So What?

So What?

Dr. Michael Kay firing, student protest

This article described Quad Angles' support for Dr. Michael Kay and how they will protest his wrongful termination. The author vouched for Kay as a decent professor and member of the campus community.

MMC

Quad Angles

Special Collections, Francis Harvey Green Library, West Chester University

1970-02-10

Maria Marabito

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https://digital.klnpa.org/digital/collection/wcnp01/id/13880/rec/26

So What? Editorial Okay, so we're having a moratorium Thursday.So what? What'll staying away from classes do? For one thing, boycotting your classes, for one day, may bring the voice of the students closer to the administration than IGA itself could ever bring it. Staying away from classes, for one day, just might show that, contrary to popular belief, West Chester State students can unite in defense of principles which they consider truly important for the future of the college. (We are already prepared for the inane reports from the DAILY LOCAL, calling the moratorium "just another feeble West Chester protest.") Successful or not, Thursday's moratorium will be an effective way (maybe the only way) for students to show how they feel about academic freedom. Why the emphasis on academic freedom? Freedom to teach, to speak, to act without fear of losing one's position on a faculty is the basis of a quality faculty, and a quality college. This is why the American Association of University Professors has made violation of academic freedom the only cause for appeal on the non-renewal of an untenured professor's contract. However, it may be suggested that "academic freedom" should not be the only point considered in the appeal of a dismissed professor. It is possible that the question of "due process" should also be investigated. In some cases, it is possible that, consciously or not, channels of appeal were denied the professor in question. It is also possible that the process of eliminating a professor from the college payroll began in the wrong place; In other words, action against renewal of a professor's contract may have begun with some administrative official higher than the departmental chairman. It is even possible that a professor is being dismissed for invalid reasons. This is the problem which, in one way or another, confronts the besieged, untenured professor. It is also the problem which Dr. Michael Kay, and the many students and faculty members who support him must face in appealing his "non-renewal of contract" to the proper authorities. QUAD ANGLES, as a student organization is very concerned with the plight of Dr. Kay. As the majority of his students testify, and as a great number of administrative officials have already stated, Dr. Kay is more than capable as a scholar and as a teacher. And, in covering campus activities for years before his arrival, we must state that we cannot find evidence of his actively attempting to injure or endanger the administration of West Chester state college, as some seem to feel. And there is no evidence that he intends to do so. Dr. Kay is an extraordinary person. Few people possess the quality, or the courage to stir the usually calm atmosphere of this college to contest a valid issue. Thus, QUAD ANGLES must state that it considers Dr. Kay's endorsements, abilities, and activities as far outweighing any conceivable reason for his discontinuation as a faculty member at West Chester State college, With this in mind, QUAD ANGLES respectfully requests the reinstatement of Dr. Michael Kay. MMC