# Prof brings sick baby to class; gives suck. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662 "2012-09-14T04:16:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/41 "2012-09-14T14:36:44Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Professor Pine’s [essay](http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/05/exposeing-my-breasts-on-the-internet/) is a great example of Poe’s law. It’d be nearly impossible to say definitively that it wasn’t a parody if you weren’t aware of the context. she was accosted by the reporter and targeted by the publication by having them write articles. when will the persecution end? Free the American University two! Free the American University two! Free the American University two! ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/42 "2012-09-14T14:58:12Z")
I think Professor Pine is full of shit. Sick kid, no child care? Fine. Bring the kid to class and have a TA help out? Fine. Feed the child because it’s hungry? Fine. Start nursing in the middle of the lecture without calling a 10 minute coffee break to give students the option to stretch their legs and you the option to nurse your child comfortably? Complete fucking bullshit. She’s the Prof for Pete’s sake - she can call a coffee break in the middle of class and nurse her friggin’ kid - this was done 100% to make a spectacle of herself and try to prove some stunned political point. The fact that she’s the only person who’s actually talking about it to the press proves this point. She was nursing and wanted an opportunity to try to make a political point and is using her new born child to do it. She’s a total asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/43 "2012-09-14T15:07:58Z")
I hate parents who inflict their sick kids on us. The breastfeeding would have surprised me, but honestly I’d rather have a happy fed baby than a crying baby. But yuck - kids are germ vectors. Leave sicky home, or stay home with them. You had a kid. You made the choice. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/44 "2012-09-14T15:17:32Z")
> [@Professor Pine](#): > > I guess there are faculty out there who think it’s appropriate to check their BlackBerries while lecturing Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/45 "2012-09-14T15:30:22Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Maybe they just don’t see the need for her to engage in controversial behaviour during a lecture, regardless of which side of the debate they’re on, **when there is an alternative that is just as practical.** There isn’t, and people who think so are showing their ignorance. I have a friend who pumped and bottlefed and she wants to strangle anyone who says, “Why can’t you \*just \*pump and give a bottle?” Aside from that, women wearing pants used to be “controversial” too, and I also think anyone who complained about it was a benighted anti-feminist, even if it really was controversial. Things can be controversial due to society being backwards, and I see no need to cater to that. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/46 "2012-09-14T15:36:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Also, if the baby was too sick to go to daycare, it was too sick to go to class. If she was really concerned, she should have stayed home. That’s not necessarily very sick at all. Some places will boot a kid with a runny nose. I’m not sure where I come down on the scenario here, but if the kid was well enough to be crawling around poking paper-clips into electrical outlets, it wasn’t that sick. Sick babies sleep and cry, and if they are awake and aren’t crying, it’s because someone is holding them. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/47 "2012-09-14T15:41:15Z")
there’s a certain irony that a anthropology professor demonstrated breast feeding to her class. After all early human behavior is her specialty. Whats more basic to humans then a woman suckling her child? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/48 "2012-09-14T15:44:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > there’s a certain irony that a anthropology professor demonstrated breast feeding to her class. After all early human behavior is her specialty. Whats more basic to humans then a woman suckling her child? Apprently, letting your child eat paperclips and check out open electrical outlets, then letting your TA soothe and amuse it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/49 "2012-09-14T15:51:07Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I don’t care if she she brings a baby to class as long as it is _quiet_. I don’t care if she keeps it quiet by breastfeeding it or shooting it up with heroin. … Or a pistol, for that matter, as long as it’s silenced. I don’t want my teachers or my classmates or my co-workers bringing their kids … anywhere near me. I’m not to crazy about kids in my neighborhood either. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/50 "2012-09-14T16:36:43Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > There isn’t, and people who think so are showing their ignorance. I have a friend who pumped and bottlefed and she wants to strangle anyone who says, “Why can’t you \*just \*pump and give a bottle?” What about feeding the baby before and after the lecture. Or taking a break? What about even using formula once? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/51 "2012-09-14T16:51:25Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > what’s the big stink? > > if she changed the kid’s diapers on the table in front of the class then that would be a big stink. > > everyone should be able to bring kids and pets to school if they are in a jam, not just faculty; it ain’t fair. Interesting thought here - are the students allowed to bring their kids if they’re too sick for daycare? What’s the policy on this? What would the prof say if someone (or two or three or four someones) brought their sick, cranky, hungry kids to class? