Just damn.
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Posted on 04/25/2005 11:39:50 PM PDT by DameAutour
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern Connecticut State University barred a student from a poetry class after his professor said a poem he submitted contained veiled threats to sexually assault her and her 3-year-old daughter.
The student, Edward Bolles, said his poem entitled "Professor White," was meant to be a satirical piece about globalization. In it, a Mexican student named Juan has a sexual encounter with the daughter of his white professor.
Bolles' professor, Kelly Ritter, found the poem "disturbing," according to an April 8 campus police report, and said she believed the poem was a threat. University officials prohibited Bolles, who is Mexican, from attending his poetry class while he was investigated.
Bolles, a 36-year-old married father of two, said he and Ritter have had political disagreements in class. Bolles, a conservative, said he has disagreed with some of the liberal political themes in Ritter's poetry selections.
The same is true of the Bolles' poetic character, who pledges to "turn the tables" on his professor and has a tryst with her college-age daughter. While Bolles' acknowledges that Ritter inspired the poem, he said it was not a threat and said he did not know she had a daughter.
"I think she flatters herself," Bolles said Monday. "This poem is about a lot more than a cranky teacher. It's about anti-globalization."
Ritter, 36, did not return telephone messages seeking comment.
Bolles said the poem's interracial affair symbolizes white America's feeling that Mexicans are corrupting their culture. The encounter is not violent, and the professor's daughter brings Juan home to meet her disapproving mother.
"I came in using a different set of reasoning as context to look at the craft of poetry, and she was put off by it," Bolles said.
The poem ends with the professor trying to get Juan kicked out of school by calling one of his poems racist.
Bolles began publicly protesting the university's decision Monday, wearing a "Save Professor White" shirt and handing out fliers on campus. After that protest began and university officials received calls from The Associated Press Monday, Bolles received a hand-delivered, one-sentence letter from the administration:
"As a result of the investigation, I wish to inform you that no formal disciplinary charges will be filed on behalf of the university and you are permitted to return to your English 202, Section 1, course, Introduction to Poetry," Christopher Piscitelli, director of judicial affairs, wrote.
University spokesman Patrick Dilger said the matter was handled like any other. He said students are often held out of classes when a professor raises these types of concerns.
In her police report, Ritter asked the university to require Bolles to get a psychiatric evaluation. The school did not require that, Dilger said.
Bolles is set to return to class Wednesday, though he doesn't know how he will be received. He said he would not apologize and is concerned with how he will make up the two weeks of missed classes.
I think this "poetry teacher" needs to go back to school and learn what poetry is.
Like you said, this isn't about any threats, this is about a leftist teacher trying to use her authority to screw over a conservative minded student who disagreed with her leftist views.
He should sue.
This guy pegged her perfectly, painted her just for what she really is, a swollen headed liberal who thinks she knows whats good for everyone else and how they should live but is completely wrong about it all, and a racist.
He deserves an A+ for this, and extra credit for a prophacy that came true.
"No free speech for you," yelled the professors. "How dare you think that you can have a piece of this pie," as she stood in front of her daughter. "You are only here to work on the menial jobs that we pay our citizens welfare not to do. How dare you think I will allow you to become one with us. Next!"
"I find ALL poetry pretentious, pointless and just plain boring."
Limericks and FR haikus are the exception in my book! :-)
Oh, how I hate haikus!
Just damn.
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A haiku in bloom,
spreads despair in my garden.
Eradicate it.
Better?
No denser than I, or apparently the administration (they did allow him to go back to the class with no notation in his record).
LOL. Yes, thank you.
The solution, go to a conservative university. There are tons of them here in Texas...I'm sure there are some elsewhere.
Texas has:
Dallas Baptist University
Texas Christian Unversity
Baylor Universtiy (though they have some liberal professors)
University of North Texas (again, some liberal professors, but pretty fair)
Illinois:
Olivet Nazarene University
Wheaton Bible College (Denny Hastert's alum)
When we stop sending our kids to liberal establishments, it will change. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of good universities and colleges--why are we still sending our kids to the liberal think tanks?? (yes, I realize using liberal and "think" in that context is an oxymoron)
What a marvelous idea!!! We should all write a poem...good bad, it doesn't matter, let's just swamp her office with conservative poetry.
Anyone have an address/email address for this professor???
ps....anyone can right a limerick :o)
There once was a professor from Conneticuit.....
:oD (complete it)
Yes, he should go down in history as a very prolific writer.
Yes, he should go down in history as a very prolific writer.
I saw no threat...like all writing, it was based losely in the experiences of the author, but not based ON.
a "do you like poetry?" ping! :o)
Thanks for posting that. Unfortunately, it's all too common. A lot of teachers/instructors/professors just can't handle students who are smarter than they are.
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