A Smell Arises From the Trough at RU

The total cost of this "bullying" incident.

Skadden,Arps,Slate, Meagher & Flom   $   481,685
Connell Foley                                             $     64,000
Rice Settlement (Former coac                        $   475,000
Pernetti (former AD)                                   $1,200,000
New Basketball Coach*                              $5,000,000
Athletic Dir. Search                                     $     70,000
Crisis Management (?)**                              $   150,000
                                                                        ________
Total                                                                $7,440,685

*The five year contract for the new coach who has roughly a .330 win average.
** I am not for "bullying" anyone but a coach throwing a ball and yelling at a twenty something person who stands over six feet tall and weighs near two hundred pounds;I don't know if I would call this "bullying"? Does this really rise to the level of "crisis"??
Is this person being "bullied" or simply being subjected to a coach's mature tantrum. If the "bullied" person was so offended, couldn't he just have said "I quit" and leave the team? 
Does RU really have to spend this exorbitant amount of money (BTW it is our money, the taxpayers of NJ) to cure the problem.
Why do we have to shovel all this money to high priced lawyers and companies to correct this "bullying" incident?
Is it possible that a word or two to the coach and the athletic director could have sufficed?
Well, I guess not, probably because then all the aforementioned would not be in line to receive the outlandish payouts that were awarded!
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And while I'm at it, how about some other RU payouts and financial irregularities occurring over the recent past.

The former president of RU (McCormick) retires and as part of his "contract" comes back to teach 15 credit hours per semester at a salary of $315,000 per year!
The football stadium is renovated at a cost of $108,000,000 and has never been sold out since (not even close). Some of the cost has been obtained from donors but not that much. The rest was financed via bonds and of course RU (us) must pay the interest.
The present president (Barchi) receives a salary of over $600,000 per year and I don't really consider that a problem, it's a big job.
But - he also sits on Boards of Directors that do business with RU and is paid over $300,000 by them. 
Our Governor does not sees a conflict of interest here! 
He must have a serious vision problem or an inordinate amount of faith in the integrity of both Barchi and the companies !!!
I don't know about you, but for me, much of this has a very bad smell !
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And meanwhile, tuition and fees* continue to rise. 
* A back door way of extracting even more money from students without calling it a tuition increase. 
Orwellian Newspeak at its best!

Equal Under the Law?

    I have to say, right up front, that Mr. Gonzalez was injudicious in what he said (or is accused of saying anyway).

   However, after reading this article a question comes to mind? 

During my teaching career, I witnessed instances where "students" consistently harassed and "bullied" the teacher! In light of all the Bullying Laws currently in place, would it be legitimate for a teacher to file "bullying" and/or harassment charges against "students" or are these laws reserved for only "students" being "bullied"?

   Just wondering ? What do you think ?

PS - I have put "students" in quotes because those who are constantly disruptive and disrespectful can hardly be called "students"!

PSS - Teachers who experience such "bullying" and report it to their superiors are sometimes disregarded in that the "students" are not disciplined and merely sent back to class to continue their antics. There are even cases where teachers have been threatened with job loss because they "can't control the class"!

"Your mother wears army boots"

    "Your mother wears army boots" - that's what we used to say in my school days. 

   Based on the article below I supposed that the school should have been held liable for not punishing us in the severest fashion for our obvious "bullying".

    Now, before I begin my short rant, let me say that I never appreciated nor condoned anyone being "picked on". I never allowed it in my class or in the teams which I coached. Most often all it took was a stern - "I want you to leave him alone" - and the harassment would immediately stop.

I certainly am not in favor of "bullying" of any child or as a matter of fact, any adult either.

   But, my questions are:

What is the definition of "bullying"?

Is the occasionally childhood teasing really "bullying"?

Is a teacher's criticism of a student's poor performance "bullying"?

Is a teacher's insistence that a child do his homework "bullying"?

If a coach tells a player that he should have done better is that "bullying"

How about a parent nagging a child to take out the garbage?

   I think, like many things in America that are designed to improve society, the "Bullying Law" is being taken to unreasonable extremes.

   As I read the article it says "the incident" which implies that it occurred once. Does that comprise "bullying" or  is it just occasional, childish name calling?

   Additionally, it says "A.C. (the accused) is not a chronic troublemaker". I think that might suggest that he is not a "bully" but merely acting as children often do and without any malice.

   I also noted that the parent demanded $50,000 for "emotional damages" plus legal fees from the school. It seems that when there is the smell of money in the air, lawyers flock to a situation like bees to honey. Could that be the case here or is there legitimate indignation on the part of the parents who really think their child has been "bullied"?

   And lastly, if we care to take the "Bullying Law" to the extreme, as I think may have been done here, then how about this:

If a teacher is harassed and interrupted (and possibly insulted) while trying to teach a class is that "bullying" by the students.

Does the teacher have the right to press charges against those disruptive students?

Can the teacher sue for "emotional damages"?

Must the administration report the incident to the state?

   Let me reemphasize, I am not defending bullying, but I certainly think a rational approach to the situation and a reasonable definition of "bullying"  is required. If not, we soon may see almost every child (and possibly adult) in every school in the land being accused of "bullying" based  on every inane, occasional comment.;