Here’s a fun-laden discussion ? one that’s open to any number of possibilities ? by NC State students about an incident in a sociology class, apparently today. (Being a discussion forum of college students, there is profanity aplenty, so be warned before you click the link.) A few highlights, beginning with the opening post:

Ok so we are sitting in class, and at the end the professor usually plays music video stuff. Well today he played a music video saying basicly the war is about oil. We are sheeps of society that watch tv, yada yada. This girls (definatly a conservative) stands up saying this is not what the war is about. This is not what it means, crying. Honestly shee looked as if it was her first election she ever voted in in teh first place. Are you kidding me. PLease talk amongst yourselfs, all i could do is laugh.

After several discuss the girl and other instances of people losing control during class, someone eventually asks the obvious:

wtf class do you watch music videos in

The answer is “soc,” and we learn more about the professor, one “Dr. Tom”: “so chill,” “didnt care what party you were reppin’ just make a change,” “just wait until he starts talking about his pro-marijuana movement,” “that dude is hardcore hippy, cool as [expletive] though.” Someone handily provides a link to the prof’s web site, www.hiphappy.com.

But “soc” isn’t enough information for one character (see page 2), who presses for more detail: “Hey, what class was this in?? I wanna know what I can take to watch music videos of bush-slamming.” Before he’s given the answer (Sociology 202), someone impatiently snaps at him:

[profanity]

blindfold yourself, flip to a random page in a TRACS book [course selection book at NCSU], and stick your finger somewhere on the page.

chances are, you’ll get a liberal pinko professor

In short, this thread illustrates several problems in academe: leftist bias in the classroom, dumbing down of course content, barely literate students who somehow gained admission to a major research institution, and disengaged students.