Missouri Professor Who Confronted Photographer Quits Journalism Post

[Recursion]

Source: NYT

After a University of Missouri professor was seen on video calling for “some muscle” to remove a journalist from a public demonstration, the professor cut her ties to the university’s journalism school on Tuesday as protest organizers — and the professor herself — joined college officials in stating that journalists had a right to be present.

The professor, Melissa Click, an assistant professor in the department of communication had what was described as a “courtesy appointment” at the School of Journalism, meaning that she could serve on student thesis review panels. “Journalism school faculty members are taking immediate action to review that appointment,” David Kurpius, the dean of the school, said in a statement released Tuesday, stressing that Ms. Click did not teach at the school.

Dr. Kurpius said in a message on Twitter late Tuesday that Ms. Click resigned her courtesy appointment with the journalism school during a faculty meeting that day. It was unclear whether her status within the department of communication, which is in the College of Arts and Sciences, had changed.

Both the journalism school and the department of communication defended the rights of journalists in a Monday confrontation with protesters who said they wanted to create a media-free “safe space” at a protest encampment on a campus quad.

Read more: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/university-of-missouri-names-law-professor-to-diversity-post.html

[msongs]

1. police like to use some muscle to create a media free safe space when bashing protestors nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

3. This is a completely incoherent statement in relation to this particular incident

But thanks for the contribution, as always.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

4. +1. N/t

[7962]

23. Haaaaa! Thank you.

[TipTok]

21. Bacon unicorn raspberry to you too...

[geek tragedy]

2. She committed career suicide.

I'm sure there are a few governments (Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, Ferguson etc) that could use her zeal in dealing with "spirited reporters."

[Recursion]

6. Her courses include Lady Gaga, Twighlight, and Fifty Shades

It took me a while to convince myself her faculty page was not a parody.

[MADem]

11. Ah....one of "those" professors. Easy A!

At these prices per course, it's a crime to toss money at that kind of crap.

[uriel1972]

13. Spare me...

I had one lecturer who treated the Matrix like a documentary... I quit after a week or two.

[MADem]

42. At the price of credits these days, that kind of thing is just offensive!

I don't blame you!

[EL34x4]

17. These courses are very important.

They allow football players to maintain academic eligibility.

[7962]

25. Ahhhhh, another good one this morning!! nt

[MADem]

41. And that, to me, is the crime of the century--the way they use those college athletes to make

MILLIONS for those schools, and they don't even give them a real education. It's a crime. Football, basketball--they make a fortune for the universities, and those kids don't get a dime, never mind any useful skills. I think after they finish playing for the school, they should be allowed to attend classes forever, if they'd like, free of charge, and get majors in every single curriculum offered and grad school as well.

For every Kareem or MJ, there's dozens of poor schmucks who don't get a contract. I hate how those kids are used and discarded--it's just wrong.

[trumad]

43. Dumb

[7962]

24. Really? And we wonder why the RW goes off on college professors.

Now I gotta go look it up and see!
Here in ATL, GSU offers a course examining the relationship between Jay Z & Kanye West. And they charge money for the class.

[Recursion]

26. There's nothing wrong with teaching a course or two on popular culture

It's when it is your entire portfolio that my eyebrow goes up.

[Historic NY]

5. She needs remedial work in communication.

[-none]

32. I think she just had some.

[mike_c]

7. I live in fear of the day I do something this boneheaded....

For context, I'm president of the faculty union on my campus. I serve on many governance bodies like the University Senate and a whole bunch of other committees. I talk to the press way more than I like to. My training is in entomology and ecology. Any facility I have organizing, speaking publicly, etc is mostly accidental. I work with colleagues who are really good at this sort of thing. Mostly I'm careful, and I prefer to listen more than speak, but in the age of ubiquitous digital recording I worry that some moment of unguarded passion when I say something ill considered and boneheaded will be captured and presented out of context, or divorced from it's back story.

[branford]

8. There are foolish and regrettable mistakes, and then there's much worse.

In this instance, a communications / journalism professor at a major university was protesting on public property, and when she saw student press (who she had previously sought out for attention to her cause), who were not even remotely confrontational, she threatened violence to exclude them ("get some muscle&quot from where they were legally entitled to remain. Moreover, as the entire protest and incident was recorded, and there was no prior relationship with any of the multiple student reporters, defenses relating to "context" or "back story" are entirely inapplicable. Her potential level of passion or anger provide absolutely no excuse, but rather highlight her abject lack of professionalism.

Based on the tenor of your comment and obvious concern for you public conduct, I doubt very much that even in a moment of passion you would transgress so many fundamental professional, ethical, civil and potentially criminal boundaries. If you or anyone else are incapable of such minimal standards, holding teaching positions, no less with leadership or public relations responsibilities, would be, at best, imprudent.

If Ms. Click retains her apparently nontenured position after this week, particularly after the forced resignations of the president and chancellor of the university, she should consider herself very luck, and would probably be best advised to now focus more heavily on academics, anger management, and professional skills and responsibility.

