“You can get the funk out of my class, if you guys are going to keep talking.”

Replace funk with another word starting with an “f” and you can imagine senior business administration major Cynthia Gaspard’s surprise when her professor dropped the f-bomb in class. Faculty using vulgarity at NIU is not as uncommon as some would believe.

Freshman psychology major Adam Erickson said it wasn’t a good thing when one of his professors said, “I’m sorry I’m late – every damn day.”

Some students said they don’t really care about professors swearing and even enjoy it.

Senior psychology major Andre Margossian said he liked it when a professor said “[F—] you, George Bush!” in class.

Doris MacDonald, chair of the English department, said cursing can be viewed in different ways.

MacDonald said for some students, the f-word has lost its meaning and does not offend them, but emphasized there are many different ways a professor can express ideas without offending students.

Political science professor Greg Schmidt said using taboo words is appropriate when discussing their usage in sources such as plays or novels.

But some professors don’t have a problem with cursing in any situation.

John Butler, assistant professor of communication, said professors should speak in a language at the level of their audience so they can reach them better.

“I think we are in a public university and students are adults,” he said.

Butler teaches a class called popular culture, which frequently uses videos containing curse words and has received a complaint regarding the use of such language.

NIU does not have a written policy about the issue. However, a student who feels offended by the language used in class can first refer the concern to the department chair, said NIU Provost Earl Seaver.

Seaver said professors have freedom of speech, but they have to use words in a professional manner.