State Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, is calling for a UW-Oshkosh criminal justice professor to resign after encouraging students to sign a recall petition against the senator.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin released an audio clip of professor Stephen Richards addressing his students before class March 7 about the Hopper recall petition. Although he said students were not required to sign the petition, he allowed time for students to do so outside of the classroom.
""Quite frankly, nothing short of this professor resigning will be adequate for the students and the parents of UW-Oshkosh,"" Hopper told the Oshkosh Northwestern. ""People send their kids to school to be educated, not indoctrinated, and this professor took state-funded time to make a political stand.""
Hopper also wants to investigate political activity in the classrooms of other UW-Oshkosh professors because Richards said there was an effort of ""about 100 faculty"" to file the recall petition.
Richards could not be reached for comment.
A recall petition against Hopper was filed with the Government Accountability Board April 7 with over 22,000 signatures, forcing a recall election this summer.
UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells released a statement saying Richards' comments ""clearly crossed the line into inappropriate political activity.""
""When educators let their personal political opinions interfere with classroom teaching, it is ultimately our students who are wronged, denied the benefit of an unbiased, open-minded, inclusive educational environment,"" Wells said in a statement.
Wells also said he believes the problem has been corrected after meeting with Richards and several of his students.
State Reps. Jim Steineke, R-Vandenbroek, and Michelle Litjens, R-Vinland, sent a letter to Wells questioning the university's handling of the matter.
""The university cannot simply sweep this one under the rug,"" Steineke said. ""Any hint at a general agreement among professors to actively support a political agenda in the classroom must be brought forward to the taxpayers who fund their university.""