[Hissyspit]

30. I'm a college lecturer, and understand mike c's fear...

but you get a +1000 for your comment. I doubt he would, in his worst moment, rise to the level of counter-productiveness and hypocritical contradiction that Ms. Click did. I believe her role as student advisor confused the issues for her leading to her action. I would be the first to step up and defend academic freedom in public, I hope, but as an academic freedom-based act of civil disobedience against the power of biased media coverage, the only context that I can come up with at present that might possibly justify her behavior, and that is really stretching it, it was a failure.

[MADem]

12. Listening is always good. Maybe you can convince the school to send you off to a public affairs

course of instruction. Never hurts to have some formal training, even if you've picked up a load of stuff on the fly. Something to do over the summer break, perhaps.

[7962]

27. "I prefer to listen more than speak". We ALL could learn from that statement!! nt

[trillion]

9. Don't let the door hit you in the arse.

Sad, she is even considering being in journalism.

"they wanted to create a media-free “safe space” at a protest encampment on a campus quad." bull.

[Recursion]

10. She's not. She's a comm. prof who does classes on popular culture.

And the Communications school and Journalism school have (or, now, had) a deal where professors in one could be advisors for students in the other.

[romanic]

14. She did the right thing.

Hopefully she'll (and other academics) learn from this and realize her actions weren't much different from strong-arm conservative types.

[Android3.14]

15. This is a token move

The UM is trying to appease colleagues in the field of journalism instruction. No student considering a career in journalism would attend this school.

Even if they fired Click, it wouldn't help. She hurt the school by embarrassing that college at a level that will make her unwelcome in any academic environment.

That whole event is going to impact enrollment at the college for a few years at least.

[jumptheshadow]

39. The student is representative of the J school; the professor is based in the Arts & Science school

As an alum who got an exceptional education at the Missouri School of Journalism, I am proud of J school student Tim Tai. He conducted himself with professional comportment and knew his rights well. The Arts & Science professor obviously had no grounding in journalism ethics, laws or principles. She does not represent the journalism school. She has managed to tarnish a historically great school and the value of the degrees held by many hard-working alumni who have made significant contributions to the field of journalism.

[90-percent]

16. Free Speech Zones

n/t

-90%

[magical thyme]

20. threatening violence against students for doing their jobs as "student journalists" is not

even close to acceptable behavior for any professor.

From a Communications professor in a Journalism school, it is laughably incompetent.

If she wanted to stand up for minority students, she should have explained to the protesters who wanted a "media-free zone" the importance of having their grievances publicized and how the media would be able to help them do that.

Note that, from the linked article in the OP, the leaders of the protest wanted journalists there.

On Tuesday, leaders of the group that organized the protest, Concerned Student 1950, distributed leaflets saying that “media has a First Amendment right to occupy campsite.”

Note also the content of her public apology:

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms. Click said, “I regret the language and strategies I used, and sincerely apologize to the M.U. campus community, and journalists at large, for my behavior, and also for the way my actions have shifted attention away from the students’ campaign for justice.” She said she had called the journalists involved to apologize, personally.

[TipTok]

22. Poe's law in action...

Right here...

[7962]

28. "can't handle a strong woman standing up for minority students!". Oh, please.

Those poor students were absolutely helpless.
How about the minority reporter who was being threatened by her and her call for "muscle"?
What a load.

[Codeine]

29. That is a wildly idiotic statement. nt

[Hissyspit]

31. Yes, she did.

She violated his First Amendment rights. Legally, as a representative of a federally funded state institution, standing in an area that is not only public, but designated as a public shared space, she violated his right to photograph anything in a public space. There are exceptions to this, and there are always blurring circumstances, as with any Constitutional issue, but this is pretty clear cut. Not to mention violating the spirit of the Bill of rights.

And the "we need some muscle here" comment. Jeez... Do I even have to say who that sounded like?

[branford]

35. Melissa Glick is a tenuous powder keg of criminal and civil liability for the university.

As a communications and journalism professor, she also managed to call her own credentials and judgment into question.

She appears to be a non-tenured assistant professor. I'm a litigation attorney who has practiced employment law, and if I was advising the university, I would recommend her immediate termination if she did not promptly resign. The fact that these same protests caused the resignation of the president and chancellor of the university only further highlights the political, legal and public relations necessity of such a move.

She has offered a very weak apology and resigned her "courtesy appointment" to the school of journalism (although it appears it was about to be revoked). I don't believe this is sufficient, and don't know how she could defend herself in any disciplinary proceeding, which will almost assuredly be commenced by one or more of her student ideological opponents on campus.

She is a living caricature of everything conservatives complain about concerning left-wing professors not understanding the First Amendment and squelching speech on college campuses. I do not pity her, and will not be sorry if she is let go.

[closeupready]

33. The journalist she was harping on was minority.

[geek tragedy]

34. no, they can't handle a professor asking students to rough up and physically assault a student

journalist who was exercising his first amendment rights.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

36. She threatened a minority student!

Jesus, buy a clue!

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Oh My!

Please tell me you forgot the sarcasm thingie.

[niyad]

40. you forgot the sarcasm thingy, yes?

[magical thyme]

19. nothing like demonstrating gross incompetence for a job for all the world to see

Any career in communications for her is over. She's back to square one. Well, maybe some back room job like research and writing. Just nothing face-to-face with...anyone

[Township75]

38. The university should quit employing her

They don't need to tolerate anyone who. Isolated civil rights and threatens force against anyone. They won't have trouble finding a replacement.