A lawsuit has been filed against College of Alameda for praying for a teacher who was ill. Derek Piazza found the student doing the despicable act and yelled, “You can’t be doing that in here!” A few weeks later, the student was issued a retroactive “intent to suspend” letter that did not give an adequate explanation of the reason.
This is just another ploy to remove God from Academia…
Folks, this is awful. Please, call the College of Alameda at (510) 522-7221 and tell them how you feel!
April 17th, 2009 at 7:28 AM
I’ve posted a Note on Facebook about this and also the instructor’s email to ask my friends to write to him: dpiazza@peralta.edu.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:35 AM
First off, due to this comment not agreeing with the post, I hope it does not get censored. What I am seeing in regards to this case is very disturbing. This “story” is distorting (in a large way) the truth. I really hope this large following and intentional smearing of the school and teacher is due to the fact that the people writing about this honestly don’t know the truth. For some reason, when it comes to religion, some people seem to be willing to do anything for their cause, including lying. Is that not going directly against the teachings of Christ? It reminds me of some movies I saw as a kid during the 80’s. Fanatical groups gathering around a dissenter, claiming they were a witch. Very very scary. I really hope I am just paranoid and the majority of supporters have just been duped, and don’t know what they are backing. Blind devotion, rallying “the troops” to attack the opposition…before even knowing the truth. I just don’t know what else to say other than this is very disturbing to me. I’ll pray for those who can’t see or have been turned away from the truth. I can only hope I don’t in turn become a target as well. Please please stop.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Here at the Harrington Report, we don’t censor comments that disagree with our posts. We encourage it.
Now, you say that are distorting the truth, so what is the truth? If we have made a mistake in our reporting, we would like to know so we can remedy the situation…
April 24th, 2009 at 8:00 PM
It is distorted because it does not (nor do many other sites with this story) actually give the details of the situation. It infers that the teacher did this because of his intolerance with their religion. Most of these stories say something to the likes of “he walked into the teachers office, heard them praying and said they can’t do that here”. That is a distortion. First off, he shared the office with the other teacher. The issue is not that the student should not be able to pray, of course she should. But it was disrupting work, in a place of work. Maybe there could have been a more appropriate place to do it. But, it doesn’t stop there. The students (her and her friend) continued to pray out loud and discuss the situation in his class…during class. This is another disruption of class. Prayer or Religion should not even be the issue, but that is the leg the girl is trying to stand on…as if Religion excuses otherwise inappropriate behavior. The girl intentionally tried to make an issue of this (successfully obviously) and was reprimanded for it by the school, threatened to be expelled. It just makes other Christians look bad. Even those who should be fighting the good fight. But when someone tacks their Religion onto their personal issues, and gets this kind of no questions asked support, they are exploiting your good nature (at least I hope that to be the case as I do not know you personally) for their cause. For those “attacking” this movement for the girls, I think it is more “attacking” the extremist nature of it, not Christianity. But if they claim that to be, look at all the support they get. Fox News picked this up and spun the same distorted story. That something like this can go that high, without actual fact checking, is what scares me most. Seeing these other people posting, who have their distorted story, threatening him with physical harm scares me as well. I really hope it is because they don’t actually know what happened and are willing to listen to the entire truth.
April 25th, 2009 at 12:11 PM
So, it seems as though you have inside knowledge of the situation. For the record, what did happen in the office?
You say that the girls continued to pray out loud and disrupt class. How was that situation handled by the professor?
I agree, if these girls are using Religion as an out for their disrespectful behavior, they and this story are getting undue attention.
Frankly, I am willing to listen to the entire truth. That’s what we’re here for; to report the truth. And, if it turns out that my analysis of the story is not based on fact, I will make changes in order for it to be fact based.
