In two recent separate incidents, students reported being addressed inappropriately by faculty members at Portland State University. One student claimed having his future law career threatened by a professor, and another professor accused a student of being a weapons dealer and FBI informant in the middle of a class.

The first conflict was between Kevin Hill, the faculty adviser of PSU’s Pre-Law Society, and group member Ron Lee.

Lee accused the group of financial mismanagement, and after a chain of bickering emails throughout the whole group, Hill sent Lee a private message.

“He sent me an inappropriate message with this opening statement that basically said ‘I have a relationship with all of the law schools in Oregon,’” Lee said.
 
In response, Lee contacted several Oregon law schools as well as the Oregon State Bar seeking repercussions for the professor. Hill subsequently resigned from his position with the Pre-Law Society, though he claims it was because of “family issues.”

In the second incident, Economics Professor John B. Hall halted his lecture on Jan. 14 to accuse a student, Zaki Bucharest, of being an FBI informant and trying to sell weapons to his classmates. Bucharest left the classroom mid-lecture while the rest of the class sat dumbfounded.

The University is currently investigating Hall, who has been relieved of his teaching duties.
 
There does not appear to be any administrative response to address the two incidents as a related pattern of faculty misconduct toward students.


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