# Would YOU write a letter of apology to a professor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 22, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503 "2017-02-22T20:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/61 "2017-02-23T19:12:18Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > You have obviously never taken many college level courses. Nor have you. In my experience, I have never heard a professor use that language and I was a poli sci major. Professors examine and attack ideas, not people. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/62 "2017-02-23T19:16:23Z")
The broader issue is that a teacher should not inject opinion into teaching. That goes from education, to indoctrination. _“President Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination”_ = fact \* “President Truman was a sniveling weaselly coward who fired MacArthur, the brave hero”\* = opinion/indoctrination ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/63 "2017-02-23T19:44:16Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Nor have you. In my experience, I have never heard a professor use that language and I was a poli sci major. Professors examine and attack ideas, not people. BA (History, calling someone a supremacists or a terrorist is fairly common when studying some political figures), followed by MS (Library Science, at this point terrorist will primarily be reserved for the accounting department, but it does come up on occasion while studying hackable resources). Professors are not perfectly programmed android lecturing machines. Occasionally, things go off topic. If pressed I am fairly certain the professor could marshal plenty of examples in Trump’s behavior to back her statements. I suspect Trump’s little snowflake only reacted the way he did because he is incapable of marshaling arguments to defend his position. Looks like the Republicans are changing their minds on safe spaces, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/64 "2017-02-23T20:05:21Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Absolutely. Most academic professionals put their personal feelings about individual students aside all the time and perform their jobs. Chances are until little Trumpy snowflake started acting like ass, she didn’t even know his name. And there are also plenty who dont also. Fact is students do NOT feel the freedom to express viewpoints and [this study](http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/poll-half-college-students-feel-intimidated-when-expressing)proves it. I knew to be very careful back in the day and it was better to just go along and pretend to agree. Look, first of all the professor was just supposed to stay on her topic - sex. Instead she chose to go off an a rant against Trump and the people who voted for him. She wasn’t opening the floor to debate. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/65 "2017-02-23T20:16:46Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Or the professor may be honest and forthright about what happened in the classroom, as she broke no rules. The student may have used this as a learning opportunity, to learn to deal with people who do not agree with you. > > Instead, after creating all kinds of stupid controversy that all stems from the fact that he doesn’t understand how to act like an adult, and now he is suing. She’s a 66 year old veteran professor with a Phd. He was a 19 year old kid. who should be acting like the adult more? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Why do you feel you have the right to dictate what can and cannot be said in a classroom? Me personally? Not much because I dont live in that area nor does my kid go to that college. But you can bet that if I did I would have the right to go after a person who rants on about something she shouldnt. she is paid to teach about sex, not rant about politics or go after students views. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > You are correct, he whined to the admin that the professor was hurting his feelings, and since they didn’t immediately cave into him and follow his advice on future curricula for their professors, he went and whined on social media. > There is. He used them. When he went through the process, and didn’t get the results that he wanted, he instead went to social media to get other people to put pressure on the school to silence their staff of any speech that might upset some conservatives. Well you know what, social media is here to stay and is a part of life. Now back in the day the most one could do was write a letter to the editor. Now one can post something for millions to see. That is why people put up videos of police, judges, and everyone else out there. So if a police officer can be videoed, why cant a professor? And if she didnt want to be outed on social media, she should have had the brains to not go on a political rant. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/66 "2017-02-23T20:31:50Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yes, she did single out students. Students who had voted for Trump. When she calls his election an “act of terrorism” isnt she saying those that elected him are terrorists? People get on my case all the time because I defend expressions like “I could care less” or words like “irregardless,” thinking I don’t give a crap about how language is used. I do. I save my ire for cases like this, where you’re trying to use words to mean the exact opposite of their meaning. “Singled out” comes from the word “single.” The key part of singling people out is that you identify them one by one. Referencing people obliquely by describing an act in which they may have participated in negative terms is the opposite of singling people out. So, no: she didn’t single out students. Unless she said, “You, douchebag in the back row with the baseball cap, I’m talking about YOU, you’re a terrorist!” If she did that, she singled students out. > [@](#): > > Put yourself in the students shoes. After hearing what she said and knowing she knows your a Trump supporter, do you honestly think she would give you a fair grade? Sure. For real. Professors giving opinions does not indicate that they’ll give you a bad grade. I engaged in sometimes fiery, sometimes protracted disagreements with professors. I once humiliated a professor in front of the class by [laying out in tremendous detail why one of our class assignments was garbage](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363991). I would have been shocked and outraged to see it affect my grades. But being shocked and outraged by professors daring to state their opinions? Bah. Kids need to put on their big kid underpants and grow up. > [@](#): > > As for free speech, she can shoot her big fat mouth off about whatever she wants to BUT, there is a time and a place for that. She is supposed to be a professional hired to do a job. You just dont call the lawfully elected president a white supremacist and a terrorist while you are standing in front of a classroom full of students. I don’t, I don’t teach college. But I have no problem at all with a professor stating their political opinions, as long as they expect conversation about them. