This summer, two of my colleagues became the subject of a YouTube viral video. Maybe you heard about the swearing, pants-dropping debate coaches (well, only one dropped his drawers) videotaped (with their consent) at the national cross-examination debate tournament… It was quite a spectacle. Since then, the video has been taken down, the debate association has issued a statement, the mooner was fired (purportedly, for years of questionable conduct) and the other young coach sanctioned by her University. YouTube consumers have moved on to fresher fodder. Yet, as midterms approach, new “angry professor” videos are likely to surface – momentary catharsis for undergrads trapped in fill-in-the-blank purgatory. No college is immune from this new virus…
VIRAL VIDEOS ARE A NEW FORM OF FALLOUT
Though colleges have had to manage external criticism in the past, the viral video phenomenon is a different beast. Consider the issues our campus faced a couple of years ago with the fresh(wo)man text War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning…(New York Sun article: “Baruch Requires Students Read Book Some Are Labeling Anti-Semitic“).
Though the issue received prominent attention in the print press, the back-and-forth was short-lived, the college had time to craft a response (i.e., freedom of speech), and the exchange was largely print-based. The story reached thousands – not millions. The story lacked compelling oral and visual content (e.g., yelling, crying – mooning). It paled in comparison to the storm surrounding the viral debate video (e.g., print and television stories, a rumored Chronicle investigation, a 100% funding cut for one program and potentially related cuts at other colleges). Comparatively, the War controversy was tame. Importantly, it did not result in financial fallout…
OUTSIDER OPINION AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE (AND POOR STUDENTS)
College costs are rising, tax levy and financial aid moneys are in flux, and increasingly we need donor/investor money to bridge the gaps. Their money enables poor, working, and middle class students to enjoy the privilege of post-secondary education (aside: thank you for subsidizing my B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. Ohio/national taxpayers!) If they respond to controversy by curtailing their support, students can be deprived of programs, perspectives, professors… To the extent that most students cannot afford the “true” costs of their schooling (i.e., a 100% tuition-funded institution…), we have to consider/manage how their underwriters perceive our campus. Viral video makes us more vulnerable… financially and intellectually…
VIRAL VIDEO DESTROYS/ENHANCES FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The viral video phenomenon presents unique freedom of speech/academic integrity issues. In the debate coach case, viral video was used to normalize and silence. The video’s post-er provided no description of background/context (e.g., these coaches haven’t slept in days, community norms do not prohibit obscenities) and encouraged viewers to censure participants (e.g., contact the coaches’ department chairs – related videos contained names and addresses!) The message was clear: “monitor yourself more vigilantly, take few risks, you are being watched.” The video complemented a growing disciplinary regime that rewards professors for conforming to ever-stricter prescriptions (e.g., professors at a number of institutions have been told: “you will teach X, you will seek Y outcomes, your Z must not offend donors…”). To me, these prescriptions are often anti-intellectual (e.g., they over-emphasize civility, stifle dissent, give outsiders veto power over academic content…). Yet, viral videos also seem incredibly empowering (I’m a post-modernist – multi-facets are my thing)…
Students can now reveal what goes on behind classroom doors. To the extent that teachers create undemocratic environments and stifle students’ growth, they can be “outed” to the outside world. Students are no longer the captives of their professors! This is exciting! And dangerous! And it deserves our attention…
So… please contribute your thoughts on this issue… both here and beyond the confines of cyberspace…
