Rumor has it that some Johnson Hall administrators – and perhaps a few members of our new Board of Trustees – still dream that the civility restrictions on academic free speech that Mike Gottfredson tried to enshrine in the faculty union contract will someday come to pass. Meanwhile The Daily Telegraph has a hilarious story about how they could be used:
[Professor of English] Thomas Docherty was banned from the University of Warwick in January for allegedly giving off “negative vibes” and undermining the authority of the former head of his department.
The case against him included “inappropriate sighing”, “making ironic comments” and “projecting negative body language”.
The English, of course, have nothing like our First Amendment. They do, however, have a wicked sense of humor. After being subject to the necessary amount of ridicule, their university administrators backed down too.
“Inappropriate sighing, making ironic comments, projecting negative body language?” If that’s what makes these jackasses upset, then they wouldn’t last a half hour teaching a high school algebra class….