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/67 "2017-02-23T20:52:26Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > And there are also plenty who dont also. Fact is students do NOT feel the freedom to express viewpoints and [this study](http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/poll-half-college-students-feel-intimidated-when-expressing)proves it. I knew to be very careful back in the day and it was better to just go along and pretend to agree. > > Look, first of all the professor was just supposed to stay on her topic - sex. Instead she chose to go off an a rant against Trump and the people who voted for him. She wasn’t opening the floor to debate. How do you know she was not opening the floor to debate? My professors used verbal challenges to get us us to defend our ideas all the time and in a course on human sexuality, the opinions of a world leader on sexual behaviors and what effects it will have others is a very valid topic to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/68 "2017-02-23T21:16:27Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > She’s a 66 year old veteran professor with a Phd. He was a 19 year old kid. who should be acting like the adult more? Well, the professor, of course. Which is why she is in charge of teaching a class, and he is the one whining about how much her words hurt him to his friends on social media. > [@](#): > > Me personally? Not much because I dont live in that area nor does my kid go to that college. But you can bet that if I did I would have the right to go after a person who rants on about something she shouldnt. she is paid to teach about sex, not rant about politics or go after students views. What do you mean “go after”? If you mean that you would go to the school, and explain that you raised your child in a very protective environment, and that it hurts not only your child, but you yourself when and of those preconceived notions are challenged, and so could she please not say anything that might trigger your little precious one, that’s fine. You;ll be laughed at, most likely, and it will be obvious that you have never had any experience with the sorts of things that go on all the time in places of higher education, but that would be your right. Going on social media and trying to drum up a mob to threaten her into complying with your wishes, that is not your right. > [@](#): > > Well you know what, social media is here to stay and is a part of life. Now back in the day the most one could do was write a letter to the editor. Now one can post something for millions to see. That is why people put up videos of police, judges, and everyone else out there. So if a police officer can be videoed, why cant a professor? Easy answer there. A police officer is enforcing their views upon those in public. You have no choice as to whether or not to interact with a police officer. If he decides to abuse his authority, there is no way for you to remove yourself from the situation. A student has many more avenues to remove themselves from the situation. Then there is the simple fact that an encounter with the police can wind up with you beaten, publically humiliated, locked up, fined, or even killed. I don’t think that even the most liberal of all professors has that authority. > [@](#): > > And if she didnt want to be outed on social media, she should have had the brains to not go on a political rant. What she said wasn’t really that big a deal, and you would have to be especially sensitive and looking to be offended to have more than a “meh” reaction to her “rant”. Fortunately for this kid, he had a bunch of people on social media who were completely prepared and looking for something to take offense to, so though she said nothing that is even all that exciting or interesting even, the right wing offenderatti took up the cause. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/69 "2017-02-23T21:45:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Uh…somehow I don’t think some junior college is going to give a hot damn about your one to five hundred dollars a semester. That’s their right and their prerogative. We all make choices in this world and live with the consequences. That’s the beauty of a free country and a free market. They’re free to tell him to piss off and he’s free to take his money elsewhere. I object to LHoD’s rhetorical question of who’s paying the tuition, and the nickname “Sonny Boy,” clearly implying some sort of authority over the customer. I’ve corrected this misapprehension. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s how free speech works. Professorial free speech deserves a high level of protection This particular pig is more equal than others. > [@](#): > > the intent of assaulting her free speech rights by getting her in trouble with her bosses. > 3) When that didn’t work, he kept trying to get her in trouble, by releasing his footage publicly. > 4) A bunch of even bigger assholes started sending her death threats, which was TOTALLY UNPREDICTABLE for anyone who’s never been on the Internet. > 5) When the university investigated the whole shitshow, they realized that he’d broken the rules but she hadn’t, so he’s the one that got in trouble. > > Where is my summary wrong? The summary is wrong where you laughably claim telling others, even bosses, what you said is “assaulting your free speech rights.” No, sorry, but muzzling others about what you said in the public square is the assault on free speech. It’s ridiculous, silly, and contemptible to spin “I told everyone what you publicly said” as an assault on free speech. You also err when you assign culpability for the death threats to _anyone_ other than the people sending death threats. And a point of order, here: Death threats _are_ harmless. They’re empty. That’s why they’re mailed. Threateners threaten. Killers kill. