U. Of Illinois Officials Talk Classroom Ban For Trolling Faculty

URBANA, IL — The University of Illinois is trying to figure out a way to protect faculty members from students who bring online harassment into a classroom. According to Herald&Review, Jay Rosenstein, a media and cinema studies professor at the university, came up with a resolution in November that asked for the ability to prevent a student from enrolling in a certain professor's class, stemming from his own harassment experience.

Herald&Review reported that according to The (Champaign) News-Gazette, Rosenstein said someone who disagreed with his criticism of the school's former mascot harassed him online for months before enrolling in one of his classes. According to Rosenstein's proposed draft, the ban would only apply to a student if the class isn't a graduation requirement and is only taught by that faculty member. The student would also have a previous history of "persistent trolling, harassment, obsession with, or stalking, either electronically or in person, of that particular faculty member," according to the news report, which adds that most senators are opposed to banning students based on their social media.

Herald&Review said the campus' academic senate has considered a resolution centered on officials clarifying the policies in place for how to handle classroom disruptions, in addition to putting them on a website for faculty to easily access and understand. However, Rosenstein doesn't believe the revised proposal does enough to take on trolling.

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