Professor Helen de Haven, at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law
School, has identified a number of problems with school responses to faculty
complaints about threatening students. Professor de Haven has done some
excellent research and analysis on school shootings. Her articles have appeared
in The Journal of College and University Law,
a peer reviewed journal published by the Notre Dame University Law School.
One of her articles recounts a depressing story by Professor
Carol Parker at the University of Tennessee and her colleagues:
“A law professor was being stalked and
threatened with death by a student who was failing his class. He and his
colleague went to the administration. Sadly, he later reported, ‘they simply
stuck their heads in the sand and said nothing was happening. For the
administration, this do-nothing strategy was a win-win situation. If they took
action, they might get sued. However, in the small chance that the student
actually carried out his threat and killed the professor, we figured that they
would hire a cheaper faculty member.’” (Smith, Thomas & Parker: Violence on
campus practical recommendations for legal education) Carol Parker’s article is accessible free on
the social science research network (ssrn). “
(To be continued)
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