Fired professor sues ETSU over First Amendment issues. This person makes some pretty bold and outrageous charges (found mainly in the second link) against the university and Stanton.


Courthouse News Service

Court PDF

Considering how this university has treated myself and Gold, I stand totally behind Simon on this one.

While I have no reason to think she isn't telling the truth, if you go out on the internet and bash your employer, don't be surprised when they fire you.

I`m going to keep my mouth shut. Let's just say, she got what she had coming.

I too am going to pretty much keep quiet on this one- the info available from that court doc say all that needs said. But its funny how this makes a discussion board dealing with athletics.

By the way, she applied for the ETSU president's job as this was going on.

(06-07-2012 10:33 PM)BucNut22 Wrote:  I`m going to keep my mouth shut. Let's just say, she got what she had coming.

+1

How did she have time to teach classes? She was a very busy lady tweeting that much in a short timespan and digging up (making up) dirt on everyone of authority at the school.

The document sounds more like it was written by her than an officially-filed court document. Highly biased/slanderous.

True or not, hauling some of these ol' slackjaws down to the courthouse and airing dirty laundry could get very, VERY ugly.
Cut her a check, make it go away.

(06-08-2012 07:40 AM)TheShadow Wrote:  

(06-07-2012 10:33 PM)BucNut22 Wrote:  I`m going to keep my mouth shut. Let's just say, she got what she had coming.

+1

How did she have time to teach classes? She was a very busy lady tweeting that much in a short timespan and digging up (making up) dirt on everyone of authority at the school.

The document sounds more like it was written by her than an officially-filed court document. Highly biased/slanderous.

Not doing any actual teaching helps. The one class of hers I took, the GA's did all the work.

If you've had any exposure to Simon as a professor you know what an awful, awful professor she was. She should have been fired for incompetence a long time ago. Her in class antics were absurd and her treatment of her students was ridiculous.

(06-08-2012 07:40 AM)TheShadow Wrote:  

(06-07-2012 10:33 PM)BucNut22 Wrote:  I`m going to keep my mouth shut. Let's just say, she got what she had coming.

+1

How did she have time to teach classes? She was a very busy lady tweeting that much in a short timespan and digging up (making up) dirt on everyone of authority at the school.

The document sounds more like it was written by her than an officially-filed court document. Highly biased/slanderous.

She has her JD I'm pretty sure, so she may have written it.

Here is her rating on ratemyprofessor. This gives a little glimpse into her as a professor.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRati...tid=311506

(06-08-2012 04:38 PM)LetsgoBucs Wrote:  Here is her rating on ratemyprofessor. This gives a little glimpse into her as a professor.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRati...tid=311506

Let me say this, I have only signed my name to one of those course evaluation forms once in my college career. It was after Simon's class.

I wanted her and the CJ department to know exactly who was saying what. Usually it's the kids who fail who bad mouth the instructor.

Not in my case.

I just want to say I'm not a huge fan of "Rate My Professor."

I say this after I read an evaluation stating how easy it was to cheat in one instructor's class.

(06-08-2012 08:23 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  I just want to say I'm not a huge fan of "Rate My Professor."

I say this after I read an evaluation stating how easy it was to cheat in one instructor's class.

What are you a professor? The truth shall set you free!

Its not often that students get to have a say or influence in their instruction. Granted you only get a view of the extremes with the site but at the very least students get some idea of what they are getting into.

Course evaluations given out by departments rarely see the light of day after they are turned in, much less make a significant impact.

Course evaluations make a very significant impact, and can keep a person from obtaining tenure and/or promotion. In Simon's case, she was brought in as the chair of the department and given tenure, and promptly ousted a year or two later. She's certifiable and has no case.

All I'm saying is when I have read comments like "this course is real easy to cheat in" I have to consider the source.

But here's what I don't understand. Admittedly, I don't know Simon from Adam. Tell you the truth, I'm not all that interested in reading through the article, and I am not that interested in hearing what kind of a teacher she was, either.

But what I do know is that ETSU has had a culture where they have attacked media and fans who have dared to question their moves, even when the questioning is constructive or legitimate.

From an athletic standpoint, it means we have consistently seen ETSU make the wrong moves and then have the audacity to tell us they have made the right ones in the most patronizing of fashions.

