handle racism in classes is unprofessional.

The other references are also unprofessional and probably against all sorts of rules, quite justifiably.

^^^ about what I was thinking too

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The professor has no discretion and is really a terrible speaker. If graduate students come to her to ask her how to handle discussions of race and she can't explain how to do so, then that's a small point against her because she is teaching a class on public speaking. She should be able to give advice on how to discuss the topic as a public speaker might which she failed to do. Again, a minor point in my view.

But the rest of what is present in the op, shows either incompetence or lack of regard for discretion in speaking publicly about something. Moreover, her actions were against policy and/or regulations.

So what could she be re-trained on? She could be re-trained on policies and regulations such as quoted in the op "FERPA regulations."

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."
...
...
...

• Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.

...

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

It's sad that American culture has gotten to the point that people cannot reference the word 'nigger' in front of an adult audience. There is a difference between referring to someone as a nigger and referencing the word itself.

Yes there is. However, when you are a communications professor teaching a class on public speaking and in the course of class discussion, graduate students ask for professional advice on how to discuss race, they deserve something a little better than she gave. Her opining and finger pointing, while not exactly appropriate, simply is not the best way to answer such questions.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

If only we had re-education camps.

I believe that there are plenty of professions where non-compliance with regulations could result in retraining. There is no need to disparage the comment when my opinion is actually giving the professor a chance at once again becoming a professor, after breaking the law.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The irony is that she's being pilloried for speaking clearly.

No, she isn't. Her use of the n-word was part of opining that was inappropriate to the context of discussion. What she is being "pilloried" for (at least by me) is as I wrote in the op. Her typical problem is lack of discretion, finger pointing, etc, which was detailed in the op.

 

[Metaphor]

The irony is that she's being pilloried for speaking clearly.

No, she isn't. Her use of the n-word was part of opining that was inappropriate to the context of discussion. What she is being "pilloried" for (at least by me) is as I wrote in the op. Her typical problem is lack of discretion, finger pointing, etc, which was detailed in the op.

The article opens with

University of Kansas officials placed a white professor on paid leave after her students filed a complaint over her use of the n-word during a lecture on racism

Now, she also

added to the controversy by disagreeing with the students who blamed institutionalized racism for low graduation rates of black students.

Should professors always agree with students? Should we take it on faith that institutionalised racism is the only or main reason for low graduation rates of black students?

Part of the complaint reads:

Her comments that followed were even more disparaging as they articulated not only her lack of awareness of racial discrimination and violence on this campus and elsewhere but an active denial of institutional, structural, and individual racism. This denial perpetuates racism in and of itself.

I don't know what 'her comments' were, because they were not quoted, but I suspect she didn't say anything nearly like what's in the complaint, since she already qualified her statements.

The stuff about releasing identifiable grades of previous students, if true, does seem inexcusable (as in, I can't think of a valid defence, although there might be one).

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

No, she isn't. Her use of the n-word was part of opining that was inappropriate to the context of discussion. What she is being "pilloried" for (at least by me) is as I wrote in the op. Her typical problem is lack of discretion, finger pointing, etc, which was detailed in the op.

The article opens with

University of Kansas officials placed a white professor on paid leave after her students filed a complaint over her use of the n-word during a lecture on racism

"after" or because? The two are not mutually exclusive, but usage of the n-word just isn't the only thing going on.

Now, she also

added to the controversy by disagreeing with the students who blamed institutionalized racism for low graduation rates of black students.

Should professors always agree with students? Should we take it on faith that institutionalised racism is the only or main reason for low graduation rates of black students?

Strawmen.

Part of the complaint reads:

Her comments that followed were even more disparaging as they articulated not only her lack of awareness of racial discrimination and violence on this campus and elsewhere but an active denial of institutional, structural, and individual racism. This denial perpetuates racism in and of itself.

I don't know what 'her comments' were, because they were not quoted, but I suspect she didn't say anything nearly like what's in the complaint, since she already qualified her statements.

The stuff about releasing identifiable grades of previous students, if true, does seem inexcusable (as in, I can't think of a valid defence, although there might be one).

The stuff about releasing identifiable grades is part of a pattern because she also was finger pointing at other specific individuals (in a public speaking course mind you) and just in general not handling discretion well. Discretion is part of communication.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The irony is that she's being pilloried for speaking clearly.

The word "nigger", when in the context of a racial epithet, is offensive.

Using the word "nigger", to reference the word "nigger", is not offensive. It's how the English language works.

Exactly. Is it offensive to say "He called me a nigger"? (Yes, it's happened--KKK types online who assume I must be black because I don't support their agenda.)