Economics Lecturer Caught In Political Vandalism

This is actually the type of behavior you might expect from students. “A lecturer at the State University of New York at New Paltz was caught on video stealing Republican yard signs in New York,” Jeffrey Cimmino reported in The Washington Free Beacon on November 5, 2018. “Laura Ebert, who is an economics lecturer, has been charged with misdemeanor larceny for stealing signs endorsing Rep. John Faso (R., N.Y.) for Congress and Marc Molinaro, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in New York.”

“Video shows Ebert pulling up to a woman’s front yard, getting out, and putting the political signs in her pickup truck.” Ebert apologized to police for stealing the signs. Perhaps she should also apologize to her students: Many are sorry they took her class.

Of her 28 ratings on Rate My Professor.com, about half a dozen are positive. Here they are:

• “I had Dr. Ebert for macroeconomics. She is really nice and her tests are pretty easy. There is some homework involved, but do it and it will really help your grade.”

• “She is a very nice professor. Her quizzes and exams are easy. Sometimes she gets off topic but everything she talks about is interesting. She makes sure you understand each topic and bring up examples that are connected to everyday life to make sure you fully understand.”

• “Professor Ebert was a really nice professor, we had weekly quizzes that were pretty easy, and a midterm and a final. If you go to the class and pay attention you will do fine in the class”

• “Weekly quizzes which helped you prepare for the exam. Have homework every other week which was easy and she went over it during class. As long as you pay attention in class and study it’s an A. I ended up with an A- & I’m slacker. There’s 3 exams. Just study. I enjoyed the course.”

• “She is unorganized, but if you try to pay attention you will pass. She post her power points online which is a good way for you to study. She gives quizzes often (bout 7) but they tend to consist of 5-8 questions. Her test tend to be multiple choice and 2 short answers. She also wants you do a presentation at some point in the semester.”

• “She was perfect professor !!!”

Most of her RMP reviews run like this: “Terrible. One sided. Goes on Anti TRump rants. She should be nuetral and encourage independent thinking. Dont take her class. Boycott and complain to the faculty head.” It should be noted that this particular comment was posted on November 7, 2018, two days after Cimmino’s story appeared. Nonetheless, her earlier reviews on the page don’t differ markedly from it. Here’s one from May 23, 2018: “very unorganized. honestly the worst class i have ever taken in my four years as a college student. The econ department here is awful to begin with, but she is by far the worst of the worst. she does not know how to spell first of all. ie: Australia is not spelled ‘austerilia.’”

And here’s one from last year: “This was my second time taking Ebert and she sure is an interesting one. Quirky, all over the place, in constant need of reminding, and unorganized. Put the answer key to multiple choice on the back of half the class’ tests and when most did so good on the test she claimed didn’t find it to be a result of the answer key and graded them as is.”

Ebert doesn’t do much better on a site called Rate My Teacher, but then, neither does the rest of the university she teaches at: “Laura Ebert is an Economics professor at SUNY New Paltz located in New Paltz, New York. When comparing Laura Ebert’s ratings to other professors in the state of New York, Laura Ebert’s ratings are below the average of 4.39 stars. Additionally, the average professor rating at SUNY New Paltz is 3.96 stars.”

At SUNY-New Paltz, she has taught American Economic Development.

Related Topics