Professors upset about site
ByEricRineer
Staff writer
While some students say it’s
encouraging to view critiques of their
professors on the Internet, a number of
faculty members are beginning to take
it personally.
The student critiques, which can be
found _■ on sites such as
TeacherReview.com and coilegestu-.
dent.com, include information about
professors that other students can check
out before registering for classes.
The critiques rate professors on a
one to 10 scale or give them a grade
from A to F.
Some of the comments made on
TeacherReview have prompted an
English professor at the City College of
San Francisco to file suit for emotional
distress and damages for defamation.
Daniel Curzon-Brown, a tenured
professor at the college, said he wanted
to put an end to students’ posting of
false information about professors’
teaching skills and personal lives on the
Web.
TeacherReview, which was created
by a student, allows students from the
City College of San Francisco and San
Francisco State University to voice
opinions about professors.
Collegestudent.com has links to
universities including the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
Curzon-Brown, who said he waS~
Urinals,
Halloween
celebrated
URINALS from page 1
Architecture Hall West.
No one was really sure as to how
the Halloween celebration of the uri
nals originated. Sophomore architec
ture major Dena Wangberg said she
thinks it may be related to the date of
the traditional Hinsdale celebration.
Within the architectural commu
nity on.campus, the celebrations of
the Hinsdales have been inconsis-,
tently held. The date of the urinals’
patent was Nov. 1,1901.
Wangberg thinks that because
this date is so close to Halloween, the
two celebrations overlapped and
became one.
This year’s celebration included a
costume contest and the crowning of
Hinsdale royalty.
The winner of the costume con
test for both best costume and most
: original costume went to senior
architecture major Josh Baker.
For Baker’s Halloween costume,
he shaved part of his head to resem
ble one of his professors.
This brave act was rewarded with
his being crowned king of the cele
bration. His queen was fellow senior
architecture major Scott Sawyers,
who came dressed as Ginger from
“Gilligan’s Island.”
I he cost tor admittance to the
party was one roll of toilet paper and
one can of food. The toilet paper, an
item loosely related to the'urinals,"'
was used to decorate the link and will
remain there during the weekend.
At the celebration, costume-clad
: students also bobbed for apples. >
(■ For many, the event was just a
way to get out and have a good time.
Billy Brice, a sophomore architec
ture major, said: “We’re all kinda
crazy. We don’t get out often.”
Everyone seemed to be having a
good time.
For B.J. Woehler, another senior
architecture major, it was a chance to
; do something different.
“I’ve celebrated with the
Hinsdales, but never at a party,”
1 Woehler said with a grin.
r
gay, said he was probably being unfair
ly targeted by the students because of
his sexual orientation.
One of the excerpts that can be
found on TeacherReview says the fol
lowing about Curzon-Brown:
“I would just like to say this man is
a complete disaster. I have never taken
his class, but I can tell from the other
comments. Only a complete egomania
cal idiot would announce to his students
on the first day of class that he’s a
superfag, and if they don’t like it, get
out”
The Internet postings are submitted
anonymously.
Curzon-Brown said he took these
comments to heart.
I m a gay writer, and 1 believe in
free speech,” he said. “It does not give
anyone the right to tell vicious lies about
people.”
Collegestudent.com representatives
said evaluations are edited, but a UNL
professor said the site was disturbing.
Jitender Deogun, a UNL computer
science and engineering professor rated
negatively and positively on collegestu
dent.com, said he thought more law
suits would follow San Francisco’s.
“I think that’s what will happen,” he
said. “I think this is going too far.
“I don’t think anybody has the right
to look at my evaluations except for my
department administration.”
Griffin Davis, vice president of
marketing at collegestudent.com, said
employees would edit comments if they
found them to be too offensive.
“If it’s anything that’s not going to
add value, we will either strip it down or
edit out the offensive comments,” he
said.
Curzon-Brown and his lawyer,
Geoffrey Kors, gave examples of
excerpts they said they had read on
TeacherReview.
The comments they said they had
seen on the site referred to sexual acts
and some threatened professors lives.
Kors said the lawsuit would send a
message to students to stop posting
defamatory statements.
“There’s no problem with students
putting up reviews of teachers,” Kors
said. “There is a problem when outright
lies are posted.”
Robert Denicola, an NU law profes
sor, said a case such as Curzon-Brown’s
couia succeea.
“Assuming the statements were
false, they do seem to be defamatory,”
Denicola said. “So I do think there
would be a likelihood of it succeeding
in a defamation action.”
Students at UNL said they support
ed sites that evaluated professors.
Christi Walters, a freshman unde
clared major, said evaluations should
be taken as constructive criticism.
Walters said Curzon-Brown was
probably putting too much stock into
the issue.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” she said. “I
think he’s just embarrassed that he
sucks as a teacher.”
-• . : :——-”-• ■ J;; l • V ', t -—. 'J" 14*! " i : i V !
Use the Internet for
Something Other
Than a Grade.
www.dougtheatres.com
^_DOUGLAS THEATRE CO._^
MCatholic Students:
j SEARCHING? |
Join us for an informal evening of sharing
Wednesday, November 17 at 7 p.m.
3 For More Information, contact:
CALL TO ACTION-NEBRASKA @ 499-6079
Call to Action is a national association of Catholic bishops,
priests, religious, and laity dedicated to social justice and
M progressive Church reform. B
Pulliam Journalism Fellowships
Graduating college seniors are invited to apply for the 27th
annual Pulliam Journalism Fellowships. We will grant 10-week
summer internships to 20 journalism or liberal arts majors in the
August 1999-June 2000 graduating classes.
Previous internship or part-time experience at a newspaper is
desired. Winners will receive a $5,500 stipend and will work at
either The Indianapolis Star or The Arizona Republic.
Early-admissions application postmark deadline is Nov. 15, 1999.
By Dec. 15, 1999, up to five early-admissions winners will be
notified. All other entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2000.
To request an application packet, visit our Web site, e-mail us or
write: Russell B. Pulliam
Fellowships Director
Indianapolis Newspapers
P.O. Box 145
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Mexican American Student Association —
University Program Council
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