Raleigh
October 4th 1856
Executive Committee met.
A memorial from
Mons Herrisse
, Instructor in French,
complaining of the disorderly conduct of one of the Students to him
& also of the proceedings of the Faculty in relation thereto,
was laid before the
Committee &
thereupon
Resolved
That the Secretary furnish the Faculty through
President Swain
, with
a copy of said memorials; & that the President be requested to
cause, to be laid before this
Committee,
as early as convenient, a full copy of the Journal or proceedings of the
Faculty had in relation to the complaint of
Mons
Herrisse
.
The Report of the Committee appointed at the last
meeting in relation to the burning of the Belfry was read &
Resolved
That the President of the University be requested to lay
before the Solicitor of the Fourth Judicial Circuit all the information
in his possession as to the burning of the Belfry with the request of
this Committee that the Solicitor cause the
case to be judicially investigated & the guilty persons indicted
& that the Secretary return to the President the papers
& statements of the several members of the Faculty&
Students heretofore made upon that subject.
Page 5
The reply of the Faculty to the Resolutions of the Committee adopted at the last meeting was read &
ordered to be filed.
Committee adjourned.
Page 6
To the Executive Committee of the Board of
Trustees of the University of North Carolina
Gentlemen:
It is a difficult matter at all times, to command the attention
& respect of a large class of College Students; but when the
discipline is lax & impunity an occurrence of every day
life, the task of the instructor becomes altogether impossible. If
to his manifold tribulations, we add, a disposition on the part of
his colleagues to drive him to a resignation, or if such a belief is
current among the Students, a due sense of self-respect makes it
incumbent on him to apply for redress, to those, to whom the
individual welfare of the members of the Faculty is intrusted.
Without referring to the difficulties, which of late have been a
cause of great annoyance and mortification to me, I shall limit
myself, to the case, which today, & for the last time brings
me before you.
Mr William
Whitaker of the Junior Class had often been guilty of
disorder, and impropriety in my recitation room. I was at last
compelled to resort to stringent measures, and on the 4
th of October last, summoned him to appear
before the Faculty. There, in the presence of all the officers of
the Institution, he grossly insulted me. An explanation was demanded
of him; & here are almost the very words of his communication:
"I have been told by
Dr Mitchell
,
that if I do not retract what I said yesterday, I shall be
dismissed. I therefore retract."
Strange as it may appear to those who are not familiar with the
proceedings of this Faculty, such a letter was accepted.
A few weeks afterwards,
Mr Whitaker's improprieties
Page 7
of conduct became again so intolerable,
that I had to reiterate my summons.
Mr
Whitaker was heard, & the Faculty decided that if he
ever was guilty of such an offence again, he would be dismissed.
He kept on! The whole section became very difficult to manage;
several members of the same class had to be admonished for
disobedience to me, but finding that I could no longer command the
respect of the Students if Mr Whitaker's conduct was tolerated, I
ordered him to come before the Faculty.
No notice was taken of the determination of the 13th of November, although it was of record and stood
unrepealed. "A motion was made to dismiss him,"
says the journal, "in consideration of his repeated
offences of this description," and it was laid on the table
with the special warning, that if he ever was guilty of the same
impropriety of deportment, he would be removed from the Institution.
This was also recorded.
With due respect, I ask, whether this was not carrying forbearance to
the extreme, & if perchance I submitted once more to such a
course, I had not the right to expect that Mr Whitaker should
be made to treat me with the respect due to a gentleman and a
teacher, & if he failed to do so, that the Faculty was in
duty bound to remove him? Knowing, however, how much I had at stake,
& how precarious were my hopes of redress, I took pains to
avoid all further collisions with Mr Whitaker.
Today, when called to recited, he replies in a very impertinent
manner, refuses to comply, & by mimicking my imperfect
pronunciation of English, throws the whole class into a violent
& protracted fit of laughter. In accordance with the
regulations of the
University which
Page 8
say (Chapt 1 V. 6) that "for
gross & persevering violation of the rules of decorum, the
Student may be forthwith dismissed when the instructor shall deem it
necessary."
I quietly tell Mr Whitaker to retire; he ridicules me again, &
peremptorily refuses to obey. Incensed by his language &
demeanor, I reiterate my summons, adding by way of threat, that if
he does not leave the room, one of us two shall have to leave the
Institution. "Then it will be you" says he, and he
sinks back into his seat.
Six members of the Faculty voted that
Mr Whitaker be dismissed, five
against it, & were joined by
Gov. Swain
, which caused the
motion to be lost. After the vote had been taken & result
ascertained, the President, little willing, as I imagine, to bear
the responsibility of such an unjust measure, found that the motion
was out of order.
Dr Phillips
was then instructed to see
Mr
Whitaker's parents; and this, in the very face of his
repeated offences, & of the two recorded resolutions of the
Faculty, is the only punishment, which is to be inflicted on
him!