Friday, December 9, 2016

Free Speech or Indoctrination or a "teaching moment"?



Meanwhile at OCC...

The Register reports: Caught on video: Trump's election was an 'act of terrorism,' says Orange Coast College instructor in class

excerpt: 
In a video clip recorded by a student, a psychology instructor at Orange Coast College told her class that the election of Donald Trump was “an act of terrorism” – prompting an official complaint from the school’s Republican Club.
Olga Perez Stable Cox told students in her popular human sexuality class shortly after the election: “We have been assaulted.”
...The union that represents Cox defended her and said any students involved in the recording violated school and state codes and could be punished. Meanwhile, some Orange Coast College students and their supporters called it a blatant example of liberal bias on American campuses.
At at the end of the videotaped exchange, one student turns around and asks another, presumably the one doing the taping, "When does the marijuana proposition come into effect?" The student answers, "We can smoke now. " The tape ends. The Washington Post has a version with subtitles - see below.

Washington Post: Watch professor make post-election political speech

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I am very upset that 'trump style' bullying is happening to Olga Cox. What people do not understand is that sexual health AND politics go hand in hand. When I teach Biology of Sex at IVC I always have one lecture in which we look at the laws that govern all aspects of human sexuality. I address whether the sexual physiology of the human is in alignment with the law - where are the strengths of the law, what are the weaknesses of the law from a biology/physiology/health science perspective. Politics and human sexuality are intimately intertwined. Olga Cox had every right to speak her mind about Trump's attitude and stance towards female reproductive rights.

The type of bullying that the students are doing is unacceptable. I am all for freedom of speech but I am totally against bullying/public shaming/using this type of assault on another human.

Anonymous said...

Diana, and when she asked students to stand up if they were a Trump supporter so they could be singled out? That's okay? Talk about bullying and an abuse of power! As a professor or teacher, it's their job to facilitate open discussion and debate in proper context. This does not mean you have a pulpit to preach your personal opinions and views as fact or as a means to protest something you personally don't like or agree with. Educate, don't preach.

I wholeheartedly do not agree or support any of the threats she has received, again not the way to handle the situation. I think if she apologized for the WAY she expressed herself, especially to her class, that would go a long way. NOT for her opinions, just her delivery.

As far as T-rump as POTUS, he'll be gone in 4 years. We've had bad ones before, we all will survive. Energies would be best spent on finding a better group of candidates to choose from next time around. Not a bunch of morally questionable players.

I personally wouldn't be surprised if he quit because it's too tough and his businesses need his attention!

Unknown said...

Anonymous of 9:34 AM, December 13, 2016 - I didn't see (in the video) the professor asking Trump supporters to stand up so they could be singled out. Even if that didn't happen, then in order to "facilitate open discussion and debate" as you put it then presumably Trump supporters would likely identify themselves in a vocal discussion. If they wouldn't, it makes me wonder why they would vote for Trump in the first place? Obviously they agreed with something about Trump. Any meaningful debate would have them discuss their motivations for deciding on Trump - that does not strike me as singling people out.

It is easy to say "it's only four years". It is easy to say, "find a better group of candidates for next time". Bernie Sanders recently told a reporter who had asked who he believed would make for such better candidates in 2020. His response is relevant to this discussion, because he claims it's not helpful to spend our energies this way. There are lots of important issues that need to be address in the short-term. We can't simply forget about the reality of the next four years and brush it off as "we've had bad presidents before". Regardless of Trump being unique in how incompetent he is, how racist he is, how he is the most unpopular president of US history thus far, people need to remain concerned with making short-term goals. Goals about education, healthcare reform, women's and LGBT rights, and energy production (to give a few examples). Trump is firmly against all of (what I would say) the objectively worthwhile solutions to these issues. He is appointing inexperienced, bigoted people to his cabinet. Worse yet, many of these people he is selecting for his cabinet have been fighting against the very agencies they are supposed to represent. That's a problem people need to be aware of. That's where people's energies need to be focused. That, and fighting against every garbage piece of legislature team Trump will try to pass while in office.

Anonymous said...

Well Diana, what did you expect? Do you think with all the bullying against Trump there would be no push back? If you do then you're living in fairytale land.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...