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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
A second student filed a complaint against a Metro English instructor who is being investigated for an assignment criticizing vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Freshman Janna Barber filed the first complaint against instructor Andrew Hallam last week, after he instructed the class to write a paper examining Palin's image as a fairy tale candidate. On Sept. 23, Ben Faurer, also a Metro freshman, filed a similar complaint against Hallam.
In addition to taking issue with the assignment, both students allege that Hallam singled out Republican students and permitted students to harass them.
A third student, Jared Keele, said he planned to file a complaint this week.
While Hallam has changed the assignment to criticize any politician, the original directed students to openly criticize Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention, which Hallam said was "arguably ... designed to present Sarah Palin in an idealized - indeed, as if her life was like a fairy tale ..."
Metro's legal department is investigating the complaints, and Barber said she has dropped several classes, including Hallam's, and will be volunteering for Sen. John McCain's campaign full time.
Faurer said while he was upset about the assignment, the crux of his complaint is that Hallam did not reprimand a student who said "fuck you guys" in class after Hallam asked Republican students to raise their hands.
Faurer said he would challenge the "Democrat" but Hallam laughed, saying there were more Democrats in the class than the five Republican students.
Prior to filling a formal complaint with the school, Janna Barber took the assignment to her brother Matt Barber, a conservative activist who works for the Liberty Counsel, for advice. He contacted WorldNetDaily, an online news source founded by conservative Joseph Farah. The website published a story Sept. 15. Matt Barber called the assignment unreasonable, Janna Barber said.
"I didn't know what would happen if I took the story to him," Janna Barber said. "But it didn't occur to me to go to the school. I was so thrown by the assignment."
On Sept. 16, administrators at Metro read the WorldNetDaily article and called Hallam in to talk about the issue, Metro spokesperson Cathy Lucas said.
Hallam chose the assignment because it was a current, relevant subject and would get the students civically engaged, Lucas said.
Metro had no reason to begin any investigation at this point as an official complaint against Hallam had not been lodged with the school.
But on Sept. 18, Barber filed a formal complaint.
"Once we have an outcome, we will inform the public," Lucas said. "Dr. Jordan hopes to have the investigation completed by the end of the month."
Hallam will continue to teach the class while the investigation is on going, but Lucas said he is choosing not to speak to the media at this time. Hallam has refused to answer questions from The Metropolitan.
"If (the student's) academic freedom was jeopardized or they are bullied in class," Lucas said, "we provide a safe environment for students to file a complaint without fear of retribution."
Since the story broke, Janna Barber has appeared on CBS4, the Mike Rosen show and Fox News. She said she didn't expect this much media attention.
"I wanted him to know what he was doing wasn't fair," Janna Barber said, adding she doesn't want Hallam to be fired.
Faurer said he will also volunteer for McCain's campaign but will remain in school full time.
Keele, the student filing the third complaint against Hallam, said the problem stemmed from more than just the assignment.
"The problem wasn't the assignment," Keele said. "His unethical bias toward the whole thing is my only complaint."
TIMELINE:
Sept. 11 - Adjunct professor Andrew Hallam assigns his English 1010 class to write an essay criticizing vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her "fairy tale" image.
Sept. 15 - WorldNetDaily.com publishes a story quoting Metro student Janna Barber and her brother, controversial and conservative activist Matt Barber, saying the professor's assignment was unfair. They also claimed the professor singled out Republican students in class.
Sept. 16 - Hallam meets with the administration to explain the assignment. He later expands the scope of the paper to include any presidential or vice-presidential candidate.
Sept. 17 - Denver's CBS4 is the first local media outlet to pick up the story.
Sept. 18 - Janna Barber and Jared Keele appear on the Mike Rosen show on KOA.
Janna Barber officially files a complaint with the school after learning nothing can be done until that step is complete. The investigation begins.
Sept. 23 - A second student, Ben Faurer files a complaint against Hallam.
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