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/52 "2012-09-14T17:10:42Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > Breastfeeding in front of 40 undergrads is not an unorthodox teaching method. She wasn’t trying to teach them any kind of lesson. Anyways, that ‘life lesson’ stuff is for the high school set, not university students who are paying a lot to actually learn about the subject at hand. > > I appreciate that being a working mother is difficult, but I think that’s a perfectly well known fact and one that said working mother should be prepared for. She should have had some kind of backup plan - it’s not exactly unusual for a kid to be sick, did she never think about what she would do when that happened? Well she is a NEW mother…so…mistakes happen. I do think she overreacted to the newspaper though. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/53 "2012-09-14T17:14:50Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > What’s next? Plenty of adults are now caring for their incapacitated elderly parents. Maybe grandpa can attend class in the corner and regale the group about his WWII days in a dementia stupor if his home health care worker bails for the day. > > . That would be awesome ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/54 "2012-09-14T17:21:02Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > If this professor were intelligent, she’d have turned this into a really great lesson. The class was a feminist studies class on sex, gender, and culture. This class is focused around this situation. What better way to teach than to say “here is what women deal with in real life, every day. I’d like a discussion on your reaction to seeing a baby in the classroom and a 500 word essay on the pros and cons of breastfeeding in the workplace.” > > . See, now that would have been A+ teaching ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/55 "2012-09-14T17:26:14Z")
From the professor in question: > [@](#): > > Hi Heather, > > I really wish this weren’t considered “newsworthy,” but I suppose that’s why a feminist anthropology course is necessary at AU. I had no intention of making a political statement or shocking students. I merely had a sick baby who I couldn’t leave at daycare on the first day of class. It was unfair to leave the job of teaching the first class to my teaching assistant, so I had two choices: cancel class, which would have been disruptive to students (and which could also negatively affect my student evaluations, putting my tenure at risk), or bring the baby to class. I chose to do the latter. As it turned out, the baby got hungry, so I had to feed it during lecture. End of story. > > Adrienne Pine > > Assistant Professor of Anthropology, American University I choose to take the professor at her word and say this wasn’t a political statement, just a situation which got blown out of proportion when it shouldn’t have. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/56 "2012-09-14T17:29:04Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > She was nursing and wanted an opportunity to try to make a political point and is using her new born child to do it. She’s a total asshole. The baby is a year old, not a newborn. Plus the professor states she had breastfed during professional conference while she was giving a presentation. If a room full of professionals can handle it, than her students should also be able to. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/57 "2012-09-14T17:31:00Z")
Okay but why did she call her own baby “it”? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/58 "2012-09-14T17:35:55Z")
We were told years ago, during my early days of teaching college classes, that those who are not enrolled in the class or employed on the campus are not supposed to be allowed in the classroom even as temporary guests–just in case something happened to them. It’s a liability issue. Isn’t this baby an unauthorized guest? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/59 "2012-09-14T17:37:17Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Okay but why did she call her own baby “it”? she called her baby “she” and her “daughter” in her essay. She is a super feminist, so she normally chooses to not identify her baby’s gender in regular discourse. She even points out she dressed her baby in a blue onsie and one of her students called her baby a boy, and she didn’t feel the need to correct him. Mind you, this is at an extremely liberal university which encourages this sort of thinking, so it shouldn’t be a shock she said it instead of she. \*personally, as liberal as I am comparatively to my peers I still conform to many gender roles, because as an anthropologist myself I choose to conform to certain cultural norms which I feel are most healthy for my children. I don’t personally understand why conformity is such a dirty word in some circles. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662/60 "2012-09-14T17:40:35Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > she called her baby “she” and her “daughter” in her essay. She is a super feminist, so she normally chooses to not identify her baby’s gender in regular discourse. She even points out she dressed her baby in a blue onsie and one of her students called her baby a boy, and she didn’t feel the need to correct him. Mind you, this is at an extremely liberal university which encourages this sort of thinking, so it shouldn’t be a shock she said it instead of she. Okay, she’s definitely the ‘obsessively trying to make statements’ type. She probably did do this on purpose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prof-brings-sick-baby-to-class-gives-suck/634662.md?page=4)