Somehow Wicked Walter Must Be Behind This.

Arizona, Florida and Texas propose to arm college professors

January 26, 2011
By Mandi Gosling
From the Daily Sundial (Cal State Northridge)

Legislators in Arizona, Florida and Texas are proposing a law that would allow community college and university instructors to arm themselves with concealed weapons.

Currently, only Utah allows concealed weapons on college campuses and they are banned in 24 other states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But in searching for solutions to gun violence on campuses, adding more guns to the equation is not the answer.

Admittedly, sitting in class, there are days where I have looked around and realized that if someone wanted to pull a gun out of their backpack and open fire in the classroom, there would be nowhere to run or hide.  Generally, there is only one exit, and with some 30 people in the room, we aren’t all going to make it the door.

And as I play that scenario in my mind, I suppose it would be a hero’s tale if the professor pulled out his Glock 22, fired back and saved us all.

I realize the fear of being shot in class is an irrational one, but it’s hard not to at least consider the possibility.

Full article.

Thirsty: Is campaigning for academic society posts okay or creepy?

I have recently received an e-mail asking for my vote in the upcoming election of the BasketWeaving Science Academy. The e-mail is likely done via a mail merge, but it is done very well.

I find this to be a combination of off-putting, unseemly, and just plain weird. Why would I vote for anyone that wanted that badly to be vice-president of member relations?

So, what are the customs or expectations of academic society elections in your field? Is campaigning okay or just creepy?

Sally from Santa Fe With an Open Letter to Search Committees.

Note from the moderator:

Sally asked me to pull her post. We sort of frown on this, but we wanted to accede to her request. She did tell us that she felt some of the identifiers in it might make her easier to unmask. She's also posted a comment below.