(THE PICKET)—They are words that were bleeped out on TV. They are censored in print. Now they are heard just about everywhere, even in university classrooms.
“I think it’s very unprofessional when professors do it, I mean I know we all curse, but in the work place I think it shouldn’t be used,” said Britny Compton, 20, a senior psychology major at Shepherd University. “At the same time though, I know we’re all adults and it slips out.”
Some students said that they find it unprofessional, especially from professors who are teaching a major that requires no profanity, such as education and nursing.
Compton said, “I definitely have problems with the ‘f-word.’ I do not like hearing that one in a professional setting period.”
On the other side, a lot of students accept it as a part of the culture and find it more sociable when a professor curses.
“I don’t mind it. Of course I would never want a professor to curse at me or another student, but I do feel that when a professor curses it makes them personable. I don’t mind hearing s*** or d***. I think I’m more likely to hear what a professor is saying when he or she uses them,” said Taylor Meek, 21, a senior communications major at Shepherd.
Acknowledging that cursing can make others uncomfortable, Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt, a professor of English and Appalachian Heritage WIR project director at Shepherd University, said, “I love language—in all its full and technicolor splendor! There are times when a colorful but taboo word will slip out and it may well catch the emotion of the moment quite wonderfully, though there are some words that do make me cringe. In speaking or in writing, if words are overused or if they have no appropriateness to the moment, be they colorful or not, they tend to lose effectiveness and meaning. So for a ‘curse’ word to work, it must be used sparingly and with ‘appropriate’ gusto. On the other hand, it is not good to make others uncomfortable with one’s language.”
When asked what words were considered acceptable or not, Dr. Shurbutt said, “That is a tough question to answer because some words out of the mouths of some folks seem OK and out of the mouths of others seem not OK. I am very much against censoring any university professor in his/her classroom. On the other hand, I would be offended if cursing flew like water over Niagara Falls. Everything depends on the setting, the person, the authenticity of the moment. I do believe that if my words offend any student, whatever those words are, I need to think carefully about using them again.”
Casey Gale, in her article for The Rider News, said, “Professors are like the rest of us. While they should set a good example for students, cursing every so often is not something that makes someone a bad worker or a bad person. As long as professors do not curse on a regular basis or speak in a way that offends a student, they should act and speak the way that feels most natural to them. A professor’s ease in speaking to a class only helps students connect with him or her, creating a positive learning experience.”
Some professors said that the use of profanity and cursing is a teaching tool.
According to an article by Grace Chen in Community College Review, Daniel Petersen, a professor at the Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii for 21 years, used profanity to gain the attention of his students.
“I do what I do to wake students up,” Petersen told the Star-Advertiser. “It makes them stand up and take notice.
One of Petersen’s students complained to a parent and the campus asked him to stop cursing. After a lengthy struggle to keep his cursing, Petersen, holding firm to his strategy, resigned.
Some disagree with its use, but it looks like colorful language will stick around.
Katie Gayman is a practicum writer for The Picket. She can be reached at kgayma01@rams.shepherd.edu or followed on Twitter @katie_gayman
Leave a Reply