Prof threatens lawsuit against her students

TheDartmouth.com ^ | 04/28/2008 | Allyson Bennett

[MrLegalReform]

Priya Venkatesan ‘90, a former Writing 5 lecturer and research associate at Dartmouth Medical School, is threatening to name seven of her former students in a potential civil rights lawsuit against the College, DMS and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Venkatesan announced Friday. Venkatesan also plans to write an autobiographical book that will include details of her experience at Dartmouth and name the seven students in question, all of whom were members of her Winter term Writing 5 class in 2008, she said.

[MrLegalReform]

The students were apparently "anti-intellectual" because they disagreed with the prof.

[WayneS]

This woman sounds mentally ill.

Oops; guess I’ll be added to the lawsuit list!

[RightWhale]

Dartmouth hasn’t been the same since Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer.

[wideawake]

This woman may be the thinnest-skinned person alive.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

As an example of Venkatesan’s rejection of views different from her own, the student highlighted Venkatesan’s cancelation of class for a week after the class applauded a student who contradicted Venkatesan’s opinions about post-modernism. [...] She canceled class because the incident caused her “intellectual and emotional distress,” she said.

It'd take a heart made of stone not to point and laugh, really. ;)

[Abathar]

"Behavior in the class did not rise to the level of harassment or discrimination, the student said, although many students stopped paying attention in class and complained about Venkatesan to Cormen. Students believed that Venkatesan did not accept opinions contrary to her own and would lower the grades of students who disagreed with her, the student said. The median grade in the class was a B, according to the Registrar’s website. All other sections of Writing 5 had a median grade of B+ or higher that term."

These kids paid good money to have to sit through this woman's little temper tantrums, perhaps they are just as entitled to countersue her back.

[BenLurkin]

“My responsibility is not to stifle them, but when they clapped at his comment, I thought that crossed the line … I was facing intolerance of ideas and intolerance of freedom of expression.”

Doesn't make sense. The kid and his peers were promulgating ideas and engaging in freedom of expression.

Guess she figures her world view is the only one worthy of consideration?

[MrB]

Typical of lefties and those on the non-conservative side of any issue.

“If you don’t agree with me, you’re stupid. If you don’t want to be stupid, change your opinion.”

This peron’s just taking it to the next level and getting them punished in the legal system.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"I was facing intolerance of ideas and intolerance of freedom of expression.”

Which is exactly what this professor is doing with her lawsuit.

Hypocrite.

[Kimmers]

Another angry liberal women that can’t get a date.......

[Ozone34]

Roger Kimball had something to say about this on his blog yesterday:

http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerkimball/2008/04/29/from-the-annals-of-the-academy-prof-sues-students-for-criticizing-her/

[shankbear]

BOO FRIGGIN HOO!!!!!!!! Get a life you pitiful pseudo-intellectual.

[mquinn]

So going by this professor’s logic, if she comes here to the FR and reads us disparaging her, we’re ripe for a lawsuit as well.

Egads, this woman is living, breathing proof that “liberal education” is a contradiction in terms. Having one’s opinions challenged, and possessing the ability to debate and defend them, used to be a hallmark of academia. What happened?

[edcoil]

“Venkatesan contacted a New Hampshire lawyer on Friday to determine whether she had grounds for a potential lawsuit. She will speak with the lawyer again on Monday”

I’d have to spend the weekend laughing before talking to her again as well.

[OSHA]

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=224976

[Jeff Chandler]

Priya's scorecard on www.ratemyprofessors.com indicates that she received a "Hotness Total" of zero.

[bill1952]

This makes no sense.
Is she an alien who is unfamiliar with American customs and freedom of speech and finds them offensive?

How could anyone entertain the concept of suing your own students??
She had best be tarred and feathered and put on a rail.

[Skooz]

“....I was facing intolerance of ideas and intolerance of freedom of expression.”

Doesn't make sense.

It does, but only to the liberal mind.

Disagreement with liberal doctrine is intolerance.

[1rudeboy]

Venkatesan also said she was exposed to a “barrage of offensive behavior” while working as a researcher in the medical school. Venkatesan, whose specialty is the intersection of science and literature, said many of her academic interpretations of science in the context of literary theory during laboratory meetings were received in a “hostile,” “demeaning” and “anti-intellectual” manner by her colleagues.

ROTFLMAO
You mean that her interpretation of Psycho-pharmacological treatments for hypertension in the light of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans-gendered, and Questioning narrative was ill-received?