A Laurentian University professor has been suspended from teaching his first-year psychology class after the school discovered he had been asking his students to sign a waiver allowing for his use of vulgar language.
Michael Persinger, a neuroscientist, handed out a “statement of understanding” for students to sign, in which he warned students he may use profanities and other potentially offensive language during his lectures.
The statement included a list of examples, including the F-word, homophobic slurs, and explicit words for genitalia.
Last December, the university provost told Persinger he would no longer be teaching the class.
The incident is the latest to conjure up debates about academic freedom, free speech, and political correctness on university campuses.
Persinger could not be reached for comment, but mentioned in interviews with other publications that his teaching methods were highly effective. Persinger told CBC News that by exposing his students to all types of different words, he is allowing the words to influence how they think.
Robert Kerr, the school’s vice-president (academic) and provost, said Persinger is a “respected member of faculty,” and the university has not yet made a decision as to how he will be disciplined.
Kerr also noted the university’s problem is not with Persinger’s language, but rather with the waiver he asked students to sign.
“Something that I have made clear is that this is not a question of academic freedom,” Kerr said. “The focus is on the document that was presented to the students. It is not up to a faculty member to make students sign anything.”
However, James Ketchen, president of the university’s faculty association, argued Persinger’s suspension is really a matter of academic freedom.
“We think it is an issue of free speech because we don’t agree with what the administration is saying,” Ketchen said. “We believe that what they’re saying is not their true position, and that they really do have a problem with his language.”
Ketchen also said the punishment does not fit the supposed violation.
“If it was only a matter of the document being an issue, then the logical response would have been to tell him to stop rather than pulling him out of the class all together,” Ketchen said.
Ketchen said the faculty association has filed a grievance and is waiting on the university to take the next steps.
Since Persinger’s suspension, there has been an outcry of disbelief and support from both his current and former students.
Sal Piamonte, a former student of Persinger, said he has nothing but respect and admiration for the professor.
“He took great pride in elevating one as far as he could push them,” Piamonte said. “He taught us to always have a backbone and to push our academia and knowledge base as far as we could.”
Piamonte also said that due to Persinger’s teaching style, he could “be a real hard ass, but never to mock or insult. He wanted people to fight back with thoughtful, intelligent responses—whether he agreed with them or not.”
On ratemyprofessor.com, a website widely used by students to review professors, many comments mention Persinger as a challenging but excellent professor.
One commenter said he is a “brilliant professor, and an excellent, engaging lecturer,” while another comment said a class with Persinger will “literally change your life.”
Persinger is previously known for his work relating to the controversial study of “neurotheology,” which attempts to explain religious phenomena through neuroscientific terms. He has been working at the Sudbury school since 1971.
