We disapprove of our former classmate's behavior, both in class and after his voluntary withdrawal. We feel that Professor Straus made a genuine effort to keep his own politics far away from the classroom and that the line of questioning pursued by our classmate sought to undermine this by forcing answers which would reveal Professor Straus' personal opinions. At no point were Joe McWilliams' opinions repressed, nor were his political viewpoints at issue. This was strictly a behavioral issue, not an ideological standoff. His actions were not conducive to a learning environment and were disrespectful to students and the professor alike.
Our former classmate's behavior was far from exemplary. His questions were rarely topical and frequently provided a disincentive for others to participate in class discussion for fear that they would be ridiculed. When questions were posed by other students, our former classmate would repeatedly interject, demanding that students qualify their questions. Despite many requests to remain courteous and topical, he did neither.
In light of the actions that our former classmate has taken, we feel it necessary to inform others of his behavior and the fallacious statements that have been made regarding the class and its contents. In addition we are condemning his write-up of Professor Straus on Students for Academic Freedom, which relied on fabricated information, conjecture and distortion of facts to malign and slander an otherwise innocent professor. The level of education provided by Professor Straus is of the highest quality. With unanimous consent, we are honored Professor Scott Straus has chosen the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The above was submitted as a joint statement by the students in International Studies 601/Political Science 401: Politics of Human Rights, in response to articles that ran Tuesday documenting McWilliams' case.
