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(When will people like George C-M learn that every tweet they make is
being put under a microscope by people trying to get them fired?
Frankly, he would have been better off writing a 2000 word analysis but
he seems intent on being an anarchist shock-jock on Twitter instead.)
Chronicle for Higher Education, Oct. 12 2017
A Professor Is Placed on Leave After an Internet Furor and Threats. What
Happens to the Students?
By Chris Quintana
Many of the students who take George Ciccariello-Maher’s classes don’t
care what he posts on social media, though many people on the internet
do. Those outsiders are so passionate that they have threatened to
attack the associate professor of politics at Drexel University over his
comments about race and the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
The specter of possible violence fueled the university’s decision to
place Mr. Ciccariello-Maher on administrative leave. And that is what
the students do care about.
"It feels like a breach of our academic rights because not only do we
want the class, we have paid for the class and feel as though learning
is taking on challenging concepts," said Dakota Peterson, a senior.
It’s become increasingly common for professors to face threats over
their remarks on social media, and the Drexel political theorist is no
stranger to controversy. It’s also common for administrators to face
accusations of trying to censor an outspoken professor, like the ones
levied at the university in Mr. Ciccariello-Maher’s case.
Less common, though, is an acknowledgment of the students whose lives
are disrupted by the sudden disappearance of their professor. What
happens to them when the instructor is placed on leave?
Mr. Ciccariello-Maher had two classes this semester and about 40
students. This month, he posted an argument on Twitter in which he
stated that the mass shooting in Las Vegas, which left 59 people dead
and hundreds of others injured, was the product of a system that favors
white men.
"It’s the white supremacist patriarchy, stupid," he tweeted. Later, in a
column for The Washington Post, he wrote that his subsequent tweets had
diagnosed "a sense of double entitlement — as white people and as men —
that, when frustrated, can occasionally lead to violent consequences."
“The fact that a course on race and politics would be canceled in
response to white-supremacist threats is astounding.” The threats and
hate mail for those remarks quickly followed after the tweets were
featured on the conservative news site The Daily Caller. Mr.
Ciccariello-Maher has captured the internet’s ire in the past, but the
university’s response was different this time. While Drexel condemned
his earlier remarks, this time administrators placed him on leave for
this month, calling it the best course of action for the university and
the professor, given the threats.
"The fact that a course on race and politics would be canceled in
response to white-supremacist threats is astounding," Mr.
Ciccariello-Maher wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
The university's decision has been questioned by the American
Association of University Professors, a watchdog group that noted its
concern over Mr. Ciccariello-Maher’s academic freedom and tenure status
in a letter to the university on Thursday,
Niki Gianakaris, a university spokeswoman, said Drexel recognizes and
encourages its faculty members’ rights to academic freedom. "However,
Professor Ciccariello-Maher’s comments have led to a growing number of
threats against both him and the campus, and we made a necessary step to
ensure the safety of the Drexel community," she wrote in an email to The
Chronicle. "The university is working on solidifying arrangements for
Professor Ciccariello-Maher’s classes."
In an email obtained by The Chronicle, Drexel’s provost, M. Brian Blake,
told the students that he had sent police officers to the professor’s
home and upped the number of security personnel on campus. Mr. Blake
also apologized to the students for the inconvenience, and promised to
"make arrangements" for the class.
He also challenged the notion that the decision was an attempt to mute
Mr. Ciccariello-Maher.
"As provost, I am perhaps the most present advocate for academic
freedom," he wrote. "In my role, I defend George’s academic freedom on a
daily basis. As such, our latest action had absolutely nothing to do
with the content of his extramural speech."
Whatever the reason for placing Mr. Ciccariello-Maher on leave, some of
his students viewed the decision as an unfair to their academic rights.
Mr. Peterson, who is studying political science, had one course with Mr.
Ciccariello-Maher.
“Our latest action had absolutely nothing to do with the content of his
extramural speech.” He and the class talked about the Las Vegas
shooting, immigration, whiteness, and the origins of the concept of
race. Students interviewed by The Chronicle said that they know their
professor maintains a fiery presence online. They also see a distinction
between his online behavior and his abilities as an educator.
"He was very professional in the way that he teaches," said Eunice Maya
Kamami, a junior. "He definitely lets students take up most of the
classroom space."
Joshua Anker, a junior, said he was thrilled for the chance to take Mr.
Ciccariello-Maher’s class and described him as the best professor in the
politics department. He added that he understands how and why some
people would be upset over his professor’s remarks. But he said they’re
not approaching the material academically.
And it’s likely that the students will have to figure out what to do
next. In his email, Mr. Blake said it’s possible that a replacement
professor could pick up Ciccariello-Maher’s classes, or perhaps the
students could take a different course. The university could create a
shortened courses, he wrote in the email to students.
The students were upset by the administration’s response and criticized
the decision to put the professor on leave, while imploring the
university to end it. They plan to stage a sit-in in their classroom,
Mr. Peterson said. They’ll be in the space the university declared
unsafe. They also plan to start a social-media campaign. They’re also
working on a letter to John Fry, the university’s president. Mr.
Peterson is considering a sit-in of the president’s office. He is unsure
how his efforts will go over, but he is optimistic.
"I think we can show the university these issues matter," he said. "And
they’re not going to go uncontested."
Chris Quintana is a breaking-news reporter. Follow him on Twitter
@cquintanadc or email him at chris.quint...@chronicle.com.
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