I came across an article containing numerous examples of bad internet etiquette, negligence, and deceit. While the article I choose is a “good” example of immoral behavior compared to many. There are many important lessons to be learned from this example. Good will towards people goes a long way, especially during a devastating natural disaster.

Thousands of people were affected by Hurricane Harvy in 2017, it was a very  detrimental natural disaster. Most people were very sympathetic to the situation going on in Texas, not all. A professor from the University of Tampa was terminated after posting a tweet on Twitter. The tweet was, as stated “I don’t believe in instant karma but this kinda feels like it for Texas, hopefully this will help them realize the GOP doesn’t care about them” (Glum 2017). While this was not the worst news at the time, it was very detrimental to the college of his employment, the professor and the millions of people affected by the hurricane. The American people were rightfully upset and disappointed in the professor and the univeristy.

The college was left with no other option to fire the professor to attempt to avoid a political media nightmare which, at that point, was unavoidable. Fall out from this effect left many doubting and wondering if the college supported this type of behavior. Political agendas should not have a place during a disaster. Theoretically there could have easily been a monetary loss with parents refusing to send their children to this particular university.

It does not matter who you are, or how you send your free time; you must use discretion when posting anything on social media. The professor should have followed this guideline. While it is ethically okay to hold this type of opinion, it is not okay to share it on your social media site for all to see. This can come back and haunt him the rest of his life. It has endangered or ended his teaching career indefinitely.

One way this event could have been prevented would be if human resources had refresher courses for what is and is not acceptable from a college professor or any employee for that matter. Having a strong stance and policies on public appearance would have deterred this employee from posting his message.

 

Bell, J. D. (2021, July 6). Firing for online behavior. SHRM. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0918/pages/firing-for-online-behavior-.aspx

 

Glum, J. (2017, August 29). Florida professor fired for Harvey Comments. Newsweek. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.newsweek.com/kenneth-storey-professor-hurricane-harvey-tweets-656655