This Viewpoint is in response to the March 18 article by Brian O'Connor, "Some students say T.A. was intoxicated," regarding a drunk teaching assistant in a class on St. Patrick's Day. Obviously, we all make mistakes, but the decision to instruct a class while inebriated was a choice that will hopefully be punished severely. Regardless of whether this teaching assistant was intoxicated, her tarnished reputation and questionable sense of responsibility give reason for her swift removal from the Marquette community.

It is embarrassing, as a Marquette student, to know I belong to an institution where teachers choose a fun morning in place of a safe environment. Students pay a hefty amount of tuition in exchange for an education that no other school can offer. When the instructor of a class is drunk, I question whether or not my money is best spent here at Marquette. I expect my teachers to be in control of the classroom, and it is indisputable that someone under the influence of alcohol cannot perform such a task.

The most disappointing aspect of this whole ordeal is the Marquette administration had specifically requested that drunken students be removed from class, if the situation presented itself on St. Patrick's Day. A memo was e-mailed to all teachers which outlined appropriate measures to be taken if problems arose last Wednesday. Ironically, the problem was not with a student attending class under the influence, but instead with the person who was accountable to prevent such a situation.

The four pillars Marquette is structured upon are faith, excellence, service and leadership, and the staff should be an example of those. This T.A. made a mockery of the Marquette name when she decided to drink in the morning and teach later that day, and that should be grounds for severe punishment and/or dismissal.

West is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.