I think we must consider the intent of the gift and the proportionality. 
Buying an entire dinner for a group of people on a whim is way out of 
proportion. A small gift such as a coffee mug might reasonably be considered 
an intentionless present. The most unusual gifts I received were two box 
xeat tickets to an opera in San Francisco and marijuana joints on two 
different occasions. The tickets were a woman and her daughter who could not 
use them. I had had both the mother and the daughter in my classes and the 
daughter was working with me on a project. The joints were from two 
different students and placed inside a card on my desk during finals. I 
didn't even open them until class was over and so I had no way of verifying 
who was the giver. If the Enron executives can get away with declining to 
testify, I will decline to state what happened to them.

Harry Avis PhD
Sierra College
Rocklin, CA 95677
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius
There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so     - 
Shakespeare

>How do you decline the gifts? I have received a small plaque extolling the
>virtues of teachers, a framed stamp honoring teachers, a small bud vase (I 
>like
>flowers from my garden in my office), a coffee mug or two, a calendar or 
>two,
>countless cards, etc. I think that to refuse them would take away from the
>person's good intention and kindness. Of course, I'd love a cruise to the
>caribbean, but no one has offered that. I did get a coupon for a ham one 
>time
>and another time, a coupon for free christmas tree, after writing nearly 50
>letters of recommendation for graduate programs a $75 gift certificate to a
>restaurant (from a very wealthy student!). So is the $75 something to 
>return
>compared to a card? Do these things get "valued" differently? What do we 
>do?????
>
>Annette
>
>Quoting Susan Freedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
> > I too have worried about accepting small gifts or cards from students
> > after
> > the close of the semester.  Usually it is something that the student in
> >
> > question has made and though I treasure such things as momentos and/or
> >
> > concrete reinforcements, I wonder whether it is good practice to accept
> >
> > them.  I'm also somewhat uncomfortable witht he concept of asking
> > students
> > for reference letters to put in a teaching portfolio, but perhaps that's
> >
> > too tangential.
> >
> >
> >
> > At 02:21 PM 2/18/2002 -0800, you wrote:
> > >I must agree with Klatsky. While accepting a dinner invitation at a
> > >fraternity or sorority is appropriate, since the invitation came from
> > the
> > >organization itself and these organizations have a connection with the
> >
> > >college or university, permitting a student to pay for a meal
> > regardless
> > >of the circumstances is not. I have received small gifts from students
> > at
> > >the end of the semester and have accepted them and I do wonder at the
> >
> > >appropriateness of this, but allowing a student to buy dinner for me
> > and a
> > >group of my friends is too far down the slippery slope for me.
> > >
> > >Or are we being put on again? Could it be that Michael is waving a red
> >
> > >flag in front of us to see if anyone charges?
> > >Harry Avis PhD
> > >Sierra College
> > >Rocklin, CA 95677
> > >email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > >
> > >Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius
> > >There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so
> > -
> > >Shakespeare
> > >
> > >
> > >>>No, it's not nice. It is extremely inappropriate
> > >>
> > >>Gary J. Klatsky, Ph. D.
> > >>
> > >>Recently I have been receiving invitations from the Fraternity and
> > Sorority
> > >>organizations to dinner. I guess they have some kind of a program to
> > get to
> > >>know the faculty members better.they are a few students in my class
> > who
> > >>belong to those Greek organizations.
> > >>I just hope that this is not an attempt to get a favorable grade.
> > >>I have accepted the invitations .I have heard that they serve some
> > good
> > >>food.
> > >>And while on this subject(free associating),I find that some
> > students
> > >>from the Middle East like to invite their profs for dinner.I have
> > >>gone to many of them and their dinners are very good with that vimto
> > >>drink.Are those Cross-cultural customs or attempts to influence?
> > >>One time I was at a restaurant with some friends and a Kuwaiti
> > student
> > >>in my class was dining with his own friends.He came over and took our
> > tabs
> > >>and paid for the meals.Isn't that nice?
> > >>
> > >>Michael Sylvester,PhD
> > >>Daytona Beach,Florida
> > >
>
>
>
>Annette Taylor, Ph.D.
>Associate Professor of Psychology
>University of San Diego
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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