Popular on s4story
- Experience Trembling Firsthand with the New AgeMan® Tremor Simulator - 108
- Venardi Zurada LLP Offers Legal Support to Families After Deadly Lake Tahoe Boat Capsizing
- Jasmine Farrell Releases New LGBTQ+ Poetry Collection - Rising From the Roots
- Keepy Uppy™ by Ollyball Wins Prestigious 2025 Influencer Award from Clamour & The Toy Association; Announces Fall 2025 Launch at Target Stores
- K2 Integrity's U.S. and EMEA Teams Recognized in Chambers and Partners 2025 Guides
- Elevated Healing Treatment Centers: Redefining Mental Health Care with Compassionate, Evidence-Based, and Accessible Services
- Lottery.com Inc. Secures $300 Million in Growth Capital, Confirms Nasdaq Compliance & Acquires UAE Sports Incubator Amid High-Profile Brand Exposure
- Holiday Inn Express North Hollywood Burbank Area Announces Conversion to Hampton Inn North Hollywood
- ASI Accelerates iMIS® Innovation by Acquiring CSI's Product Suite and Expert Team
- Anna D. Banks' Street Smart, Money Smart Hits #1 on Amazon Teen & Young Adult New Releases Chart
Similar on s4story
- Stuck Doing Math or Figuring Out Life's Numbers? Calculator.now Makes It Stupidly Simple
- Melissa B. Releases Digitally Independent: Empowering Music Artists with AI and Brand Strategy
- Digital Watchdog Launches New myDW Cloud Services
- Preliminary.online Introduces Short-Term Job-Readiness Courses with Employer-Verified Certifications
- Psychologist-Turned-Hermeticist Releases Modern Guide to the Seven Hermetic Principles
- Keepy Uppy™ by Ollyball Wins Prestigious 2025 Influencer Award from Clamour & The Toy Association; Announces Fall 2025 Launch at Target Stores
- Baker Rights and Coercive Psychiatry: The Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida Hosts Monthly Mental Health Law and Human Rights Seminars
- Pikmykid Partners with Vivi to Enhance School Emergency Communication and Safety
- Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings Headlines National Mensa Event
- Mensa Foundation Prize Awarded to Neuroscientist-Pianist
Jury Punishes Auburn U Over Free Speech Violation
S For Story/10564612
Serves As A Warning to Other Colleges, and Encouragement to Other Profs
WASHINGTON - s4story -- A jury has just imposed a whopping $500,000 verdict in punitive damages, in addition to a verdict of $145,000 for compensatory damages for harm actually suffered, against Auburn University in Lee County, Alabama, for retaliating against a tenured professor for voicing concerns about its dumbing down of certain courses.
In essence, Michael Stern, a tenured economic professor, was removed as chair of the Department of Economics, a position he had held since 2010, because he spoke out about what appeared to be a program of using an academic major of limited value and easy courses - which had in fact been recommended for closure - which enabled its student athletes, especially football players, to remain eligible to play.
This decision is important because it emphasizes not only that university professors have a right to speak out in public about perceived wrongdoing on their own campus, but that violations of that right can result in significant financial penalties for their institution, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.
More on S For Story
It's also important because the possibility of such a whooping verdict may encourage other professors to "Sue The Bastards" when they are similarly punished for expressing their views, even if they aren't fired as a result.
It will also make attorneys more willing to take on such cases. If they do, they can use the Auburn verdict as a powerful argument and strong negotiation tool, says the law professor,
This new decision comes a half-century after the similar Pickering case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and won a public high school teacher and all public employees First Amendment speech rights.
It also comes just about a month after a major controversy erupted with a report that New York University had fired a distinguished professor when students complained that his class was just too tough for them.
So, argues Banzhaf it looks like universities are adopting several different tactics to retain post-Covid Gen Z students who are threatening to drop out, and thereby slash their university's tuition income, because they are finding at least some courses too tough:
More on S For Story
■ set up gut ["embarrassingly easy"] courses, or even dumbed-down programs and majors for weak students, especially athletes
■ pressure or even fire fire professors who refuse to dumb down their own courses, and
■ also pressure or even fire professors who complain about such tactics.
Law suits can help fight this tendency of "defining mediocrity down," similar to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's prophecy about "defining deviancy down," says Banzhaf.
http://banzhaf.net/ jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com @profbanzhaf
In essence, Michael Stern, a tenured economic professor, was removed as chair of the Department of Economics, a position he had held since 2010, because he spoke out about what appeared to be a program of using an academic major of limited value and easy courses - which had in fact been recommended for closure - which enabled its student athletes, especially football players, to remain eligible to play.
