Although the nation remains fixated on the war in Iraq, most classes Thursday proceeded as normal. However, several professors canceled or walked out of noontime courses, and many instructors have spent class time discussing issues related to Iraq.
Janet Ewald, associate professor of history, stopped teaching her class, Explorations at Sea, at noon to join the demonstration on the Chapel Quadrangle.
"I didn't exactly walk out of my own class, but I had signed the petition supporting the walkout in Raleigh," she said, adding that she left her class 10 minutes early, at noon.
Ewald told her students at the beginning of class she planned to leave, and class continued as usual until the time of the officially scheduled walkout.
Katherine Ewing, associate professor of cultural anthropology, spent her class, the Muslim World, talking about the media's portrayal of Islam during the conflict before letting her class out early for the walkout.
"It fit in really well with what we were talking about, but if the war hadn't been relevant, I would have made it so," she said. "As students, as members of the elite, we see these things as being different from us and different from our daily life."
Other professors just ended class early without mentioning the war or the walkout.
"About noon, [John Clum, professor of theater studies,] just said, 'It's noon so we should stop now,'" said Angie Berg, a junior and student in Clum's American Musical Theater Form class.
Several professors canceled classes to allow students to attend protests. Others, like Robert Korstad, associate professor of public policy studies, made adjustments for students who wanted to demonstrate and used class time to explore the ramifications of the war - choices he said are entirely appropriate to his role as a professor.
"The thing that's most important for us to do is provide the spaces to discuss, digest and explore the possible consequences of the military engagement in Iraq," he said. "What we're about here is trying to understand the moral and ethical context of how policy comes about."
Discussion of the war tied in well with Korstad's class, but faculty members in less relevant disciplines also spent time this week talking about student concerns.
Mary Morrow, who teaches a class on medieval British history, used Tuesday's class to talk about student issues related to the Iraqi conflict.
"One of the things that supposedly happens when you're a college student is you grapple with a lot of big issues, and there is no better setting than among your peers to struggle with that," said Morrow, an executive assistant in the Office of Alumni Affairs and University Development.
Students said they have appreciated the time professors have devoted to Iraq, even in classes that are not directly connected.
"It certainly affects everything we study," Berg said. "It's such a major event in our history. It's important to understand what was going on."
Some professors who did not relate class material to Iraq took other actions to accommodate students.
Professor of Chemistry Richard Palmer decided to make the second midterm in his inorganic chemistry class optional. Students had the option to count part of the final exam more heavily and skip Thursday's test.
"I talked to several students who were obviously really distressed," he said. "Some students are from the Middle East and have some serious personal involvement. Then there are other students who are very politically involved.
"I was trying to accommodate people who were very involved, on either side."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.