I am gonna sneak up on this one so bear with me. One of my favorite authors is Patrick O’Brian. He wrote a series of “sea stories” in the tradition of Horatio Hornblower. The stories cover the time period from just after the American Revolution through to the conclusion of the Napoleanic Wars.
They are historically accurate and reflect contemporary life of that time. There are two main characters; Jack Aubrey the Captain of the ship and Stephen Maturin, the ship’s surgeon, physician, natural philosopher, and intelligence agent.
It was not unusual for the British Navy to commission boys as young as ten to be Midshipmen (officers in training). Larger ships, with a larger complement of midshipmen, often employed a teacher to provide the boys with a rudimentary education. With no teacher, that responsibility fell to the captain. Maturin reflectetd more than once, that there could be no more degrading job than that of teacher. When surrounded by his charges, he had no intellectual equal. Not being a sailor, the teacher was an intellectual inferior to everybody else on board ship. This isolation would eventually win out and create a petty tyrant useless to all parties. If you are willing to accept Maturin’s premise from 1801 you might be compelled to agree it holds true today 215 years later.
Which brings this little gem to light, CBS Los Angeles reports: Orange-coast-college-student-threatened-with-expulsion-after-recording-professors-anti-trump-tirade. The class is a human sexuality class, how the recorded tirade fits into the lesson plan is anybody’s guess. The instructor, Olga Perez Stable Cox, characterized Trump’s election as an “act of terrorism”. You can hear the rant at the link.
A student, who was offended recorded the rant and posted it online. Now the instructor is outraged, the union is outraged and the school administration is hoping it will all go away. The union and teacher are threatening law suits, criminal prosecution and punishment within the collegiate system. My guess is the student’s chances for an “A” are pretty well shot.
By recording the tirade the student removed the instructor’ first line of defence. Which would go something like this: “The student is marginal at best and obviously didn’t have the ability to understand the concept.” That would be an opinion. Let’s listen to the fact of what was said, oh looky here a recording. In Texas, as long as one party consents to a conversation being recorded, it is legal. One party consented, he turned the recording device on. I have heard conflicting reports as to the status of California law. I would point out that the syllabus, student handbook and instructor’s handouts may shed additional light on whether recording devices are allowed in class. Some instructors allow their lectures to be recorded, some don’t. How the instructor has handled previous requests is an issue that needs to be investigated. It may well be that recording of lectures was allowed, else how does one achieve immortality?
Left wing professors subscribe to a different First Amendment that the rest of us. In their version, They have a right to speak freely*. They also have the right * to compel others to listen and where logic and self interest fail to persuade, resort to, force, coercion and intimidation to make their point. * Disagreement is not an option. * They have a right to not be held accountable when they advocate violation of law, public policy, and good taste. *Their judgment is final on all matters concerning their shameless self promotion.
The left wing has had a great deal of fun with Title Nine and finding all sorts of things that it may or may not compel. But they are not honest and they have to be watched because the one thing that Title Nine does compel that they don’t address is equal protection under the law. Schools that accept Title Nine funding public or private become an organ of the state, as do all of their employees. This means that there is no appreciable difference between Olga Perez Stable Cox, the instructor in this farce and Bull Connor, of Selma, Alabama fame. If Olga Perez Stable Cox takes steps to retaliate against the student it is the same action as Bull Connor letting loose the dogs on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama. She (and the school) are susceptible to the same criminal and civil penalties USC 1983/1984.
Schools might be better served to rethink their mission. If their mission is to turn out graduates that can actually obtain employment and have an appreciation for aspects of the world and culture ordinarily not available to them, then a new curricula is in order. The school may suddenly find they have a need for math, science, and engineering instructors, and less need for human sexuality instructors.
I would think that it would be an easy choice. Now that you have your degree in human sexuality find a paying job with those knowledge, skills and abilities listed. There isn’t one, don’t guess we need to be teaching it. Let’s put Olga Perez Stable Cox where she can do the most good, working at Betty’s Boom, Boom, Bubble Room, blowing bubbles.