And if anecdotal evidence counts for anything, it's happening more and more. The hard-core infractions range from insubordination to outright intimidation. Other professors have been stalked by angry students, and a few physically attacked.
Some scholars argue that academe has never been above a good slugfest.
But close encounters of the uncivil kind are leaving many professors stunned, even shaken. His book struck a chord. Most students aren't ill-mannered brats, professors say, but it takes only a few bad apples to spoil the pie. It's very difficult to concentrate if there's a buzz of conversation and giggles of laughter. I think the incidence of this in the last 10 years has doubled, if not tripled, in terms of the amount and the severity.