Debra Duffy

I addressed you at last month's meeting on behalf of Professor Bonnell and  I just wanted to say tonight that I'm upset and I'm disappointed in the Board because Professor Bonnell is not in the classroom yet.  I have bought into this College; this is my college, this is my community.  My daughter will be attending this college in the Fall and I know who each of you are and I voted for most of you and I'm trusting you, I'm counting on you, to hear my voice, my voice and the voice of all the people who spoke at the last meeting. I feel that our collective voices were very loud and were strong and we were not heard. A really small voice, the woman who instigated the complaint to begin with, was a very small voice and not even a full-time attending member of the college. Just a guest student from another community and I'm so insulted that her voice is heard louder than mine.  And I implore you to please look into this matter a little further and do something to get Professor Bonnell into his classroom. Thank you.

Jeff LaButte

I'm here to talk about Professor Bonnell. I took his class two years ago and I found him to be one of the most dynamic, thought-provoking teachers that I ever had and probably ever will have. It's pretty obvious that the students in Macomb feel that way through the protest, the flyers, people coming up here to speak, people that haven't seen him in twenty years coming up to speak.  And when I first saw in the paper about what was going on here, at first I was a little bit upset at the student who would take her personal beliefs and try to impose them on the rest of the people at Macomb Community College. And as Professor Bonnell is still not back teaching I'm realizing that this student has no power to stop Professor Bonnell  from teaching.  The only people who can do it is you people.  And you people are allowing your personal beliefs and the personal beliefs of this girl, one girl, to dictate the life of a man who spent  thirty-some years teaching college. It'll be a total shame, if you people vote to dismiss this teacher and just kick him out in the street because some person doesn't like his language. This is just unreal. I can't believe that this is even happening here. This is an adult community, it's adult-centered, it's not for little children. She's going to be going into the real world. This is hard, and this Board should tell her that she can deal with this class, she can transfer out of the class, she was informed the first day of class that she could transfer out of the class or other arrangements could be done.  I mean, I don't really know what else to say to you people, other that if you guys vote to dismiss him you should really feel ashamed of yourselves.  And that's all I have to say, thanks.

Michele Kazyak

I'm also here to talk about John Bonnell. In the past I have been a full-time student at Macomb Community College and currently I'm a full-time student at Wayne State and a part-time student at Macomb. In the past I've been extremely proud to say that I was a student at Macomb Community College and have suggested to everyone that I have encouraged to go there to take Professor Bonnell as an English instructor. I am a mother, I am a wife, I am a certified religious education instructor for the Roman Catholic Church, and I do not find Professor Bonnell to be offensive. What I do find to be offensive are the actions of the administration at Macomb Community College. I feel that their actions are ridiculous and in violation of not only his first amendment rights but of mine. In imposing a gag order and telling him that he is unable to speak to enrolled students at Macomb Community College, you are not only gagging him, you are gagging me. When I enrolled at Macomb Community College I did not realize that I would be forfeiting my first amendment rights to the administration. Since when does the College have the right to tell me, an American, a voter, a taxpayer, and an adult who I can speak with and on what subject matter?  The only people I see impeding the education process at Macomb right now is the administration. There's nothing wrong with using the language that we have at our disposal.  I had never heard him use the two words cited by the student that was given at the beginning of class; as a matter of fact, he made it perfectly clear that what he would be using is "yoni" or "yonic symbol," just like we have phallus or phallic symbol, which is used widespread in educational contexts. Yes, there was cussing, but there was nothing different, less offensive than R-rated movies. It was less offensive than the Starr Report. None of it was directed at any one person.  It was in relation to the material that we were studying. If Mr. Bonnell is to be deemed foul, than so must Shakespeare and the Bible.