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > I disagreed with them, openly. We had some interesting if heated discussions, in some of which I was actually called a traitor to my country for not being for the war in Iraq. > > I got a fair grade. And they didn’t make you write an apology, did they? No, of course not, because conservatives are made of stronger stuff than that. > [@](#): > > Why do you feel you have the right to dictate what can and cannot be said in a classroom? Because it ain’t in the syllabus. That’s the contract we both sign when I enroll in the class, receive the syllabus, and wait out the add/drop period. After that, you’re bound and I’m bound. > [@](#): > > You are correct, he whined to the admin that the professor was hurting his feelings, and since they didn’t immediately cave into him and follow his advice on future curricula for their professors, he went and whined on social media. > > There is. He used them. When he went through the process, and didn’t get the results that he wanted, he instead went to social media to get other people to put pressure on the school to silence their staff of any speech that might upset some conservatives. All things one should do. That’s exactly the right way to counter detestable speech like hers. > [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > Chances are until little Trumpy snowflake started acting like ass, she didn’t even know his name. I think you misunderstood the story. The snowflake demanding the apology is _against_ Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/70 "2017-02-23T21:53:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > …this is a joke, right? I apologize if I’m not catching the subtle satire here; please take pity on us old folk who can’t even tell when you’re making fun of student attitudes. Its a whoosh… or the stupidest cry to ‘fail me’ there is. It might only apply to a mail-order diploma mill. His money is good at any University? With THOSE Transcripts? Get Thee to a Registrars Office. They NEED a good laugh. Honestly, I haven’t heard such ridiculous tripe since that insurance commercial where the whiny bad driver totals his car, realizes he cheaped-out on his coverage, and then says smugly, “No… I need a Different Insurance Company!” :dubious: Up next: “Oh No, I’m going to college to teach the professors…!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/71 "2017-02-23T22:00:03Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I object to LHoD’s rhetorical question of who’s paying the tuition, and the nickname “Sonny Boy,” clearly implying some sort of authority over the customer. I’ve corrected this misapprehension. Allow me to correct another misapprehension: I never said either of those things. > [@](#): > > The summary is wrong where you laughably claim telling others, even bosses, what you said is “assaulting your free speech rights.” No, sorry, but muzzling others about what you said in the public square is the assault on free speech. It’s ridiculous, silly, and contemptible to spin “I told everyone what you publicly said” as an assault on free speech. Blame the kid’s lawyer: he’s the one who thinks the university is just trying to protect free expression. > [@](#): > > You also err when you assign culpability for the death threats to _anyone_ other than the people sending death threats. > > And a point of order, here: Death threats _are_ harmless. They’re empty. That’s why they’re mailed. Threateners threaten. Killers kill. Total nonsense. I didn’t assign culpability for the death threats to others; I said it was a predictable result of his actions. You share responsibility for the predictable results of your decisions. As for “harmless,” that’s ridiculous. There’s a reason they’re illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/72 "2017-02-23T23:07:39Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > That’s their right and their prerogative. We all make choices in this world and live with the consequences. That’s the beauty of a free country and a free market. They’re free to tell him to piss off and he’s free to take his money elsewhere. And yet we’re here complaining he has to apologize? > [@](#): > > And a point of order, here: Death threats _are_ harmless. They’re empty. That’s why they’re mailed. Threateners threaten. Killers kill. And yet there illegal, because some people DO follow through. > [@](#): > > And they didn’t make you write an apology, did they? No, of course not, because conservatives are made of stronger stuff than that. Manbaby is President and whining how everyone is SO MEAN. > [@](#): > > I think you misunderstood the story. The snowflake demanding the apology is _against_ Trump. She had it right. The Trumpy snowflake is being forced to apologize. The one against Trump is the one who got death threats. