Out of Control Cornell Instructor

Bogney
Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:40:46 +0000

If the yawner (assuming it was a loud yawn) had been my son, my reaction would have been at least as strong as the professor’s. It is unbelievably arrogant and rude of a student to do that to an adult - a student who does that is not an adult.

I would have been dissapointed that he did not have the courage to confess his misconduct and apologize. The focus here should be the student’s conduct, not the professor’s, unless it truly was somehow a fantom yawn.

The professor’s conduct was not the best, but it was not outrageous in my view. Try practicing law before antediluvian federal court judges who run their own little fiefdoms and enjoy life tenure - they throw tantrums and there is no recourse unless it is on the record and the record captures the tone and volume, and even still the relief on appeal is quite unlikely absent a sufficient record to show that the conduct might have tainted the jury. You are representing a client, so you can’t just walk out. My often than not, it has happened to my opponents, but it is unpleasant watching it happen.