Nobel Laureate Professor: I'm Banning Guns in My UT Classroom

[Distinguished Rick]

All I can say is good luck. Liberals sure whine when they don't get their way. I'm sure UT can find a replacement for him.

[SA-TX]

All I can say is good luck. Liberals sure whine when they don't get their way. I'm sure UT can find a replacement for him.

It won't be so easy. They'll try every trick in the book to appease him: "he has a laboratory", "he has xyz machinery and a firearm discharging could be dangerous", etc. It wouldn't surprise me if they put a small child care facility in his building so they can declare it gun-free. Why not? County commissioners are doing it all over the state and there is a law specifically against it. Here the board has some discretion.

No, we are going to be fighting these for awhile. Sigh.

SA-TX

[Smokey]

What is "academic freedom" and how is it more free than ACTUAL freedom of those who chose to carry? By wanting his supposed academic freedom he is seeking to repress the freedom of others. And those who choose to carry would not be taking away his right to free speech by doing so.

[mojo84]

This is the kind of attitude tenure leads to.

[Abraham]

When some insane person or terrorist comes to his classroom to shoot his students and himself, I wonder how firm his anti-gun stance will hold...?

[goose]

What is "academic freedom" and how is it more free than ACTUAL freedom of those who chose to carry? By wanting his supposed academic freedom he is seeking to repress the freedom of others. And those who choose to carry would not be taking away his right to free speech by doing so.

I was trying to figure out academic freedom as well. He should be able to speak on any topic, whether it is in his field of study or not. UT can't repress his academic freedom to teach law or mechanical engineering or economics. He has a constitutional right to academic freedom!! Well, kinda. I mean, we all know that the founding fathers meant to put it in there. Right after the right to pick vinegar based BBQ sauce over the actually good stuff.

I have to wonder how he will enforce his rule. Metal detectors or "extra credit" pat downs before each class? "Ms. Jimenez, you looked a little suspicious yesterday so this might be a bit more thorough.............."

Can we at least hope that UT can choose to not pay for his courtroom expenses? If he has them contractually obligated to pay the lawyers, he has no skin in the game. Why not (from his perspective)?

[Distinguished Rick]

When some insane person or terrorist comes to his classroom to shoot his students and himself, I wonder how firm his anti-gun stance will hold...?

His "validation" will be full of holes.....unfortunately.

[ScottDLS]

Maybe students will just CC anyway and no one will be the wiser.

[Jusme]

A Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the University of Texas at Austin declared Monday that he will try to ban guns his classroom this fall, even if university rules and state law say he can't.

Steven Weinberg, who won the top prize in science in 1979, said at the university's faculty council meeting that he understands the decision could leave him vulnerable to a lawsuit. Most university task forces across the state have found that Texas' new campus carry law prohibits such a ban. But Weinberg said he believes that he would eventually win that suit because forcing professors to allow guns quashes constitutionally protected free speech and academic freedom.

http://www.texastribune.org/2016/01/25/ ... my-classr/

What will he be saying that will suddenly cause less than 4% of his students to open fire? Are Physics students normally prone to violent outbursts regarding Newton's Law or E=MC2?

Anyone carrying on campus will be CC how will he enforce his ban? Surely he won't violate anyone's rights by conducting warrant-less searches will he??

[VMI77]

What is "academic freedom" and how is it more free than ACTUAL freedom of those who chose to carry? By wanting his supposed academic freedom he is seeking to repress the freedom of others. And those who choose to carry would not be taking away his right to free speech by doing so.

Academic freedom is telling white people, and especially white Christian males, to shut up, because "white privilege," and all males to shut up because, patriarchy, and climate change skeptics to shut up because, science. IOW, academic freedom now means the freedom for the left to silence the voices of anyone they disagree with.

[JALLEN]

Maybe I should suggest to ADM now Chancellor McRaven that the prof be assigned to teach "Elementary Physics for Non-technical Majors" (aka Idiot Physics) to students under age 21, none of whom can lawfully carry anyway.

He's in his 80's, riding off into the sunset anyway.

Problem solved, worries resolved.

[howdy]

AS already said, this guy is 82 years old. How many classes does he actually "teach". I bet he has teaching assistants doing all the class work and he just draws a pay check.

[mojo84]

Considering how much weight some put into IQ tests and how stupid and misguided our current youth are today, I wonder when did this character get his education and form such liberal values that he holds near and dear.

This is further evidence this decline has been going on for some time now and we should be somewhat careful about throwing stones at the youth today as much of the deterioration has happened on our and our father's watch.

[JALLEN]

Considering how much weight some put into IQ tests and how stupid and misguided our current youth are today, I wonder when did this character get his education and form such liberal values that he holds near and dear.

This is further evidence this decline has been going on for some time now and we should be somewhat careful about throwing stones at the youth today as much of the deterioration has happened on our and our father's watch.

My granddad, a Houstonian born in 1900, often observed that the country was going down the drain.

Of course, he blamed it all on Elvis.