OPINIONS
8
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
Absence policy set in stone
Sorry, grandma — you can’t die till after finals JANIYA HARRISON Staff Columnist
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f you’ve ever hit snooze one too many times in the morning, then you’re probably accustomed to the feeling of pure panic upon realizing that you’ve overslept for class… again. The only feeling worse than that is also realizing that you missed an exam or deadline for an important assignment. Almost every college student has experienced some type of unexpected misfortune or tragedy that kept them from attending a class or turning in an assignment on time. Cars break down, babysitters cancel, children get sick and there’s no way to take them to the doctor – all understandable circumstances, right? Wrong, according to many Georgia State professors. If you’ve ever been in one of these situations, then you’re likely familiar with the strict make-up policy that most professors have adopted. If you’re unable to produce some form of official documentation (i.e. a doctor’s note, traffic report or ticket or police report), you can no longer turn in the missed assignment or get an extension. It’s understandable, considering we all know students that skip classes and blow off assignments all semester, only to beg their professor for extra credit just before the end of term. “Towards the end of the semester, every year, grandparents suddenly start dying left and right,” Rick
Diguetts, a retired English professor at the Dunwoody campus, said. It’s true. Students have a history of inventing the most ridiculous and tragic excuses to avoid the dreaded zero that will undoubtedly drag down their GPA. But what happens when a genuine series of unfortunate events occur and it’s impossible to turn in that essay by midnight? When asked about his make-up policy and if he allows any exceptions, Diguette said, “If presented with a verifiable excuse, such as an official doctor’s note, I will consider granting an extension on an assignment – no exceptions. However, and I believe most professors will agree, you have to take these on a case-by-case basis.” It may seem a little harsh, sure, but when you’ve had twelve grandparents and a puppy suddenly die the week before finals, you’d be a skeptic too. Diguette’s advice for students that come forward expressing personal problems that kept them from class was to check class policies first. “Well, it’s happened often,” he said. “And I would remind them of the policies laid out in the syllabus. An absence is an absence, and I can’t treat one student any differently than another. In the very rare case that the student has consistently
shown initiative and care for their grades, and then there is a sudden change in behavior or effort, then something could possibly be worked out.” Don’t despair just yet! In the age of technology, whatever the situation may be, chances are that you can get some form of verifiable proof for it. Get a receipt for that new tire, it’ll have the date and time of purchase on it. Print out a screenshot of your babysitter canceling on you at the last minute. Even if you become ill, get checked out by a nurse in the Student Health Center and they can provide you with an excuse note. And if these aren’t proof enough, well… there’s always Rate My Professor.
As senators in the Student Government Association, our job has always been to advocate for all of our fellow students, not just the ones who look like us or think like us. Whether you are black, white, brown, gay, straight, religious, secular, progressive or conservative, we advocated for you over the past year, and we plan to continue advocating for you while serving as President and Vice President of the Student Government Association next year. Our opposition to the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange is rooted in our advocacy for our fellow students. Based here at Georgia State University, the GILEE program arranges for American police officers to travel overseas, train with foreign governments and learn various topics, including “counterterrorism” and “urban policing.” We object to Georgia State University’s participation in GILEE for several reasons. First, the program is run by Dr. Robert Friedmann, who has made numerous false, bigoted and politically extreme remarks, particularly about the Arab and Muslim communities. The GILEE director has repeatedly claimed that no Muslim leader ever unequivocally condemned the 9/11 attack (“I would say that to date, for example, from within Islamic sources, and I’m talking about the leadership, varied as it is, there has not been a single unequivocal condemnation of September 11th”) or other terrorist attacks (“The ‘silent majority’ of Muslims and their various advocacy groups have not yet broken their silence about terrorism, jihad and their attitude to the West.”). He has claimed that “Arab-American advocacy groups” here in the United States “support terror.” He allegedly told an audience, “The problem is, because of the First Amendment, the FBI won’t go into mosques.” He reportedly dismissed the very existence of
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letter to the editor anti-Muslim bigotry in a foreign country, saying, “There is no Islamophobia. There is knifeophobia.” He has formed official partnerships between GILEE and foreign organizations like the International Counter-Terrorism Academic Community, whose members include Sebastian Gorka, a notorious anti-Muslim extremist. Dr. Friedmann also uses the official GILEE website to engage in extreme political commentary, from supporting the Iraq War to attacking figures like former President Jimmy Carter: calling the Georgia native “one of the worst presidents in U.S. history,” arguing that he should have never received a Nobel Peace Prize, describing him and other anti-Iraq War activists as “appeasers,” and calling for him to be labeled a “supporter of genocide.” Without doubt, GILEE’s bigoted extremism impacts officers who participate in the program. When discussing what he learned from GILEE, a prominent Georgia law enforcement officer once told an audience that the program taught him that “the primary threat to democratic countries was terrorism by radical Islam.” This is false, statistically speaking. The biggest threat to “the West” is white supremacist terrorism. White supremacists and other farright extremists have killed far more people than Muslim extremists since Sept.11, 2001. The Anti-Defamation League reported that 71% of extremist-related fatalities in the States between 2008 and 2017 were committed by members of the far-right or white supremacist movements, not the Arabs or Muslims who receive so much of GILEE’s attention. Make no mistake: GILEE is not only dangerous for Arab and Muslim students. It is dangerous for women, LGBTQ people, and religious and racial minorities. On its website, GILEE states that it has conducted executive law enforcement training with law enforcement agencies from China, Egypt, Hungary, and Israel. GILEE also reports that it has given public safety briefings to Hungary, Kazakhstan and
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Uzbekistan. Egyptian authorities have performed “virginity tests” on female activists arrested for protesting. Hungary’s xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic government is moving toward authoritarianism. China currently imprisons one million of its Uighur minority in concentration camps. The Israeli government has committed various human rights violations, including violence against civilians and the construction of settlements that are illegal under international law. Uzbekistan persecutes religious minorities, particularly Christians, and has performed “rectal exams” on men accused of being gay. The fact that the GILEE program brags about collaborating with these human rights violators is horrific. The fact that Georgia State University continues to maintain a relationship with GILEE is just as disgraceful. It is also a slap to the face to both of us as minority students, especially to Senator Rahman, who is a practicing Muslim. Let us be very clear. We oppose GILEE because of its collaboration with human rights violators, as well as its history of bigotry. We do not oppose GILEE because of the Boycott, Divest & Sanctions movement. Neither of us has advocated for BDS at Georgia State. For us, this is a matter of principle. The Georgia State University Police Department officers who serve our diverse and welcoming campus should not train with foreign governments that violate human rights, nor should our officers participate in a program that teaches bigotry and political extremism. We therefore ask students of all backgrounds to come out and support our opinion resolution this Thursday, April 18, at the University-wide Senate. No Hate at State, Sen. and President-Elect Jazmin Mejia, Junior, Political Science Sen. and Atlanta EVP-Elect Hamza Rahman, Junior, Political Science
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