via Jerz’s Literacy Weblog, a Chronicle of Higher Ed article about a student who lost his job at the college newspaper due to some comments he left on a facebook group he was a member of:
Zachary Good, a junior in Penn State’s political science department and a columnist for the Daily Collegian, joined a Facebook group that, replete with the F-word, critiques the university’s Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, an annual event that raises money for cancer research. Good, who had said in a column last fall on his personal Web site that many students take part in the Thon “because they’re told that as a member of a fraternity or sorority, they should,“ posted comments on the Facebook site that criticized the event and its supporters for being shallow and self-interested.
“Hey everybody! I’m making t-shirts for AIDS Walk 2007 — you want in??,“ Good wrote. “We’ll all wear them one day to show everyone we care about people with AIDS! I’ll make a line dance.“
It sounds like an unjust firing to me (from the limited evidence we have in the article). As I wrote in the comments (awaiting moderation at the time of this posting):
I agree with the above comment that Good could have been more civil and constructive in his criticism, it doesn’t appear (from the evidence in this article) that he deserved to lose his job. Writers should be allowed to express their opinions outside of their work, as long as they don’t claim their work represents the opinions of their employer. Additionally, how much does it make it appear there is no room for dissent at PSU?
Thoughts from others?