April 25th, 2009 at 9:16 PM
I guess the details are for the school to release, and if they are not, maybe it’s for good reason. There is a lawsuit involved so I guess now it’s for the courts to decide. But, since all the facts have not been released, there is lots of one sided speculation going on. But, even while nobody not involved knows the entire truth, the teachers name has been broadcast, his contact information spread about and a rally to harass him been called.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:02 PM
Mr. Anonymous
First off, how do you know the truth unless you were there? If you were there to witness what happened, then I believe you. Since you are writing anonymously what reason is there to believe what you are saying is true? All I have heard is exactly what Harrington Report is saying because that is all that is being said in the news. Can you be more specific with your info? Since both teachers shared the office and the teacher who was feeling sick was in her shared office doesn’t she have the right to allow a student to pray for her? If the prayer was disruptive, shouldn’t the teacher she was praying for say something? After all, teachers should have more authority than a student and it doesn’t sound like the teacher was objecting to the prayer? How was the prayer disrupting work in a place of work? And how did we get from the office to the classroom? If the prayer was being said in his classroom, in his class I agree that is disruptive and he would have control of the classroom at the time, but it sounds like he came into his shared office that was being occupied by the other teacher at the time. It sounds to me like he was disrupting the prayer that was already started in the office by his coming into the office. Perhaps the thing to do would have been when he saw that they were praying, he could have waited until they were done. Seems no different than if a teacher and student are having a private conversation and this other teacher comes in and disrupts their conversation. Wouldn’t it be appropriate for him to wait until they were finished? If the students involved were discussing the situation in his class during class was this not after he had already disrupted the prayers in the shared office? Or is this one and the same?????
Somewhat confusing since you talk about office then classroom.
I want to know the truth and am just pondering what I have heard reported and what you have said and there are some grey areas here.
You say religion excuses otherwise inappropriate behavior. If the girl was praying in the shared office and the other person who shares the office came in and stopped them, then I believe that is inappropriate of the other non praying teacher to violate her right to pray for the sick teacher and the girl would have the right to make an issue of it. Perhaps not in his classroom, but by talking to appropriate people outside of his classroom. Was she not already reprimanded by Piazza by stopping her prayers? Was she only reprimanded for her behavior in his classroom and threatened to be expelled and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was already told not to pray by Piazza?
Again I would like to ask how you know what the girls did in his class? And I’d like to see you answer the question about how the situation was handled by the teacher in his classroom? I can only imagine that he was already upset by finding Kandy praying for the other teacher. Could his attitude have continued in his classroom to perpetuate the already escalating issue that started by his blatant lack of giving privacy while people are in prayer? Were you there? Or are you going by what you have heard from his side of things? I’d like to know the truth regardless of what it is.
God bless
May 9th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
OK, let me put it this way then. Let’s say I can’t prove what the truth is. By the same token, those who were not there can not prove that the story going around in some circles is the truth as well. If we don’t know the truth, should we be harassing those involved? Posting/Broadcasting information for the public, who was not there, to harass those involved is irresponsible.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Sir, who doesn’t want to know the truth? All I want to do is present the truth. Any information you feel you can divulge would be greatly appreciated…but if you won’t than how can we know that you’re not just doing the same thing you say the media is doing?
You’ve implied, in previous comments, that you know what happened.
And, again I ask, do you have any information? Because if you don’t, you’re being just as irresponsible as the media.
May 16th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
Mr. Anonymous
You say all the facts have not been released and if we don’t know the truth, should we be harassing those involved and that Posting/Broadcasting information for the public, who was not there, to harass those involved is irresponsible.
Harrington Report is not doing anything irresponsible nor harassing those involved. If you know information as you say you do, but then you say you can’t prove what the truth is, then what you are saying is just as irresponsible as what you are saying that the Harrington Report and the media are doing.
You said that there is a lot of one sided speculation going on. If you know the other side and say you have information then why are you sitting on the sidelines and not saying what you know?
Also, you said even while nobody not involved knows the entire truth the teachers name has been broadcast, his contact information spread about and a rally to harass him has been called.
Do you know the entire truth? You’ve led us to believe that you do, yet you say nothing that corroborates that fact. How is this different than any other news story that hits the media? Look at what happened when Miss California answered a question in the Miss America pageant about if other states should follow in making same sex marriage legal. Perez Hilton was allowed to call her a b*t*h on national television and Miss California was bashed for saying what her belief was. For whatever reason however, the college of Alamada and also people like you are not releasing info so there is more one sidedness to this story but yet those of us who talk about what we know are criticized for even talking about what we do know. How can we talk about it any differently without more facts?
God bless you and try to be more understanding of the fact that Harrington Report wants to represent the truth and it appears that you are criticizing him for not knowing what you seem to know but yet you are unwilling to share what info you claim to know.
I pray that the truth will come out in the court case and that until then, if you have information that needs to be known…..speak up!
July 17th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
This is rediculous. What a waste of time and resources. I am so tired arrogant religious fanatics and their attorneys playing victim. I suspect that this situation is being misread and being blown way out of proportion. Whatever happend to common courtesy… Believe it or not – there are good, respectful, caring individuals in the world that do not care to be exposed to those who profess to have power in the act of prayer. I suspect that Derek Piazza is keenly aware of the policy of this learning institution on such matters and was merely trying to maintain an environment of common respect.
Get over yourself….