College campuses have typically encouraged or at least fostered environments conducive to free thinking and the exploration of new ideas and philosophies. While these attitudes may have caused a lot of head scratching in the past, lately we have seen not only examples of on campus racism and anti-Semitism (and even their fostering), but great hypocrisy as well. Troubling to this observation is when professors play a dangerous game where they take unethical sides and insert themselves into a process where 
dispassion is called for rather than passion. Just ask Melissa Click who is at the center of ethical controversy.
An article appeared online in NBC News regarding a professor at the University of Missouri. The piece entitled: “University of Missouri Fires Professor Melissa Click After Scuffle With Reporter,” by Elizabeth Chuck (February 26, 2016), is illustrative of this highly unethical insertion.
To quote from the piece:
“A mass media professor who was caught on video trying to block a student journalist from filming activists last fall has been fired, the University of Missouri announced Thursday.
Melissa Click made national headlines when a video of her attempting to kick out a campus reporter during protests at the University of Missouri went viral. In the video, Click can be heard yelling ‘I need some muscle over here!’ as she tries to boot the journalist.”
I believe it is important to provide some essential background. The University of Missouri has arguably one of the finest journalism schools in the nation. Its staff is highly rated and professors such as Melissa Click are considered to be at the height of their profession. This was not a case of ignorance but intention.
There was a student protest on campus following a series of racist incidents. The protest occurred in late January. On campus racism is troubling enough, and protesting against racism should be positively recognized providing, of course, it is peaceful.
A student reporter working for the campus newspaper was sent to cover the event. There is nothing wrong with such coverage and in fact, it should be encouraged as well. As the reporter was taking pictures of the event, the media professor told him that she “got” why he was there, but she wanted him to leave. She blocked him from taking images and she called for other students to assault him.
There is no doubt that she should have been terminated, but it brings with it an entire set of ethical issues that we should explore.
Who teaches the professors?
The first, most obvious question is how professors such as Melissa Click are ethically trained? There is no question she is a very highly educated person however, being “highly educated” and ethically trained are not the same thing.
If the professor “got” why the reporter was there (after all, the professor was a journalist), why would she not only try to assault the reporter but have others join her in the assault? Her actions were antithetical to everything that open and free reporting in our society are supposed to represent.
Suppose the student journalist had been badly assaulted? It is a very valid question. Protests are emotional. Suppose other students in their zeal had attacked the reporter “as instructed” and hurt him? Would the professor have admitted liability? Would she have been responsible for damages? It deserves serious consideration and an answer.
My inclination is to believe that Dr. Click may have been somewhat of a loose cannon. This is my opinion, of course, but having been in and around more than one faculty break-room and many educators, we know that not every professor is necessary even-keeled in their approach to life. I am not necessarily bothered by unbridled spirit (as long as opinion is confined to peer-to-peer interaction), but in teaching students there is a fine line between opinion and ethical behavior.
Dr. Click may have been better served approaching the journalist, saying hello, and respecting the assignment he was called upon to handle. However, that would have taken more EQ than IQ. The emotional intelligence of the situation required a sense of balance she lacked. IQ is often not enough.
Ethical training could have helped Dr. Click. Like it or not, she was an educator and not a protestor. The university was right in dismissing her. The university should consider ethical training for their faculty.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