And ETSU has made a history of shooting the messenger, which in turn has meant they've lost a lot of media coverage; one newspaper covering them when five used to, for instance.

But now we see someone who is willing to go out and actually take legal action against the biggest villan in the history of ETSU sports, namely Paul Stanton.

And what do the Buccaneers fans do on here?

They start picking on the accuser, which in turn has the appearance of making the "Shoot the messenger" culture of ETSU okay.

I just don't get it. It's like Cleveland Browns fans picking on someone sueing Art Modell.

It makes no sense.

(06-09-2012 05:22 PM)BucNut22 Wrote:  

(06-08-2012 08:23 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  I just want to say I'm not a huge fan of "Rate My Professor."

I say this after I read an evaluation stating how easy it was to cheat in one instructor's class.

What are you a professor? The truth shall set you free!

Its not often that students get to have a say or influence in their instruction. Granted you only get a view of the extremes with the site but at the very least students get some idea of what they are getting into.

Course evaluations given out by departments rarely see the light of day after they are turned in, much less make a significant impact.

I would agree Pitt, that a site like ratemyprofessor should be taken with a grain of salt. However, when there is a consistent response from the students about a course or a professor you can usually rely on it. That is the case with Simon.


Also, I would think you of all people would respect a site like ratemyprofessor. I mean if you can't trust students providing feedback on their professors, there's no way that there is any merit, truth, or value in the constant ramblings/grumblings on a sports message board right? :) It's essentially the same thing isn't it?

(06-09-2012 08:44 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  All I'm saying is when I have read comments like "this course is real easy to cheat in" I have to consider the source.

But here's what I don't understand. Admittedly, I don't know Simon from Adam. Tell you the truth, I'm not all that interested in reading through the article, and I am not that interested in hearing what kind of a teacher she was, either.

But what I do know is that ETSU has had a culture where they have attacked media and fans who have dared to question their moves, even when the questioning is constructive or legitimate.

From an athletic standpoint, it means we have consistently seen ETSU make the wrong moves and then have the audacity to tell us they have made the right ones in the most patronizing of fashions.

And ETSU has made a history of shooting the messenger, which in turn has meant they've lost a lot of media coverage; one newspaper covering them when five used to, for instance.

But now we see someone who is willing to go out and actually take legal action against the biggest villan in the history of ETSU sports, namely Paul Stanton.

And what do the Buccaneers fans do on here?

They start picking on the accuser, which in turn has the appearance of making the "Shoot the messenger" culture of ETSU okay.

I just don't get it. It's like Cleveland Browns fans picking on someone sueing Art Modell.

It makes no sense.

I think this mostly speaks about you as person, not the fans of the Bucs, that you feel this way. Essentially you feel wronged by Stanton/ETSU so you support any and all attacks on him or the institution regardless of the merit of the complaint? So you have blind allegiance and loyalty to your agenda/bias with no regard for facts or truth? I mean, this doesn't surprise me, but that's basically what I take from this point of yours. You flat out admit you don't even care to know anything about Simon or her complaint, but you would side with her? That's baffling to me. There is no defense of Simon. No matter how many wrongs there have been from ETSU/Stanton that is not the case in this instance. Apparently you care nothing for truth, just your personal disdain.

(06-09-2012 08:10 PM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  Course evaluations make a very significant impact, and can keep a person from obtaining tenure and/or promotion. In Simon's case, she was brought in as the chair of the department and given tenure, and promptly ousted a year or two later. She's certifiable and has no case.

A year or two later? She "taught" for 9 years.

The official line may be that course evaluations factor into the evaluation of professors but but in practice it doesn't seem to make a different. If you went back and pulled Simon's course evaluations you find scathing reviews going all the way back to the start.

In the class I had of hers, the ENTIRE class gave her a very negative evaluation. It didn't mean a hill of beans.

She was ousted as chair in 1-2 years. She remained in the dept because she was given tenure when she arrived. Even with all of the negative evals, she wasn't let go likely because she already had tenure, although she was in general negatively viewed by her peers on a number of levels. However, departments work a bit differently, and a strong chair who really doesn't like one of their faculty can make it an unfavorable environment. However, I don't think Whitehead did that, and certainly didn't do anything that she is claiming.