Duke University Professor Bans Student Journalists from Class
A Duke University economics professor has come under fire for saying that student journalists are not allowed to enroll in her class.
Lecturer Linsey Lebowitz Hughes drew the attention of the Duke Chronicle after she announced in her syllabus that anyone who writes for the student newspaper is not welcome in her hedge fund course:
“Audio recordings of this class are not permitted and students will be asked to keep the information shared by some of our guest speakers confidential. Anyone who is on the staff of The Chronicle is not permitted to take this class. Please honor this in order that we can continue to get high quality visitors and information.”
Economics professor Emma Rasiel sent the paper an email, saying that even though the syllabus was “poorly worded,” it was meant to stress the importance of keeping certain guest speaker remarks off the record. Former Chronicle editor-in-chief and Duke Student Publishing Company chairman Scott McCartney-Trinity reacted to the news by saying that the school cannot ban people from a class over membership with a particular student group.
“No student should be barred from a class because of extracurricular activities, and no Duke class should be hidden from open access to the university community,” McCartney said. “To ban Chronicle staffers from a class is absurd discrimination and shouldn’t be tolerated by Duke.”
Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Michael Schoenfeld was asked for comment, and he said in an email that there was no indication that the ban was ever enforced in previous years. Schoenfeld told The Herald-Sun that Hughes “was notified that [the ban] was not appropriate,” and that she has offered an apology on the matter.
[Image via EQRoy / Shutterstock]
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