Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Priya Venkatesan

Teaching is tough, especially for the thin-skinned and/or mentally unstable.

Case in point, from The Dartmouth:

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.

Venkatesan is considering suing the College for harassment and discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

The suit would likely name faculty members as well, including Tom Cormen, chair of the writing program at the College, and DMS professor Christopher Lowrey. Cormen declined to comment, and Lowrey did not return requests for comment by press time.

Venkatesan, who said she left Dartmouth voluntarily on March 17, contends that she was subjected to “inappropriate and unprofessional” behavior while at the College. 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, she said. Venkatesan refused to disclose the name of the attorney.

“I think that I have a good case because there were just so many instances – it was almost an incessant barrage – of hostility, nastiness and anti-intellectualism that I may just in fact have a case, but I’m not a lawyer,” Venkatesan said in an interview with The Dartmouth.

...Students were first informed of a possible lawsuit in an e-mail from Venkatesan sent on April 25, according to one student from Venkatesan’s class. The student is not one of those Venkatesan named as a potential defendant in the suit.

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.

“We didn’t like her because she was not a good teacher, and she wasn’t very open to others’ ideas,” the student said. “It had nothing to do with her race or anything like that.”

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.

Venkatesan said the incident occurred when she was lecturing about “The Death of Nature,” a book by Carolyne Merchant, and the witch trials of the Renaissance. The student went on a “diatribe” about the inappropriate nature of challenging patriarchal authority, Venkatesan said. Vakatesan respected the student’s right to express this opinion, she said, but the manner in which he vocalized his views and the applause afterward were disrespectful and offensive.

“I was horrified,” Venkatesan said. “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.”

Venkatesan contacted Cormen about the event, she said, but claims she received no support from him. She canceled class because the incident caused her “intellectual and emotional distress,” she said. This event, which occurred on Feb. 1, would likely be included in a list of grievances relating to a potential lawsuit, she said.

...“I understand that there are such things as bad working environments — a shithole is just a shithole, and that’s not illegal, and I know that,” she said. “But sometimes you have to take time out and address the issue of justice in society and to really implement the values that are so lacking at Dartmouth.”

From IvyGate, here's the e-mail Venkatesan sent to her students:
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:56:35
From: Priya Venkatesan
Subject: WRIT.005.17.18-WI08: Possible lawsuit

Dear former class members of Science, Technology and Society:

I tried to send an email through my server but got undelivered messages. I regret to inform you that I am pursuing a lawsuit in which I am accusing some of you (whom shall go unmentioned in this email) of violating Title VII of anti-federal discrimination laws.

The feeling that I am getting from the outside world is that Dartmouth is considered a bigoted place, so this may not be news and I may be successful in this lawsuit. I am also writing a book detailing my eperiences as your instructor, which will "name names" so to speak. I have all of your evaluation and these will be reproduced in the book.

Have a nice day.

How did this woman manage to get a teaching position at Dartmouth?
Dartmouth General Counsel Bob Donin does not believe Venkatesan’s lawsuit has legal merit, he said in a statement e-mailed to The Dartmouth.

“It has come to our attention that a former faculty member has e-mailed some undergraduates and faculty members mentioning the possibility of legal action,” Donin said in the statement. “We have determined that there is no basis for such action, and we have advised the students and faculty members of this.”

Venkatesan took a position at a large research university on April 14. She said she was uncomfortable naming the institution.

Venkatesan seems to have some serious issues.

Getting so bent out of shape because students applauded in response to another student's comment is really weird. The woman cancelled class for a week because the incident caused her such "intellectual and emotional distress."

Using Venkatesan's criteria, teachers and students all over the country could be suing each other.

Who doesn't experience "intellectual and emotional distress" sometime in the classroom?

Venkatesan needs to get a grip, and maybe consider pursuing a different career path.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have worked as a teacher for some time and perfectly understand Dr. Venkatesan's position. Students attending a class should have a genuine interest in the subject. Difference of opinion makes a class, vibrant and active. However, when a student expresses his/her difference of opinion, it has to be done with utmost politeness. The applause definitely made it a 'show off'. The fees paid by students is not a justification for this kind of behaviour.
I will not support my kids if they get involved in this kind of situation at their school.

Mary said...

I've worked as a teacher, too.

Students aren't required to like their teachers, but they should be respectful.

That said, the applause was not that big of a deal. I can't believe she cancelled class for a week because of it.

Bottom line: Her lawsuit has no merit.

Anonymous said...

I respect the comment. All flavors have takers in our country. That is the reason why Baskin Robins makes them all.
If applauding(in the class) a comment made against the teacher's view is not disrespectful to the teacher, where do we draw the line for respect?
Law suit is least of the issues. What really matters is the deterioration of the class room culture. High prevalance of rebellious activity among certain age groups is known to science. That is part of growing up. We all have been through that. How much should all those things be encouraged (or supported) in the name of whatever reason? Should it go the extent of physical asault on teachers? Is that going to be helpful for the betterment of educational system?

Mary said...

The lawsuit IS the issue in this case.

You'll get no argument from me when it comes to the importance of students treating authority figures with respect.

It's possible to disagree and to express an opinion without being bratty, let alone making physical threats.

I'm afraid that Venkatesan's lawsuit threat speaks to her inadequacies in the classroom.

Anonymous said...

I cannot fathom how people fail to see the hypocrisy in defending such a professor. As if her own views were not themselves generated by subversives with no respect for "authority", not even empirical authority!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120995103004666569.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

Unknown said...

I am astonished that ANYONE would defend this crazy woman (yes, SHE IS CRAZY).

yes, it IS true that students do not respect authority. What the teacher has to do is BE THE ADULT and enforce a code of conduct. To threaten to sue because students disagreed is astonishing to say the least.

I am a professor. I have dealt with rude and disruptive students - I warn them and when they do not stop, I have asked them to leave and said so forcefully. But NOT for disagreements OR even when the students agree with each other and consequently disagree with the professor.

That woman is mentally unbalanced. Crazy is a better word for sure.

And she TAUGHT at Dartmouth? Yea, sort of makes sense from what I have seen TJ Rodgers has written about what goes on at Dartmouth.

Anonymous said...

From the WSJ-

Priya stated:

"Scientific facts do not correspond to a natural reality but conform to a social construct."

This crazy woman drank too much Kool-Aid.

Mary said...

I wonder if Venkatesan regrets her lawsuit threat.

If she couldn't handle hearing students in her classroom applaud, I can't imagine how she's reacting to this national scrutiny.

Anonymous said...

This lawsuit is complete and utter nonsense. We challenge our children to think and to question and to form their own opinions yet we see "teachers"(and I use the word loosely here) threatening to sue students because they decide to question the drivel she is attemptinig to pass of as fact. I hope more students stand up and question the mental conditioning they are recieving in many schools across our country. Perhaps then universities will again become teaching institutions and not platforms for a particular groups agendas.

Mary said...

I agree.

Anonymous said...

If I were in Dr. Venkatesan's place, I would have given a F grade to all concerned students. Class is not a place to make mockery or insults to teachers. I doubt that the students merely "disagreed" with the teachers by the applause.