Positive proof that thousands of dollars spent on a college education is a waste of money.

A spelling mistake is proof a college education is a waste of money?

It’s also an indictment of whatever high school you went to that you managed to graduate without knowing basic spelling and grammar.

It’s the fault of the school someone makes a mistake spelling a word or constructing a sentence?

It’s “you’re”. Sheesh.
Jaynie59 on July 14, 2010 at 4:04 PM

Spelling and grammar mistakes occur. Being human, everyone that comments is capable of making these errors.

If you are going to play the perfection card, you should have some credibility when doing so.

A ten second search of your posts reveals a word you have misspelled here twice. The word is spelled deductible. Sheesh.

There are more mistakes of yours, but that is not the point. The point is the ideas a person is attempting to communicate are what is important. We are not here earning grades for spelling and grammar.

Get over the petty issue you have with spelling and grammar mistakes, lest you are capable of never making said mistakes again.

You have earned a good solid B+.

Jaibones on July 14, 2010 at 10:24 PM

Same here… 2004 Bronze Tablet. Which major?

University of Illinois to review case of fired Catholic professor

The basis for Professor Howell’s termination appears to be he violated University standards by expressing his personal opinion, on subject matter directly within his area of expertise, to a student. The University should be able to point to the specific policy that strictly prohibits professors from expressing their personal opinions, on subject matter within their expertise, to their students.

It is doubtful such a policy exists.

The University is making a specious argument that all professors should find objectionable.

It is a shame it has taken this long for Professor Howell to plead his case.

Needless to say, the story is just as advertised. The class was Catholic Theology; the issue is homosexuality and the student is gay and apparently likes to seek out new ways to be offended about it. The gay members of my family who were raised in the Catholic Church may be disappointed-to-bitter about the Church’s position, but they aren’t suing anyone and it isn’t real difficult to figure out why the Church sticks to this position.

But the University is a viper’s den of political correctness, dominated by illiberal liberals and their communist speech codes. If they disagree with your position, your position is hate speech. It’s Orwellian, and this firing is a quantum leap from the usual classroom domination by gutless leftist professors to this amazing new standard requiring that professors edit their subject matter to toe the line on left-wing speech codes.

It is an abomination.

“apparently the leader of this (anti-Chief) movement is of Sioux descent. Which means what, you ask? the Sioux indians are the ones that killed off the Illini indians, so she’s just trying to finish what her ancestors started. I say we throw a tomohawk into her face,” according to copies of the postings obtained by The News-Gazette.
djm, this happened a few years ago so good information is hard to find (uiuc + student + suspended brings up mostly the DI editor that got fired for printing a Danish cartoon of Muhommed). The article meanders and really doesn’t make sense. I do remember the kid getting suspended for “hate speech”, though the article makes no reference to the suspension.

Here is the link.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/university-illinois/2007-01-28/heated-chief-debate-typifies-discord-ui-working-solutions.html

Blarg the Destroyer on July 14, 2010 at 4:56 P

For clarification, the student wasn’t at a secret meeting. The secret meeting was to kill the Chief. He later posted on facebook that the head of the kill the Chief movement was a Sioux, etc.

Blarg the Destroyer on July 14, 2010 at 4:58 PM

Ok, now I get it. Actually, I remember reading that article. Your lack of clarity plus my overactive immaginaition had me envisioning the University banishing some kid to Siberia for embarrasing the board of trustees.

Next time be more careful!!!

I hate siding with the Diversity Uber Alles/Hypersensitivity crowd, but in all honesty, what probably got this kid in trouble was the tomahawk to the face part. Not a good thing to essentially advocate taking an axe to someone’s face….

When a student asked Howell in class whether he believed the Catholic teaching that homosexual sex was immoral, Howell said he did. The university then fired him for engaging in “hate speech,”

Perez Hilton is taking an Intro to Catholocism class?

Illinidiva on July 14, 2010 at 4:24 PM

I’m a proud graduate of Illinois State. I wouldn’t step a foot into Urbana, what a he|| hole.

All of these items should be made public. Nationally public. This sort and scale of public exposure will end this sort of thing real fast and permanently.

This part will never happen. The Lame Stream/State-Run Media will never cover something like this unless it was happening to a humanities professor that said something bad about Chrisitianity and was fired for it . . . It would only “go national” on places like Drudge, which the American Idol Sheeple don’t read.

“Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another.”

Oy. Relativism Rules!

Corrected

Think this University would have had the stones to fire an Islamic studies professor who would have said much the same thing….?

JohnTant on July 14, 2010 at 3:41 PM

If they had the, umm, stones beforehand, they might not afterward.
Bloody scimitar. The religion of pieces.

Why do liberals hate the Bill of Rights?

jukin on July 14, 2010 at 5:03 PM

They don’t, as long as they are the ones enjoying its freedoms.

Yeah, ya freaking idiot. You ‘crossed the line’, along with the ‘offended student’ and their ‘anonymous’ friend.

Those who kicked the professor out should be FIRED and the two students EXPELLED, after it’s explained to them that there is NO Constitutional right NOT TO BE OFFENDED by someone else’s beliefs.

GarandFan on July 14, 2010 at 5:03 PM

If you are going to argue for free speech, the students have as much right to whine about the professor and demand his resignation as the professor has to point out the tenets of Catholic teachings on sexuality to his class. They could go to the school Gay/ Lesbian/ Bi office and whine about the email, and gay groups can even protest at Newman Center and demand Dr. Howell’s resignation. However, it’s up to the adults to not give into the kids’ demands and point out that free speech goes both ways.

Isn’t it interesting that in a free society, an anonymous student can get a teacher fired, and that in a supposed second-hand fashion? What happened to being able to face your accusers?

I guess its OK though. We all know if a teacher at the school had said something derogatory about Jesus Christ, the administration would surely leap into action to avenge offended Christians……right?

“This is a very, very important, not to mention a touchy and sensitive, issue. Did this cross the line somehow?”

Yeah, ya freaking idiot. You ‘crossed the line’, along with the ‘offended student’ and their ‘anonymous’ friend.

Those who kicked the professor out should be FIRED and the two students EXPELLED, after it’s explained to them that there is NO Constitutional right NOT TO BE OFFENDED by someone else’s beliefs.

I think all Middle Eastern Studies and Islam studies professors need to be asked the same question about their religion and homosexuality and see if they are fired.

ramrants on July 14, 2010 at 4:14 PM

This was my first thought. F***in’ Illini. I graduated from its law school too many years ago. I haven’t given them any money for years. In fall 2008, I swore they’d never see a dime from me after their chancellor made it difficult to access records in the UICC campus library relating to Obama’s only executive experience as chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (he and Ayers blew $160 million on nonsense, community-activity programs that did nothing to improve Chicago public schools, but that’s a story for another day).

I now double down on my resolve to hate my alma mater.

This was a set up from the start. The student knew what he/she was initiating, knew what Howell’s response would be, and knew exactly who to send the email to when the time came.
…
AubieJon on July 14, 2010 at 3:43 PM

.
Clearly true.
.
As several others have said (in one form or another), no one was forced to enroll in Howell’s class, and no one was unaware of the topic of the class.
.
I wonder what the student’s background is. I’m guessing “radical activist” of some flavor.
.
GardenGnome should be shown to be correct:

They need to fire all of those involved with the firing.

GardenGnome on July 14, 2010 at 4:19 PM

.
… and expel the student who filed the original complaint.