Philosophical Questions For Everyone (Would Really Like to Hear From Teachers)

[Kristin]

Okay I have a philosophical(for lack of a better word) question(s) 
for everyone. I don't know if this has made it around to the whole 
country or not, so I'll give a little background info first to help 
with your thoughts.

There's a professor who teaches ancient history at the University of 
New Mexico here in Albuquerque. A day or two after the attacks on the 
WTC and the Pentagon he made this comment in class during a lecture. 
"Anybody who can bomb the Pentagon gets my vote."  He now claims that 
it was a poor and insensitive attempt at a joke and has since 
apologized for the remark. 

Several state legislators and students have called for his 
resignation, saying that his comment is subversive and borders on 
treason. Others say he has the right to academic freedom and freedom 
of speech protected by the 1st Amendment. 

So my questions to you all are: 

1)How do you feel about his comments?
 
2)Do you think expressing his political views during class is an 
appropriate forum? 

3)If it was a current events class as opposed to acient history would 
you view the remark differently?

4)Do you think any comments a instructor makes in class be considered 
protected speech? Especially if it has nothing to do with the subject 
matter?

5)Do you think he should be disciplined? If so, to what extent?

My friends and I have been discussing it for the last two weeks and 
I'm really curious to see what you all think of this. 

Thanks,

Kristin