Given that my second go round at being an adjunct Professor starts tomorrow, my interest was piqued when I saw this over at Instapundit (full story from The College Fix after the jump):
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: My professor canceled office hours because KU allows concealed carry, says he ‘no longer feels safe.’
What a wuss – and a failure on the part of a College Professor that is supposed to base themselves on known facts and not on emotions and “feelz”. The fact is that someone who has a CCW (State paperwork allowing concealed carry) is FAR more law-abiding than police. The Left, which has ensconced themselves into Academia to the point of virtually taking it over, just refuse to understand that we who do carry think of it not only as a Constitutional Right but also a large Societal Responsibility (as most Rights DO demand self-responsibility – a Yin/Yang relationship that the Left refuses to acknowledge when it goes against their Narrative). That responsibility, seriously taken on, is not to shoot people but to stop people that wish to harm myself, my family, and when out and about, those around me. We understand the grave consequences of having to engage in such a manner – we aren’t cowboys (where the fact is that CCW holders are not turning the streets red with blood – only the gangbangers concentrated in Chicago and Southern California. But, that is seemingly the current state of Academia and this professor has serious attitudinal and backbone hardness issues.
One thing is sure – I’ll never have that kind of policy as a Professor.
Full Story:
My jaw dropped recently as I read the nine-page syllabus for an online history class I enrolled in for the fall semester at the University of Kansas. Two full pages of the document include arguments against the Second Amendment and chides students who support the university’s concealed carry policy or take advantage of it.
To be clear, this class is on the history of the Japanese Samurai and has nothing to do with U.S. history or the Second Amendment.
What’s more, Professor Eric Rath of the History and East Asian Studies departments also informs students in the syllabus: “With guns allowed on campus, I no longer feel safe having visitors in my office; so instead of in person office hours, I am available for consultation via email or Skype on the hours indicated above and by appointment. Should you wish to meet in person, the appointment will be at a secure or public location of my choosing, but not my office. Please read the statement about concealed weapons at the end of the syllabus.”
Here’s the “money part” of his syllabus:
C’mon, this is not a “learning contract” – you sign nothing, Professor Rath, and no student signs it either. Therefore, there is no valid contract. The only valid one is between the student and the college itself – the offer letter, acceptance of it by the student, the payment of fees, and the resulting obligation to transfer information from the college’s employees to their clients. The problem is that most Academicians have forgotten the commercial aspects of the teaching industry.
I’m betting that if some entrepreneurial student, knowing their contract and how that not just obligates the student but ALSO obligates the college’s employees (er, Professor Rath) decided to make an issue out of this “catch me if you can / hide n’ seek” overblown ego’d Professor, there’d either be a quick change in his policies or he’d be hitting the bricks for breach of contract.
Sure, just turn yourself into a campus recluse – how do you contractually serve your clients (e.g., students even if parents are freighting the bill) if you close yourself from them. Such empathy – has Eric Rath ever thought that people carry because THEY are concerned for their own safety? Given the often (and absolutely wrong; really 1 out of 4 or 5?) stats on “womyn attacks”, I would certainly instruct my daughter or granddaughter to always be carrying on campus. But then again, the Left wants it both ways at the same time on the issue of safety – we’re having angina attacks over worrying about it but we’ll strip you from the ability to do something about it. Sheesh….and gun free campuses, every time a rare gun incident happens, are magnets for the mentally disturbed seeking out either revenge over some slight or wanting their 15 seconds of fame (which the Left extends to 15 days) – or that they’re just mental.
Again, I would not have any problem at all with either open or concealed carry in my office or my class. Hey, my Youngest current galpal open carries in my home – my only question was “do you like your firearm?”. Back on campus, frankly, I’d probably say “hey, how do you like what you’re carrying – may I see?” and have a good conversation. Rational versus the irrational.
It is clear that Professor Rath is the latter.
