Scott Denham, the Davidson College German professor who blasted in a letter to the editor student Bobby DesPain over an opinion article questioning President Obama's leadership that DesPain had written in the student newspaper, has apologized. (Read the story about the original exchange here.) Denham's apology appears in a new letter to the editor in which he expresses respect for DesPain's commitment to debate but takes a few additional jabs at the student, who will graduate from the college this month.
Denham's letter appears side-by-side with a letter from philosophy professor Sean D. McKeever, who writes, "[Denham] does not speak for me. To my colleagues I say let us agree that respect for students is among the soundest principles of education." His letter seems to reduce the potential chilling effect of Denham's original piece.
