Had a professor shut down a debate about campus parking fees in front of 80 students last fall at UMass

I was sitting in my Intro to Poli Sci class in September, and we were talking about how the school spends student fees. A kid raised his hand and asked why we pay $400 a year for parking passes when faculty park free. The professor cut him off mid sentence and said that topic isn't relevant to the syllabus and we need to stick to the textbook. Then she moved on to the next slide like nothing happened. The whole room got quiet and nobody said a word for the rest of the hour. Has anyone else had a teacher just block a simple question like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_mitchell13d ago

Devil's advocate here. Parking is a massive expense for universities, and faculty parking is often part of their contract negotiation. That $400 student fee probably covers maintenance, lighting, and plowing for lots that sit half empty on weekends. If teachers had to pay, they'd just add it to salary demands or take a job at a school that gives free parking. Plus, the syllabus exists for a reason - that class was about how fees get spent, not a debate on why faculty don't pay. The professor could have been trying to keep 80 people from wasting time on a tangent that wasn't going anywhere productive.

dakota_singh3913d ago

Kept a water bottle on my desk during one lecture and made eye contact with the prof until they acknowledged me, then just asked my question calmly in front of everyone. Worked way better than getting cut off mid sentence.