Here is the form letter sent by the College of DuPage to those who expressed concern over Dr. Adelman‘s use of curriculum to advance her particular political biases. What is noticeably absent from this letter are any responses to the questions or concerns I raised in my initial article:
I thank you for your message regarding the honors seminar offered last spring. President Breuder has asked that I respond on behalf of the College.
The student in question did indeed bring her concerns to our attention last spring. We have looked into the matter and spoken with Dr. Adelman. She handed out the schedule for the course during the first week of class, at which point the students saw which films would be covered. Students had the opportunity to withdraw at that point with a complete refund if they did not feel comfortable with the films on the schedule. In presenting the curriculum, our faculty make every effort to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint, and to show respect for the opinions of others, including our students. This situation has strengthened our resolve to provide students with careful advising and ample opportunity to make considered choices in their course selections.
The faculty of College of DuPage maintains a remarkable culture of caring for our students, and we are deeply proud of this. Every day, I encounter examples of the amazing lengths to which our professors go to help our students fulfill their potential. I am also deeply impressed with the accomplishments of our students, who often excel academically while dealing with any number of hardships and obstacles. I assure you that we are working tirelessly to improve the lives of all of our stakeholders.
Thank you again for your inquiry.
Joseph Collins, Ph.D.
Vice President, Academic Affairs
(Email: collinsj@cod.edu)
Phone: 630-942-3203
Fax: 630-942-3925
Dr. Collins does not explain why Dr. Adelman did not include in her course description the list of controversial films students would be required to watch. Instead, a student would have had to register, pay, purchase books, and show up for class. Then sometime during the first week, after they were given the list of assigned films, they would have had to go through the process of dropping a class, selling back books, selecting and re-registering for a new class, and starting that class a week late.
He does not explain why Dr. Adelman failed to include in her course description the fact that the class would emphasize controversial topics related to human sexuality.
He does not explain why Dr. Adelman did not include in her course description any acknowledgement of her moral, philosophical, or political biases.
He does not explain why she did not provide a “variety of perspectives” on the very controversial topics she chose to cover when according to her email to her student, she believes the provision of a variety of perspectives is important.
He does not explain how this statement from Dr. Adelman to her former student reflected “respect for the opinion” of her student: “Perhaps you are critical of anything that does not condemn homosexuality–I hope not, because that is not critical examination at all.”
He does not explain why the views of Dr. Adelman’s students on the topic of homosexuality are any concern or business of hers.
There was one more element of the story that I was unable to include in my article due to its length, but which I did share with Dr. Collins in a phone conversation. Dr. Adelman told her former student that if she permitted the student to do an alternative assignment, the student could not earn as many points as her classmates. Even if the substitute assignment were more rigorous and even if the student did superior work, she would not have available to her the number of points her classmates had available to them. As I told Dr. Collins, this seems to be a punitive response to a reasonable request. Dr. Collins and Dr. Adelman should explain how this action reflects “restraint and respect.”
I wonder, when Dr. Collins expresses how deeply impressed he is “with the accomplishments of our students, who often excel academically while dealing with any number of hardships and obstacles,” might he be referring to the hardships and obstacles posed by biased, unfair, politically motivated professors?
It would have been nice to read somewhere in this unsatisfactory bit of PR, some acknowledgement that what happened last spring to this honors student was not quite right.
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