EDITORIAL – Lighten up, profs: Ex-con fit to teach course

Many professors have spent too much time in ivory towers; a visiting professor at Hamilton… Many professors have spent too much time in ivory towers; a visiting professor at Hamilton College spent time in an entirely different sort of confining institution — prison.

Hamilton, in upstate New York, hired Susan Rosenberg, who was convicted of possession of explosives in 1984, served 16 years in prison and had her sentence commuted by President Clinton in 2001. She will teach a one-time course titled “Resistance Memoirs: Writing, Identity and Change.”

To that we say: cool. College is supposed to be about a forum of ideas, a place where professors can dispense not only what they’ve learned from scholarly tomes, but also what they’ve experienced. Anyone who’s taken Nathan Davis’ History of Jazz knows that, while Davis is immensely knowledgeable about the subject, the most interesting part of the course is hearing his stories about life touring with jazz giants like Charlie Parker.

Similarly, Rosenberg — who claimed the explosives were to be used in “non-lethal” bombings, as a form of protest, and who obtained a masters degree in literature while in prison — has the knowledge to make this course interesting and relevant. Rather than simply handing knowledge down to students, Rosenberg can provide real-life experience about writing in prison.

But several Hamilton faculty members are expressing objections to this course, one comparing hiring Rosenberg to bringing in O.J. Simpson to teach a course on the sociology of sports, according to an Associated Press report. The faculty member also noted that Rosenberg’s qualifications were minimal, as she only has a master’s degree.

Yet colleges should bring in controversial figures — and, really, who wouldn’t take a course from O.J. Simpson, if one were offered?

In a time when people whose qualifications are minimal, like grad students, are increasingly teaching, other factors should be considered and experience taken into account. Under strict regulations, Stephen King, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, Orono, wouldn’t be allowed to teach horror writing, although he’s the most qualified person on earth to do so.

Additionally, allowing Rosenberg to teach such a course isn’t approving of her actions; she’s teaching English, not indoctrination. If Rosenberg is worthy of having her sentence commuted, and is qualified to teach a one-shot course, then her fellow professors should stop fussing about it. Experience trumps book-learnin’, sometimes. Hamilton profs, it’s time to let down your hair and escape from the ivory tower.