Colleague of Law Professor Who Bashed Troops: I Quit

Katie Pavlich | November 22, 2011 1:56 PM

A few weeks ago we brought you the story about Suffolk University Professor Michael Avery calling the sending of care packages to troops a "shameful" act. Avery also questioned whether hanging the American flag at the university was appropriate considering it isn't politically "neutral." Now, his colleague and fellow law professor, U.S. Army Reserve Major Robert Roughsedge, no longer wants to be affiliated with the vitriolic Avery or Suffolk University.

A law professor who is serving overseas in Afghanistan has quit his job at a Massachusetts university after a colleague sent out a controversial e-mail declaring it "shameful" to send care packages to U.S. troops.

U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Robert Roughsedge cut ties with Suffolk University in Boston in response to fellow law professor Michael Avery's defamatory e-mail regarding troops fighting overseas, Fox affiliate WFXT-TV reports.

Avery criticized a school-wide drive to collect supplies for soldiers overseas, writing in an email to colleagues: "I think it is shameful that it is perceived as legitimate to solicit in an academic institution for support for men and women who have gone overseas to kill other human beings."

Avery, who specializes in constitutional law, also wrote that sympathy for American troops in harm's way is "not particularly rational in today's world."

In response to Avery's email, Roughsedge submitted his letter of resignation on Monday, telling WTXF in a telephone interview that the e-mail is "hate speech."

"It’s basically like a 5-year-old throwing a temper tantrum," he told the station. "That is not how we teach our students to rationally look at the issues…We want rational adult discourse and that is not something I would tolerate in my class and it is not something the school should tolerate from one of its professors."

Roughsedge was a member of the adjunct faculty at Suffolk University for eight years and taught a popular course on terrorism and the law. He left for Afghanistan in Dec. 2010 and is expected to return home to New Hampshire next month.

In case you're wondering, Avery still has a cushy job at the university, despite using the university email system to rail against our men and women in uniform and to to promote anti-American sentiments among other faculty members. We should applaud Roughsedge for standing on principle and refusing to tolerate Avery's behavior.