What's German for Pervert?

So we have all heard the story by now of Edward Larkin, a UNH German Professor, who was able to keep his job after a two year suspension for exposing his genitals to a 17 year old girl and her mother in a Market Basket parking lot off campus. I've been meaning to write on this since it first happened, but I didn't have a chance. The whole reason he can keep his job is because the teacher's union argued that he didn't do enough to break his contract and be fired. Personally, I think whipping your junk out in public (to a 17 year old or anyone) is a perfectly sound reason to be fired from any job. Especially when you're around 18-22 year olds all day. What girl (or anyone for that matter) would want to take a class with this guy? UNH acknowledged that issue and it seems as though he won't be teaching in classrooms, but what type of research do language professors do anyways?

 It's not like he got caught taking a leak in the woods behind the MUB or something, he thought to himself "I have a good idea, I'm gonna whip my genitals out. This definitely won't backfire."And the sad thing is, is that it didn't backfire. The guy got a vacation suspension, during which he was paid his full salary of $88,000 and now he's returning to campus. I'm not going to make this a political issue over unions like commenters on the Union Leader  because A) Unions have done great things for this country (you know like better working conditions, 8 hour work day, child labor laws, racial and gender issues) and B) because arguing about unions and liberals verses conservatives takes away from the what this guy actually did. Sure, if there wasn't a strong union he would be fired, but that's the way things work sometimes. Nothing is ever perfect.

UNH tried to fire him, but they couldn't so I think it's safe to say that they won't give him a new contract when his current one expires. Also, it might be a good idea to insert clauses into the new contracts that allow them to be broken over issues such as these. One of the main points of a union is protecting its members from unjust firings and technically Larkin didn't break his contract. Technicalities can be a real bitch and that's why contracts need to be very specific. The union was simply doing its job and on paper they did, but it's too bad it turned out this way. Personally, I think the arbitrator, not the union is the one to blame. The arbitrator is the one who made the decision that Larkin's crime was not “moral delinquency of a grave order." In court cases everyone has the right to an attorney, even when criminals commit crimes they get representation. The lawyer doesn't get blamed when a bad guy gets away with a crime, the jury does. The lawyer, while probably is a scumbag, was just doing his job. That is similar to this situation, the union had to fight for it's member. The arbitrator is the one who made the decision.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Update, July 6th:

The following passage is from the Union Leader:

Last week, numerous politicians, including Gov. John Lynch, blasted the arbitrator who ruled that Larkin should be suspended without pay for a semester, then allowed to return to campus.

“The governor believes the arbitrator's decision was wrong and that this professor does not belong in a classroom,” said Pamela Walsh, the governor's deputy chief of staff.

House Speaker William O'Brien said he was “profoundly disappointed with the result of this case.”

“How contemptuous of the students that an arbitrator would ever consider putting this man in front of them as a teacher and, therefore, a role model,” he said.

Larkin did not return calls for comment and it's unclear whether he will pursue a buyout.

The article says that Larkin is eligible for a $75,000 contract buyout since he is over 59 1/2 and has been at UNH for over 10 years, but it's not known if he'll pursue it or if UNH could accept it since they can only accept so many per term and they must take the most eligible who apply (the oldest and longest tenured).