Facts scanty in Palin essay flap

September 19, 10:37 AMColorado Education ExaminerTodd Engdahl

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Blogs are abuzz about what they claim is the latest example of a liberal college instructor imposing his views in class.

Instructor (not “Professor,” as many accounts have it) Andrew Hallam allegedly assigned students in one his Metro State freshman writing classes to write an essay critical of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He reportedly later broadened the assignment so that students could write about any candidate.

The story first surfaced on a Denver TV station’s website and spread rapidly. But the details are sketchy, and so far only one student has been quoted by name about what happened in class.

The most detailed report so far appeared in The Denver Post, and it cast some interesting light on the student who complained, one Jana Barber.

“Jana Barber is the sister of Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs for the conservative Liberty Counsel legal organization. Until June, Matt Barber held a similar title with Concerned Women for America, another conservative Christian organization,” The Post reported.

Hmm.

A story in the Rocky Mountain News hinted at another possibility about what happened in that class.

“A former student of Hallam's e-mailed CBS4 on Thursday and said he could understand how the professor's style could be misunderstood. Hallam often picked a topic for students and asked them to write from a specific viewpoint as an exercise in critical thinking, the student's e-mail said.”

Hallam so far isn’t talking to any reporters, and Metro officials say they’re trying to sort the whole thing out. I did a little web surfing and found that Hallam apparently received a bachelors in creative writing from the University of Denver, a masters in English lit from CSU and is back at DU working towards a doctorate.

College instructors regularly do dumb things, but it sure seems like we don’t have all the facts yet on this one.

The story's been lightly reported, and bloggers are jumping to conclusions based on scanty facts. (For a look at what the blogs are saying, just Google "Andrew Hallam.")