La Salle Censors Student Newspaper Story About About Jack Rappaport, Professor Who Brought Strippers Into Class

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia college newspaper has gone topless to publish a story alleging a professor used exotic dancers in a business seminar.

La Salle University students say administrators would not let them print the story above the fold on the front page. So the top half of Thursday's Collegian is blank, except for the words "See below the fold."

Officials at the private Roman Catholic university have previously confirmed an investigation of the March 21 seminar.

The newspaper's executive editor, Vinny Vella, says administrators initially forbade him from printing the article at all until their investigation was complete.

They relented after the Philadelphia City Paper broke the story April 8 but issued the story-location caveat. The university's dean declined to comment.

Comments

[JohnyTL]

02:12 PM on 04/17/2011

Hey something that is not homosexual pedophilia that deals with Catholic leaders!! That's a plus!

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

10:17 PM on 04/16/2011

I was amused by the above article. I, too, have had three strippers in my classes......as students. Teaching in community college is a rather egalitarian experience. An instructor faces classes composed of all sorts of folks since CC is generally open admission.

[Alexodia]

11:49 AM on 04/16/2011

Maybe seeing them will prevent any of those kids becoming priests from aspiring to be child molesters. He may be on to something.

Note this is sarcasm.

[roshni]

11:47 AM on 04/16/2011

Looks like freedom of expression is alive and well at this Catholic institution (snark).

[Lohikaarme]

11:44 AM on 04/16/2011

This an example of blatant double standards. Politicians with worse moral and ethical behavior than any stripper get invited to talk at many US campuses all the time.

[Mountain Momma]

04:07 PM on 04/17/2011

How is it double standards at a Catholic university? I'm as liberal as they come, but I went to a Catholic college for undergrad and I never in a million years would think that this kind of class activity would be sanctioned there. At a public university (like where I work now), sure, academic freedom and freedom of speech, all that good stuff. But at religious institutions? Not so much.

[Howard53545]

05:41 AM on 04/16/2011

Get rid of the prof who brought hookers to class. Next he will bring crack heads.

[Just a passerby]

12:45 PM on 04/16/2011

They were strippers, not hookers.

[cosmiCataclysm]

04:42 PM on 04/15/2011

It's a private catholic university; the guy is clearly not legit -- they can fire him if they want and they should.

[realpragmatist]

04:02 AM on 04/16/2011

So in a private Catholic university, an apparently qualified professor is not allowed freedom of expression and use tools he seems fit and necessary to illustrate his class? I thought this was America.

The students were adults and willing as as long as there was no law broken, what was the problem? Why sensor an independent student newspaper covering it democratically under first amendment? If the universities (supposed to be bastions of free and choice) behave in this undemocratic way, how can we blame the big government for taking away our rights?

[Acert]

09:50 AM on 04/16/2011

Strippers have no relevance to Hegelian ethics; furthermore, a private Catholic university has the right to discipline him as it pleases.

[cosmiCataclysm]

05:38 PM on 04/16/2011

Hey brainiac, a private Catholic institution is allowed to do whatever it pleases -- it is not a Democratic institution and 'big government' is dissimilar and separated from a private Catholic school in the most fundamental way....

[downerbeautiful]

01:01 PM on 04/16/2011

I attend a private, Catholic university, AND we do allow things like this on campus, provided they are relevant to some agenda. The administration allows everything from the Westboro Baptist Church (true story, when we presented The Laramie Project), to pro-Islamic fundamentalist speakers, to ultra socialist speakers, and even some highly controversial professor I don't remember and everything in between. We get away with it because we are not funded by the state and because our campus and administration believes in freedom of speech and expression. Catholic does not bar unorthodox teaching methods!

[cosmiCataclysm]

05:41 PM on 04/16/2011

That doesn't change the fact that a private Catholic university can do whatever it pleases.

[iuriggs6]

02:46 PM on 04/15/2011

Why is this guy on a college campus teaching?

[realpragmatist]

04:03 AM on 04/16/2011

Probably because he was qualified and went through the rigorous selection process?

I really do not understand your problem. The man was doing his job in a way he thought fit with willing students and did not break any law as far as I understand. Why be so prudish?

[iuriggs6]

04:04 PM on 04/16/2011

What do strippers and Hegelian ethics have in common? Nothing at all. A seminar on proper usage of penecillin maybe but not much else.