General Discussion

Stating that you are excusing absences for attending a protest is silly. Not being even-handed about what you will excuse is even more silly. Not understanding that the climate is going to get you jammed up for something like that is even more silly again.

If you are going to excuse the absences at all, you don't need to announce it. Just do it. This instructor was trying to be provocative. Well, guess what? It worked.

Ultimately, the better lesson is that protesting costs you something, that protesting can be a sacrifice. In this case, students should have had to have decided whether to risk the absence for attending the protest. That's the better lesson than "I'll excuse absences for people I agree with," and then using the dishonest tactic of restricting the excuse to "organized protests" in order to punish those who want to counterprotest. That's a terrible message to students, actually.