Chaplain Ken Higgins sent an email to students on Sept. 18 e-mail that stated: “If you’re scared about the prospects for this election, you’re not alone. The most important way to make a difference in the outcome is to activate yourself. It would be just fine with McCain if Obama supporters just think about helping, then sleep in and stay home between now and Election Day.” He then said that an unnamed sponsor in the History Department would give them two credits for the work, even noting “It is relatively (easy) to do late add-ons.”
The school has nixed the idea but declined to name the history professor.
In the meantime, Professor Andrew Hallam, apart-time English teacher at Metropolitan State College in Denver, wanted to see such work himself. He ordered students to write essays critical of Sarah Palin as a formal assignment. He tells the students to address “her body language, facial expressions, the way she dressed, what she said and who she pointed out or talked about in her speech. How do these elements form a ‘fairy tale’ image about Sarah Palin as a person and as a politician that the Republican Party may wish its members and the American public to believe?”
For the Denver article, click here.
For the full story from UMass, click here.