I think I'd recommend against allowing absenteeism for political
demonstrations for two primary reasons:
1. Verifiability of the actual attendance at said event (unless they get
arrested or something).
2. Where do you draw the line?
The latter is the more problematic, If you allow students to miss class to
attend a rally for one cause, you likely, to be fair, will have to do so
for other students at other causes. So one week someone wants to attend an
Anti-War rally and you say ok, and the next someone wants to go top, say, a
Neo-Nazi rally and you say no. Aren't you guilty of favoritism? (yes
they're extreme examples but substitute abortion, pro or con depending on
your own views and you have the same issue). So how do you decide what
constitutes an "acceptable absence" for a political action and make the
discriminations you might want?
All for political action but this is a can of worms I wouldn't open re:
class attendance...
David W.
At 08:38 AM 10/4/99 -0400, Michael Sylvester wrote:
>
>Two of my Arab students missed an exam.Their excuse was that they had to
>join a protest at the Epcot Center in Orlando .The protest was against
>the Disney Millenium depiction of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
>Now in the past,I have excused students for religious observances.
>And I am willing to excuse students for Santeria festivals (Afro-Cubans)
>and even rattlesnake chases (Pentecostal),but I am hesitant for
>political causes.
>
>Send me something.
>
>MIchael Sylvester
>Daytona Beach,FDlorida
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David Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698
912-333-5930
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski
"Thinking is the hardest work there is,
which is probably the reason so few engage in it."
--Henry Ford
