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Facebook: A post-secondary complaint forum LAURIER

The Sputnik // Thursday October 13 5

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(Saskatoon) - The university teacher-student dynamic can be a strange one:

on one hand, students are students, andshould reasonably be expected to act ac-cordingly, deferring to professors as supe-

riors and as more knowledgeable.On the other hand, students know they

pay a good chunk of their professors sala-

ry, and this can sometimes lead to studentsfeeling as though they deserve more equalfooting with their instructors.

Professor June Madeley of the Univer-sity of New Brunswick is one of a growingnumber of post-secondary instructors who

has found a distinctly modern way to dealwith the frustrations of an increasingly en-titled student body.

Thats PROFESSOR Uptight to you,Johnny is a private Facebook group whereprofessors meet to gripe about students

and to support each other. Madeley, who joined two years ago when a colleagueforwarded the group to her, says it lls an

important void in professors professionallives.

In public schools, she said, in high

schools, they have a staff room. Im surethey have conversations about frustratingthings there.

Profs dont have that [in universities].There isnt a lot of room for commiserat-ing.

Madeley also explained that while pro-

fessors share complaints about studentsand sometimes post hypothetical scathing

responses to student emails, it is more of-

ten a venue for self-support.Its also very helpful to know that the

kinds of things were facing, others are fac-

ing them too, Madeley said. Its a moralething.

The private group, which has membersfrom Canada, America and the UK, hasnever been a source of trouble to a profes-

sor, as far as Madeley knows. This is verydifferent from how a group of Universityof Calgary students were treated after cre-

ating a group to vent about a professor.Twins Keith and Steven Pridgen have

been embroiled in a legal battle with their

university since being placed on 24 monthsof academic probation for their member-ship in a Facebook group called, I NO

Longer Fear Hell, I Took a Course with Ar-una Mitra.

The group was not private, Keith said,

though it was not intended to be for thepublic. The Facebook groups creator, TomStrangward, said that he did not really

think about that aspect of it when he madethe group.

The Pridgens won their case against the

U of C in late 2010, when Justice Jo-AnnStrekaf ruled that the university was re-quired by the Charter of Rights and Free-

doms to respect the Pridgens right to freespeech.

In early 2010, the U of C announced its

intention to appeal the ruling, claiming itwas seeking clarication.

Keith Pridgen said the appeal hearing

could reasonably be heard before the

court by early November, although thedate is not set in stone as of yet.

When asked about the Pridgens case,

Madeley said she hopes students exhaustevery possible ofcial option before turn-

ing to online complaining when faced with

an unsatisfactory teacher.I think the fact that [the U of C group]

was public was more of a problem, shesaid. Professors have contracts, they needto meet tenure; if review committees were

looking at it, that would be inappropriate,in the same way that Rate My Professor isinappropriate for [assessing professors].

Pridgen said he and his brother had,in fact, already contacted the universitythrough conventional channels, and had

met with no success.We brought questions to to the profes-

sor during class, he said. Then we began

to appeal our grades to the head of the pro-gram.

After this led to many students receiv-

ing an even lower grade, Pridgen said theytook their complaint to the associate deanof law. This led to higher grades for many

students, but the Pridgens also found outthat the head of their program, who hadlowered their grades, was married to the

professor they were upset with.It was only after all this that we decid-

ed to join a Facebook group intended only

for fellow students to voice their concernsabout the professor.

On the other side of this fraught rela-

tionship is Madeley, who said that it can be difcult to teach class upon class ofstudents who expect more and more from

professors in return for less and less work.

[Teaching] really is such a demoraliz-ing experience, sometimes, said Madeley.

Tannara YellandCUP Prairies & Northern Bureau Chief

Gwynne Dyer to speak atLaurier Brantford

Gwynne Dyer, renowned journalist,broadcaster and commentator will speak at

Laurier Brantford on Thursday, Oct 13. Thelecture, entitled A New Middle East willtake place in RCW 002 at 7:30pm.

Dyer will address the Middle Easternpolitical situation, analyzing whether itsramications will have an impact on lib-

erty, poverty and the rise of Islamist move-ments.

This lecture marks the nal portion of

Laurier Brantfords Lives of Leadershipand Purpose speaker series, a part of thecentennial celebrations.

Former boxer to receivehonourary Laurier degree

Lennox Lewis, former heavyweight boxing champion, will receive an honou-rary doctor of laws degree at Lauriers fall

convocation on Oct 28, 2011.The heavyweight Olympic gold medal-

list has been previously honoured by the

Order of Canada and the Most ExcellentOrder of the British Empire.

Lewis retired in 2004 and now raises

money through the Lennox Lewis Founda-tion for disadvantaged children in Canada,The United States, The United Kingdom

and Jamaica. Lewis is known for his advo-

cacy surrounding issues of domestic vio-lence.

l o w - d o w n

Allison LeonardStaff Writer