Student suspended for insulting prof on Twitter
The Local/at - [email protected]
Published: 2 May, 2014 CET.
Updated: Fri 2 May 2014 10:39 CET
A Swedish college has suspended a 21-year-old female student who took to Twitter to insult her teacher's appearance while he was giving a lecture.
The male teacher at Jönköping University told administrators that he noticed the student taking a picture of him, and that the incident not only disrupted the lecture but left him feeling upset and violated.
The notes from the disciplinary hearing did not specify what kind of comments the 21-year-old woman made. She has since said her actions were "immature".
She explained that she had felt offended by the teacher, who had made disparaging remarks about one of her essays in front of the other students.
"She claims, however, that she did not intend to ridicule the teacher and that she regrets her behaviour, which she herself called 'immature'," the disciplinary committee noted, before suspending the young woman for two weeks from her studies. Despite the student's claim that she intended no harm, the committee ruled that her behaviour was "evidently meant to violate and ridicule" the teacher. A Twitter account under the teacher's name has only one update, posted shortly after the incident last autumn. It said: "Sweden's private information laws: It is illegal to publish a picture of someone who is not aware of it and at the same time express yourself in a manner that violates that person (kränkande)."
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The male teacher at Jönköping University told administrators that he noticed the student taking a picture of him, and that the incident not only disrupted the lecture but left him feeling upset and violated.
The notes from the disciplinary hearing did not specify what kind of comments the 21-year-old woman made. She has since said her actions were "immature".
She explained that she had felt offended by the teacher, who had made disparaging remarks about one of her essays in front of the other students.
"She claims, however, that she did not intend to ridicule the teacher and that she regrets her behaviour, which she herself called 'immature'," the disciplinary committee noted, before suspending the young woman for two weeks from her studies.
Despite the student's claim that she intended no harm, the committee ruled that her behaviour was "evidently meant to violate and ridicule" the teacher.
A Twitter account under the teacher's name has only one update, posted shortly after the incident last autumn. It said: "Sweden's private information laws: It is illegal to publish a picture of someone who is not aware of it and at the same time express yourself in a manner that violates that person (kränkande)."
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