OU Student Suspended For 'Hot For Teacher' Essay Says 'It's Ageism'
Joseph Corlett is hot for teacher, make no mistake about it, but the Oakland University student doesn't think he should be kicked out of school for it.
Corlett, 56, called Charlie Langton's morning show Thursday on Talk Radio 1270 to explain his side of the story after he was suspended, banned from OU's campus, and interviewed by police following hot and bothered essays about his female professors. He ended up being escorted from class by police.
"(The teacher) has dark hair and eyes and occasionally rests her hands across her pregnant belly, wiping the sweat from her brow ...(She) would teach until she dropped if not for the requisite breaks," one essay said.
Another essay described a teacher who is "tall, blonde and stacked" in a "skirt, heels, fingernails, smile," and described her as "smart and articulate." He basically said, in the essay he turned in to her, that her looks were distracting. The assignment was part of an English assignment on diary-style composition.
"I'm toast but I'll stay. I'll (screw) up my whole Tuesday-Thursday class thing if I drop. I'll search for something unattractive about her. No luck yet," he wrote.
"It's highly complimentary," Corlett said to Langton about one essay. "The very essence of what I'm saying is that I'm inspired by her relentless teaching style ...When you're in that woman's class she is on and it's inspiring. It's a great experience. It had nothing to do with her physical appearance whatsoever."
"It was never just about their bodies, that was just a small part of it," he explained to Langton about his essays, adding, "I used nine words to describe her and of those nine words, two were 'smart' and 'articulate.'"
Isn't this free speech? Langton asked.
Corlett said beyond the titillation, his suspension brings up legal issues about "the constitution, freedom of speech and academic freedom." A fellow student said Corlett was known around campus for strong opinions on open carry laws: He argued voraciously that students should be allowed to carry guns to class. He wrote frequent opinion pieces on the subject for the Oakland Post student newspaper, where he reportedly had heated arguments with several students.
"If you can't explore and write crazy things, and whatever, in an academic setting -- This is supposed to be where you try out ideas, where you learn things -- where can you learn?'" Corlett said.
Corlett told Langton he's upset about his suspension as a tuition paying student and a taxpayer.
"I think there is a bit of ageism involved in this...Why is the standard any different for a 56 year old student than a 20 year old? What if I showed up 20 minutes late every day and they said, we'll he's 56, he's allowed to come to class late. That's ridiculous."
So, will he sue?
Hear the entire interview below.