Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You...

[Harry Tic]

the occupant of the Michael G. Scott Chair of Diversity Studies.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/colle...esus%E2%80%99/

[Color Me Badd Fan]

This article is a pretty good demonstration of how much flab and bullshit currently resides within academia. Regardless of what the true story is regarding this kid (maybe there were additional reasons why he was suspended from that class), they're not refuting that the professor: a) was teaching a class on some bullshit called "Intercultural Communications"; b) teaching from a textbook called “Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 5th Edition"-- sounds both high-minded and like pure bullshit; and c) that the teacher, regardless of any personal bias, thought it was somehow instructive to have everyone come down and stomp on a paper with "Jesus" emblazoned on it.

The fact that the costs and expense for stuff like this has increased unchecked (partly because student loans are virtually impossible to discharge through bankruptcy) just shows you the market distortion that's currently in effect in that sector of the economy. When colleges and universities are looking to cut back, they need to first start with their bloated administration/bureaucracy and then cut back on course like this. What a bunch of nonsense.

[Harry Tic]

This article is a pretty good demonstration of how much flab and bullshit currently resides within academia. Regardless of what the true story is regarding this kid (maybe there were additional reasons why he was suspended from that class), they're not refuting that the professor: a) was teaching a class on some bullshit called "Intercultural Communications"; b) teaching from a textbook called “Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 5th Edition"-- sounds both high-minded and like pure bullshit; and c) that the teacher, regardless of any personal bias, thought it was somehow instructive to have everyone come down and stomp on a paper with "Jesus" emblazoned on it.

The fact that the costs and expense for stuff like this has increased unchecked (partly because student loans are virtually impossible to discharge through bankruptcy) just shows you the market distortion that's currently in effect in that sector of the economy. When colleges and universities are looking to cut back, they need to first start with their bloated administration/bureaucracy and then cut back on course like this. What a bunch of nonsense.

I must say I winced when I clicked on the story and saw the kid was LDS. But if you watched the video interview, you could see he was actually fairly articulate. I would be surprised if the professor were as capable of putting together a coherent thought.

[Indy Coug]

I must say I winced when I clicked on the story and saw the kid was LDS. But if you watched the video interview, you could see he was actually fairly articulate. I would be surprised if the professor were as capable of putting together a coherent thought.

He issued a written statement, which was delivered with a dirty footprint (sandal) on it.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I must say I winced when I clicked on the story and saw the kid was LDS. But if you watched the video interview, you could see he was actually fairly articulate. I would be surprised if the professor were as capable of putting together a coherent thought.

If this story is true as currently presented, I think it casts the kid in a pretty good light. Personally, I wouldn't have participated and then just let it go at that. He took it a step further, but I don't think it's totally out of left field to go to the department and let them know the professor is off her rocker and wildly inappropriate. I can't imagine how the professor thought it was both appropriate and instructive to have college kids do that. I don't buy that the book told her to do that, but it's not like professors have to follow everything in these textbooks.

[Omaha 680]

If this story is true as currently presented, I think it casts the kid in a pretty good light. Personally, I wouldn't have participated and then just let it go at that. He took it a step further, but I don't think it's totally out of left field to go to the department and let them know the professor is off her rocker and wildly inappropriate. I can't imagine how the professor thought it was both appropriate and instructive to have college kids do that. I don't buy that the book told her to do that, but it's not like professors have to follow everything in these textbooks.

Seriously, what kind of defense for a college professor is that? "The book told me to do it." There are going to be all kinds of things taught in academia that I agree and disagree with but defend what you do on its merits. Don't hide behind your silly textbook.

[Jeff Lebowski]

[Joe Public]

If this story is true as currently presented, I think it casts the kid in a pretty good light. Personally, I wouldn't have participated and then just let it go at that. He took it a step further, but I don't think it's totally out of left field to go to the department and let them know the professor is off her rocker and wildly inappropriate. I can't imagine how the professor thought it was both appropriate and instructive to have college kids do that. I don't buy that the book told her to do that, but it's not like professors have to follow everything in these textbooks.

Sheena was a man:



http://www.fau.edu/scms/poole.php

[Donuthole]

He issued a written statement, which was delivered with a dirty footprint (sandal) on it.

