Faculty Perceptions and Encounters with Disrespectful Student Behavior (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Pre-Civil War records show disruptive student behavior occurred at America's most prestigious institutions, such as Yale, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and Harvard (Brubacher & Rudy, 1997, p. 50). College governance consisted of rigorous control of student behavior in and out of the classroom. Paternalistic discipline and elaborate punishments were designed to control "restless and unruly boys" with a "straight jacket" of petty rules. Regulations existed for virtually every aspect of student life: promptness, attendance at classes, dancing, drinking, swearing, idling, dressing, gambling, and prayers. The pre-Civil War college student responded to the disciplinary system and rules with violent and open rebellion, such as riots and street brawls, and even ransacking the Harvard Commons.