This decision is important because it emphasizes not only that university professors have a right to speak out in public about perceived wrongdoing on their own campus, but that violations of that right can result in significant financial penalties for their institution, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.
More on S For Story
- Cover Girl Finalist Teisha Mechetti Questions Legitimacy of Inked Originals Competition, Demands Transparency
- Author Launches The Starlight Bond Website with Movie Licensing Proposal
- Easton & Easton, LLP Files Suit Against The Dwelling Place Anaheim & Vineyard USA Over Abuse Allegations
- AI Visibility: The Key to Beating Google's AI Overviews and Regaining Traffic
- Stuck Doing Math or Figuring Out Life's Numbers? Calculator.now Makes It Stupidly Simple
It's also important because the possibility of such a whooping verdict may encourage other professors to "Sue The Bastards" when they are similarly punished for expressing their views, even if they aren't fired as a result.
It will also make attorneys more willing to take on such cases. If they do, they can use the Auburn verdict as a powerful argument and strong negotiation tool, says the law professor,
This new decision comes a half-century after the similar Pickering case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and won a public high school teacher and all public employees First Amendment speech rights.
It also comes just about a month after a major controversy erupted with a report that New York University had fired a distinguished professor when students complained that his class was just too tough for them.
So, argues Banzhaf it looks like universities are adopting several different tactics to retain post-Covid Gen Z students who are threatening to drop out, and thereby slash their university's tuition income, because they are finding at least some courses too tough:
More on S For Story
- Colbert Packaging Announces WBENC Recognition
- DivX Empowers Media Enthusiasts with Free Expert Guides for Advanced MP4 Management
- Northport's Family Night Welcomes Local Author and a Tale of Ancient Secrets
- Assent Expands Executive Team to Accelerate Global Growth & Innovation
- "Menace: An Agent Dean Cold Novel" by Ray Keating Lands Soon!
■ set up gut ["embarrassingly easy"] courses, or even dumbed-down programs and majors for weak students, especially athletes
■ pressure or even fire fire professors who refuse to dumb down their own courses, and
■ also pressure or even fire professors who complain about such tactics.
Law suits can help fight this tendency of "defining mediocrity down," similar to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's prophecy about "defining deviancy down," says Banzhaf.
http://banzhaf.net/ jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com @profbanzhaf
Source: Public Interest Law Professor John Banzhaf
Filed Under: Education
0 Comments
Latest on S For Story
- Adostics & Genmega Announce the Introduction of A-POD
- LIB and Nidec Rejoin Forces for Giant TH-0098 Temperature Humidity Test Chamber
- Wordeee Publishes Casting Pros to Know: Reality TV Edition by Asjai Lou
- Digi 995 Audiobooks Officially Released: Fans Can Now Listen to the Complete Trilogy
- Heritage at South Brunswick Offers Immediate Townhome Appointments and Special Mortgage Incentive Fast-Moving Sales
- New Children's Book Helps Kids and Parents Navigate Anxiety Together
- New TSA-Compliant Medication Packing Tool Helps Travelers Avoid Airport Delays and Customs Issues
- Wordeee Publishes Am I a Weed? by Margie Stiles
- NASA Collaborative Agreement for Supply of Thin-Film Solar Tech for Orbital Application to Advance Development of Thin-Film PV Power Beaming: $ASTI
- Sci-Fi Novel from Pittsburgh Author Explores Love, Power, & Humanity in an Age of Artificial People
- Exciting New Era of Sports, Entertainment & Gaming Innovation Spotlighted by Rebrand of Expanding AI Driven, Online Fan Engagement Company: SEGG Media
- Service Ninjas Debuts First-of-Its-Kind "Membership" Platform for Home Service Pros
- The Journey of BECOMING the Soul Alchemist — New Book by Kay Sanders Guides Readers to Deep Inner Transformation
- BIYA Forecasts 2025 Surge with ¥300M ($41.8 M USD) in Revenue and ¥25M Profit from Cloud Based HR Solutions: Baiya Intl. Group (N A S D A Q: BIYA)
- Paul E. Saperstein Co. Announces Geographic Expansion of Auction Services
- New Book by Veteran Entrepreneur Offers 60-Minute Marketing Strategy for First-Time Business Owners
- Wordeee Publishes Rule One By Michael Lucker
- Florida Broker Bent Danholm Featured in the Daily Mail's U.S. Real Estate Coverage
- Robin Launches Legal Intelligence Platform to solve intelligence gap in Fortune 500 legal teams
- Melissa B. Releases Digitally Independent: Empowering Music Artists with AI and Brand Strategy