Timeline for Should professors intervene if a student is wearing offensive clothing in their classroom?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 29, 2023 at 13:05 | comment | added | Ceph | I find it unfortunate that all sides of the discussion in this comment thread seem to accept that only students' reactions matter -- that, if the OP is the only one to be "offended", then the shirt is fine and OP's discomfort is irrelevant. | |
| Jul 12, 2016 at 18:46 | comment | added | SnakeDoc | @ff524 perhaps time has made things seem worse, but it's difficult to imagine any words printed anywhere being so offensive that one feels compelled to run away in horror. If anything, most folks just mentally note how crass this individual is, and remember that in the future. You will never be able to stop people from offending you - and your sense of offense is likely different from other people's. Sure, everyone should feel comfortable, but sometimes you are just going to be more sensitive to something that's not a huge deal overall (you survived, and perhaps are a better person afterward). | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 22:20 | comment | added | ff524 | @AdamDavis I don't expect someone to intervene about something they have not seen, or don't understand is offensive. Suresh's answer makes a distinction between whether or not someone complained to the professor or otherwise made it obvious that they're bothered, which I don't agree with, because the victim may feel too intimidated or upset to express their discomfort | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 21:35 | comment | added | Adam Davis | "it's hard for me to swallow that the "victim" should be responsible for bringing it up." The problem being that even if it's universally offensive, you may have been the only one that noticed it. The professor isn't responsible for reading each word visible on each piece of clothing of all the students. It's not their job. When a legitimate complaint is brought to them, then they should act, but you can't expect them to act on everything you notice unless you also bring it to their attention. | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 7:04 | comment | added | Suresh | I see what you mean. I guess that's where context becomes important. If the T-shirt in question were really horrifying, maybe I'd feel compelled to bring it up even if no student mentioned it. | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 7:00 | comment | added | ff524 | And, the material in question was really not at all "borderline" or subtle - anybody with eyes would know it would be offensive to women. | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 6:51 | comment | added | ff524 | As an undergrad, I definitely felt much too embarrassed to bring it up to the professor. I was stunned and insulted and just wanted to get out of there, fast. Knowing how I felt at the time, it's hard for me to swallow that the "victim" should be responsible for bringing it up. | |
| Mar 5, 2014 at 6:47 | history | answered | Suresh | CC BY-SA 3.0 |