UConn Law Professor Unjustly Vilified

Robert L. Birmingham, a University of Connecticut law professor, was asked to take a leave of absence, which he agreed to, for the rest of the semester due to his unorthodox teaching practices that may have offended some students. The law school, worried about its image after the highly controversial "Bullets and Bubbly" party, overreacted in its decision. The UConn Law School is sending a message that engaging students in provocative discussions about real world issues, is intolerable if they are offensive.

Birmingham, who has been a professor at the school since 1971, has been known to use extreme tactics to get through to his students, who may face these issues when they step out into the real world as practicing lawyers. He has had his share of supporters and detractors over the years, but nonetheless his longevity shows that he is viewed admirably.

According to the Hartford Courant, the incident in question occurred in Birmingham's "Remedies" course in late September. He showed a movie clip from a film called "Really, Really Pimpin' in Da South." Birmingham showed the film because it contained an interview with a pimp who was convicted in the case U.S. v. Pipkins, which the class was studying. At the end of the interview, Birmingham paused the movie on images of "scantily clad women in a sexually suggestive pose." Before showing the film, Birmingham posed a question, of which there are varying reports, which, according to the Courant "asked whether descendants of slaves today are better off than their contemporaries in West Africa."

There are two issues about which the students are potentially upset. The first one, stressed more in the Hartford Courant column, is the pausing of the movie at the scene involving women in sexually explicit poses. Given the nature of the film, it is possible that this was not the only offensive moment. Pimps engage in behavior and exhibit attitudes towards women that are intrinsically demeaning. Interviews with them often bring out these perspectives which are offensive in themselves and which should be much more offensive than any picture.

Whether or not Birmingham intentionally showed the clip is a moot point. A comment from his lawyer, Heather Kaufman, said he didn't intentionally air the scene. "He stopped the film at the completion of the interview. Period. The suggestion that the questionable material was shown intentionally is both troubling and dishonest." It is possible, she said, that there was a lag between the pressing of the pause button and the beginning of the next scene. If this is true, then the overreaction of the university is taken to an entirely different level.

Even if Birmingham did show the clip intentionally, the UConn Law School still should have had no prerogative to take action. The idea of the film and the ideology of pimps are offensive in and of themselves. The abuse and violence against women should have been more offensive to these students than a couple of scantily clad women. If the image elicited emotions in the students then showing the scene was beneficial. There are going to be cases in the real world, in which their defendants take part in horrific or demeaning acts, but they still deserve defense. Emotion in the classroom is not necessarily a bad thing if it brings about academic fervor and discussion.

The second potentially offensive part of Birmingham's presentation is the question regarding the status of blacks in America. Are the descendants of slaves better off today than their contemporaries in West Africa, many of whom face war, poverty and disease? Did slavery benefit today's African-American community because they are spared the hardships of living in Africa? How large is the gap socially and economically for the majority of blacks, and how can it be fixed? All of these questions are ones that can be posed and answered in an academic setting, but their pursuit is often stifled due to the parental hand of political correctness. Racism and social issues are things that need to be discussed because they have drastic implications for our society. It may be hard to discuss them because of the emotions they raise, but progress cannot be made through silence. All people whether they be white, black, Asian, Hispanic or any other race, need to be able to partake in these discussions.

Birmingham has done nothing wrong as a professor. If he is guilty of anything, it is that he has challenged his students to actually think about challenging issues. There is no evidence that he has intentionally offended a specific group of people in his academic career. It is hypocritical for a law school to be stepping on First Amendment rights, especially if the comments were intended to enhance debate and promote critical thinking. If he were constantly using ethnic slurs and forwarding white supremacist propaganda then this would be a different issue. The real world is not as ideological as the UConn Law School would like to believe. Racism exists. Social injustices exist. Confronting these issues is important. Birmingham should be reinstated immediately in order to help prepare his students to better face these issues in the world of law and in their own personal lives.

Weekly Columnist Greg Pivarnik is a 7th-semester molecular and cell biology major. His columns appear on Monday. He can be reached at Gregory.Pivarnik@UConn.edu.