THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
A College of The Albemarle instructor fired last spring after students complained about his sexually explicit language has asked the Board of Trustees to consider rehiring him.
In a Feb. 21 letter, former English teacher Jim Bridges requested a hearing at the board's March 13 meeting to propose re-employment under new conditions. He addressed the letter to board Chairman Bruce Biggs and other college officials.
The letter says Bridges will ask for a nine-month contract beginning Sept. 1 to teach a normal load of freshman and sophomore English. Bridges proposes reporting only to the trustee board, bypassing the college's administration.
COA President Larry Donnithorne on Tuesday said the full board will consider Bridges' request at its March meeting and decide then whether to allow him to make his proposal at a later meeting.
Although the trustee board has authority to approve all hirings, only Donnithorne reports directly to the board. All other employees report to him, Donnithorne said, making Bridges' request unusual.
Donnithorne fired Bridges on grounds of misconduct and insubordination last March after warning him in memos and meetings that the sexual content of his lectures and campus postings could lead to disciplinary action. The trustees one month later upheld Bridges' dismissal after a closed hearing and deliberation lasting nearly 12 hours.
The dismissal ignited a wave of protest from students who said Bridges was a unique teacher who inspired them to think for themselves. Bridges, who taught sexually explicit novels and distributed copies of his and students' writings on the subject, has said that open discussions of sexual issues are important and that shocking language was useful in catching students' attention.
But a handful of students had formally complained that they were offended by Bridges' explicit language and the distribution of such materials as an Ann Landers column about masturbation. Bridges, who taught at COA for nearly 30 years, had discussed some of the complaints with Donnithorne in a July 1993 meeting.
``Since one of the reasons given for the termination of my contract was the fear that a student might bring a suit against COA, alleging sexual harassment, I suggest the following safeguards,'' Bridges says in the Feb. 21 letter. He proposes that COA advertise his classes as adult and potentially offensive, and that the school require students taking his classes to sign a pledge not to sue Bridges or COA.
``This arrangement would protect COA and would allow me to do what I did exceptionally well for many years: promote the growth of students, via words, in a structured setting,'' Bridges' letter says.
Bridges, who had defended his actions as a matter of academic freedom and turned down a compromise offer to resign rather than be fired, has been unemployed since his dismissal. An actor whose one-man-show repertoire includes characters such as Mark Twain, Bridges has been performing occasionally for local schools.
Bridges also said he has spent the last several months ``licking my wounds and sharpening my claws.''
``I don't see that I have anything to lose by making that request,'' Bridges said Monday. ``In my view, the board has already participated in a major injustice that should not be allowed to stand.''
Bridges has left open the possibility of suing the college, and he included with his letter a copy of some correspondence with a Raleigh law firm that has said it would take his case under a list of financial conditions.
Bridges has had a stormy relationship with several COA presidents. College records document disagreements and reprimands on several issues dating to the 1980s. by CNB