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Comment by gosu | Hacker News Reader

That's definitely good advice at the end, but I think that the professor's response is pretty disproportionate.

Presumably, it was a much ruder interruption to the class to stop everything and publicly humiliate a student whom he felt disrespected by. And it's extremely rude to take a personal email and forward it to the entire class (who presumably would be able to recognize the student).

Maybe the intent was to "smack some sense" into a student for their own benefit, but that's really presuming a lot about a person from a handful of data points.

Also, how likely is this to be BS?

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A professor forwarding an email they received from a student into a public or semi-public forum, especially with negative intent, isn't even legal in many countries. The rules aren't quite as strict as attorney-client privilege, but there are still restrictions on disclosing information about student performance that you receive in the course of your duties (with "performance" generally including behavioral issues). In the U.S., it's arguably a FERPA violation to do so. Whether X'ing the name out is sufficient to avoid the issue, I don't know. I wouldn't risk it myself.

If something comes up in class, on the other hand, it's generally okay to address it in class, since it was already raised in that venue; you can scold a student who creates a disruption in class. But forwarding an email that was sent specifically to you (not to a class listserv) to the entire class is a bit different.

> In the U.S., it's arguably a FERPA violation to do so.

Not if, as in this case, the student's identity is concealed. In such a case, it becomes as valid an instructional element as a psychological case history (where the subject's identity is always concealed).

It's true that psychological case histories are published, but much more carefully. You need to make a formal proposal to an independent review board, which will assess your proposed anonymization protocol and the circumstances of data collection and disclosure. The bar is particularly high if you're asking to release a case study where you don't have documentation of the subject's consent (even for anonymized case studies).

> It's true that psychological case histories are published, but much more carefully.

Yes, that's increasingly true as time passes. Freud's case histories were marked with the subject's real initials, and this practice continued up to the 1950s. I'm not excusing, just explaining.

Even in modern times, very detailed case histories are published as long as there's no credible risk of associating the study with a particular individual, or consent is obtained from someone able to give informed consent.

While I agree with the subject of the response, I disagree with your interpretation of FERPA. Any student who was in that class would have a clear, unambiguous knowledge of the student's identity, and mere 'xxx'ing of the name is a cursory, even illusory attempt at maintaining privacy.

Yes, true but from the standpoint of the public, the professor's action was well-advised. A claim of libel would require that the student's identity become public knowledge, something the obfuscation prevented.

I'm speaking about the general issue of a potential libel action and invasion of privacy, not specifically about FERPA.

Additionally, here's the "Default Policies for Stern Courses" page on the school's site:

"Arriving Late, Leaving Early, Coming & Going

"Students are expected to arrive to class on time and stay to the end of the class period.

"Arriving late or leaving class early will have impact on the course grade.

"Students may enter class late only if given permission by the instructor and can do so without disrupting the class.

"(Note that instructors are not obliged to admit late students or readmit students who leave class or may choose to admit them only at specific times.)"

http://www.stern.nyu.edu/AcademicAffairs/Policies/GeneralPol...

> Presumably, it was a much ruder interruption to the class to stop everything and publicly humiliate a student whom he felt disrespected by.

Not at the beginning of the school semester, when what is and is not tolerated is more likely to create an indelible impression. The professor's behavior had a point -- to mark unacceptable behavior as such, in a way that everyone would get the message.

> Also, how likely is this to be BS?

That's always a risk in online postings. But even if it's fictional, it rings true.

Check out his twitter feed: https://twitter.com/profgalloway

Looks like people still contact him about it.

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