I am a midshipman at the Academy and I would like to voice my view of the situation at hand the media coverage surrounding it. We were in S227. Those who have been in this auditorium classroom would agree it resembles a movie theater. The professor turned down the lights to begin the video, and one midshipman remarked “it’s like a movie theater,” to which the professor responded rather quietly, “If anyone sees a man with orange hair, run for the exit.” No one in the classroom caught his remark until the midshipman involved in the incident quietly got up, said something to the professor, and walked out of the classroom. The professor followed. At this point in time, the rest of us left in the classroom realized what had just happened. After about a minute, the professor returned to the classroom and turned off the video. He proceeded to apologize and completely fall on his sword. He told us that what he had done was incredibly dishonorable and that it was without excuse, particularly at a military academy where honor was held with such a high esteem. He told us, “Give me your worst, I deserve it.” No one in the class had a single stone to throw. The professor was so upset about what he had done, he was literally shaking as he apologized to the rest of the class. It was clear that he was not aware that anyone at the academy, let alone in the class had any connection to the horrendous shooting. We all understood that the joke was distasteful, however, it was not intended to be malicious. The professor dismissed the class and went directly to his department head to explain the incident that had occurred. As our section left the building, we all agreed not to tell anyone about the event. We did not want this to explode through the KP rumor mill or the press because we wanted to save our professor’s name and we did not want our friend to have to deal with more than was already on his plate. No one spoke. The next word we heard about it came more than a week later through an email from the Academic Dean requesting to speak with the section leader.
All eye-witnesses of the episode immediately accepted the professor’s unquestionably sincere apology and took measures to protect our friend from further infliction and our professor from public reprimand. The Academic Dean is now quoted saying the joke was ‘notoriously disgraceful conduct.’ My question for the administration is that knowing this subject was one of a particularly high sensitivity, why then did they not make a more forward effort to inform teachers of the circumstances. Could that joke not have been avoided if more preemptive measures had been taken? This situation was caused by a poor risk evaluation by the administration of the Academy. Just as we are taught in our management and logistics classes, even though there was a low probability that the topic would come up in a classroom setting, the consequences of the incident were high. Not only was there the possibility of additional emotional hurt to a midshipman already in a very difficult time, but there was a threat to the reputation of the Academy as an institution of honor and integrity. Due to the high impact of an event, regardless of the low probability, the administration should have done more than just send out an email. Anyone who is connected to the Academy’s email system knows that there is an incredible about of emails blasted out every day that have little to no pertinence to the party receiving them. Therefore, there is a good possibility that the professor overlooked the email allegedly sent on July 25th as it was the day before school started and everyone was getting large amounts of emails that did not pertaining to most the people they were sent to. As a professional, the professor should have been more prudent when sifting through his email, however, this does not excuse the administration of not making a more direct effort to inform the instructors of the shooting’s proximity to the Academy.
Lastly, the Academy preaches the Office of External Affairs’ press policy to all midshipmen and faculty to “help build and protect the image of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, “and to “ensure the privacy of our midshipmen and the security of our campus.” Why then, and for what purpose, has the administration been talking to the press about this subject? The actions of the professor certainly do not reflect the image we want broadcasted by the media, and the now national coverage of the event in that classroom surely does not protect the privacy of my fellow midshipman who was involved. Additionally, I can only imagine how much this media coverage adds to my section mate’s burden and heartache. There is no advantage to further discuss this subject, therefore I ask that all who truly care about the Academy, the midshipman, and his family to stop buying in to the sensationalist tendencies that a story of this nature can cultivate and to focus on the betterment of the Academy through improvement of the administrative and political structure surrounding this institution. Thank you.