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/73 "2017-02-23T23:30:09Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > She had it right. The Trumpy snowflake is being forced to apologize. The one against Trump is the one who got death threats. How do we know he hasnt gotten death threats to? Would you be happy then? She is a widely known sex ed teacher who is famous for doing things like bringing porn stars to class so I’m sure over the years she has gotten some nasty emails. Again, she has a Phd and years of experience so she should know better than to go off on a political rant and call the president a terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/74 "2017-02-23T23:41:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > People get on my case all the time because I defend expressions like “I could care less” or words like “irregardless,” thinking I don’t give a crap about how language is used. > > I do. I save my ire for cases like this, where you’re trying to use words to mean the exact opposite of their meaning. > > “Singled out” comes from the word “single.” The key part of singling people out is that you identify them one by one. Referencing people obliquely by describing an act in which they may have participated in negative terms is the opposite of singling people out. > > So, no: she didn’t single out students. Unless she said, “You, douchebag in the back row with the baseball cap, I’m talking about YOU, you’re a terrorist!” If she did that, she singled students out. > > . Well its not exactly THAT definition but pretty close. This [source](http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cox-738156-students-class.html) says "Two students in Cox’s class said she asked those who had voted for Trump to identify themselves. “She tried to get everyone who voted for Donald Trump to stand up and show the rest of the class who to watch out for and protect yourself from,” said Tanner Webb, 21, of Huntington Beach." So maybe not exactly singled out but she did point them out and tried to separate and shame them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/75 "2017-02-23T23:58:53Z")
Sure, most professors won’t give their students a bad grade for holding different political opinions. But most professors won’t call such students terrorists, either. I would be reluctant to generalize from “most professors” to this one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/76 "2017-02-24T00:20:56Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well its not exactly THAT definition but pretty close. This [source](http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cox-738156-students-class.html) says > > "Two students in Cox’s class said she asked those who had voted for Trump to identify themselves. > > “She tried to get everyone who voted for Donald Trump to stand up and show the rest of the class who to watch out for and protect yourself from,” said Tanner Webb, 21, of Huntington Beach." > > So maybe not exactly singled out but she did point them out and tried to separate and shame them. If that’s accurate, that significantly changes my opinion of the incident. Calling out students and shaming them is absolutely out of bounds. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/77 "2017-02-24T00:35:31Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Now my question is, would you? > > Lets say you were in a college class where yes, technically, students were not supposed to record professors. BUT, people did it all the time and she really was going off on a rant and you needed proof. To me this is nothing more than a free speech issue. This was a public college where funding comes from the local community. Its not a corporation or a private college. > > Lets say then the college went after you. > > Would you apologize? My Opinion 1. Recording lectures is and has been a legitimate practice as far back as i can remember of people attending university. Why anyone would be against it i have no idea? How is it a bad thing to be able to review a lecture in the same form the lecture took place? Study it, learn it, understand it, and not be hampered by the fact you could not write the notes fast enough, or that perhaps you need to hear something more than once to retain it? Even in high school for some classes, kids would bring in cassette recorders where there was going to be a lot of lecture type information. I see no reason to disallow recording a lesson or lecture. 1. I as a teacher (I am not a teacher by the way) should not be having political rants in front of my class. I may have all the opinions i want at home in my own house, but in the school my personal opinions stay at the door, once i enter the door i cease to be me, i am now Teacher. If i am not teaching politics i should not be discussing them in class. If i am teaching them, i have no personal opinion in them, just teach the facts and teach them fairly. If i am a teacher, i am no longer a democrat or republican, conservative or liberal, Trump or Clinton etc until i get back home again. So i should not be having any kind of political melt downs in my classroom. 1. I should say nothing in my classroom that i would not proudly say live on CNN or MSNBC or what not. I mean it is a classroom, not my living room. 2. University not = to grade school No children in university only adults. If something needs to be heard about what is happening in the class, go the right route , not facebook or youtube. You are an adult now, take some initiative and learn the right way. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/78 "2017-02-24T01:05:54Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If that’s accurate, that significantly changes my opinion of the incident. Calling out students and shaming them is absolutely out of bounds. Okay, read that article, and it ain’t that simple. The union rep says: > [@](#): > > Schneiderman offered a different version of what happened: Cox told the class some people would be happy with the election results, and a student stood up in approval. She then invited others to stand up and show their support if they wished, he said. If that’s how it went down–_and if she didn’t subsequently shame them by telling others to watch out_–I’m far less concerned about her shenanigans. Interesting, isn’t it, that the tape doesn’t contain evidence of that? Nothing on the tape is actionable, from my understanding. The charges about singling out and shaming might be (and IMO should be), but should be investigated using standard methods of interviewing students who were there. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/79 "2017-02-24T01:55:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > For those who don’t remember, [this is **Urbanredneck** ’s second thread about the incident](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=813329) So where are the chili recipes, already? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503/80 "2017-02-24T01:59:58Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > So where are the chili recipes, already? And? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-write-a-letter-of-apology-to-a-professor/780503.md?page=5)