Mathematics professor David Isles is willing to reimburse his students who request a tuition refund for one class if the United States declares war on Iraq and he participates in a day-after-war class moratorium.
Isles will also contribute $40 for every $10 students donate to a charity for the Iraqi people during a make-up class.
The professor announced his plans in a letter to his 40 students last week. He also sent the letter to administrators.
Isles is unsure of how students will react to his letter. "It's sort of an experiment," he said. If all of his students demanded a refund for the missed class, Isles estimates he would have to pay around $3,100. "Frankly, I don't expect that," he said.
In order to receive the refund, students will have to present Isles with documentation of their course load.
If everyone attended the make up class and contributed $10, Isles would have to chip in about $1,600. This outcome would be "optimal from my point of view," he said.
The purpose of reimbursing students who oppose Isles' participation in the moratorium, he said, is not to try to convince them to oppose the imminent war. "I am very much opposed to imposing my beliefs on my students," Isles said.
Participating in the moratorium, Isles said, is simply a way for him to stand up for his own beliefs. "My reaction is my reaction -- quite a visceral reaction," he said. If the US attacks Iraq, Isles said, "we'll all have to atone for it."
The letter is not intended to spark a reaction, Isles said. "I presume [students have] thought about these issues," he said. "If students are not aware of what's going on, then something's very wrong."
He has officially signed the Tufts Coalition to Oppose War on Iraq's (TCOWI) day-after moratorium statement.
Isles had contemplated such a move since TCOWI's plans were announced. "I've been thinking about it for some time," Isles said. He hesitated in large part due to the arguments that teachers have a responsibility to teach and that students pay a lot of money for each class session.
Though he participates in TCOWI discussions, "it's very hard... to judge how much sympathy or antipathy there is for [TCOWI] on campus," Isles said. Before sending the letter, Isles informed physics professor and fellow TCOWI member Garry Goldstein of his intentions.
Freshman Graham Good, a student in Isles' Math 13 class, said he respected the decision. "It's his duty as an educator not only to teach his students the subject but also to be individuals and to develop and follow their own opinions," Good said.
A professor at Tufts since 1963, Isles participated to a small extent in the anti-war protests on campus during the Vietnam War, but he "was never involved in any central way." Following the 1973 secret bombing of Cambodia, "there was sort of a spontaneous moratorium," he said.
More from The Tufts Daily