Only one set of footprints?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

It boggles the mind to think about all the resources that fund this kind of bullshit:

His research focuses on the role mediated messages play in shaping individual attitudes and beliefs concerning issues of justice and inequality, and examines how leaders, organizations, and other influential authorities dominate and oppress marginalized groups of people

How many administrators and professors out there make careers out of continually stirring the turds? Is there a need for some research on this? Sure, but the obsession with it on campuses is ridiculous. I draw the line when they start cutting science and engineering budgets and dramatically hiking tuition to fund this kind of crap which is exactly what's been happening in the UC system in California (where it's actually not so much more professors but more "diversity" administrators and departments).

http://www.city-journal.org/2011/cjc0714hm.html

Here's a quote:

UC San Diego is adding diversity fat even as it snuffs out substantive academic programs. In March, the Academic Senate decided that the school would no longer offer a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering; it also eliminated a master’s program in comparative literature and courses in French, German, Spanish, and English literature. At the same time, the body mandated a new campus-wide diversity requirement for graduation. The cultivation of “a student’s understanding of her or his identity,” as the diversity requirement proposal put it, would focus on “African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Chicanos, Latinos, Native Americans, or other groups” through the “framework” of “race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexuality, language, ability/disability, class or age.” Training computer scientists to compete with the growing technical prowess of China and India, apparently, can wait. More pressing is guaranteeing that students graduate from UCSD having fully explored their “identity.” Why study Cervantes, Voltaire, or Goethe when you can contemplate yourself? “Diversity,” it turns out, is simply a code word for narcissism.

Aside from its long coastline, weather and natural resources, the thing that has made California an economic engine is its Universities and scientific/engineering prowess they bestow. They fund these charlatans and strip the science departments at their own peril.

[Solon]

It boggles the mind to think about all the resources that fund this kind of bullshit:



How many administrators and professors out there make careers out of continually stirring the turds? Is there a need for some research on this? Sure, but the obsession with it on campuses is ridiculous. I draw the line when they start cutting science and engineering budgets and dramatically hiking tuition to fund this kind of crap which is exactly what's been happening in the UC system in California (where it's actually not so much more professors but more "diversity" administrators and departments).

http://www.city-journal.org/2011/cjc0714hm.html

I agree that there's a lot of bullshit in academia and this prof sounds clumsy at best, but it sounds like this kid should have gone to a more homogenous school where the instructors would hesitate to challenge preconceived notions or beliefs.

Reminds me of a student in a class for which I was a grader. Religious student refused to read the assigned book (a novel) because it used the F-word. Student was upset that the prof respected the principled decision but, wouldn't just give her an A on the assignment.

It's great to make a principled stand but part of the equation is accepting the consequences.

[Indy Coug]

I agree that there's a lot of bullshit in academia and this prof sounds clumsy at best, but it sounds like this kid should have gone to a more homogenous school where the instructors would hesitate to challenge preconceived notions or beliefs.

Reminds me of a student in a class for which I was a grader. Religious student refused to read the assigned book (a novel) because it used the F-word. Student was upset that the prof respected the principled decision but, wouldn't just give her an A on the assignment.

It's great to make a principled stand but part of the equation is accepting the consequences.

Where exactly does suspending a student enter the equation when discussing the challenging of preconceived notions or beliefs?

[Harry Tic]

Just two quick points about the instructor. (1) He is just that, an instructor. Not a professor. Probably cheap labor for the university and/or unable to get a real academic gig. This could be a function of a poor job market (a distinct possibility in a field like communications) or his own lack of appeal as a candidate. No one would confuse Howard University (where he got his PhD) with Yale. Or even Utah. (2) His bio boasts about a forthcoming book with Edwin Mellen Press. That's a vanity press. No one will take it seriously in academia. It's kind of pathetic, really.

To make a long story short, this case is not necessarily representative of anything in particular, although we all enjoy a good jeremiad now and then. I'm just drawn to the irony of the stunningly poor judgment of someone like this purporting to teach a course on "intercultural communication."

[Jeff Lebowski]

I agree that there's a lot of bullshit in academia and this prof sounds clumsy at best, but it sounds like this kid should have gone to a more homogenous school where the instructors would hesitate to challenge preconceived notions or beliefs.

Reminds me of a student in a class for which I was a grader. Religious student refused to read the assigned book (a novel) because it used the F-word. Student was upset that the prof respected the principled decision but, wouldn't just give her an A on the assignment.

It's great to make a principled stand but part of the equation is accepting the consequences.

I think there is a wee bit of a difference between assigning a book with an f-bomb and asking the students to stomp on the word Jesus. And why suspend the student? What the hell does that accomplish?

And here are the instructions from the textbook:

“This exercise is a bit sensitive, but really drives home the point that even though symbols are arbitrary, they take on very strong and emotional meanings. Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper. Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence, instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”

IOW, the author expects that many will hesitate and that hesitation becomes the point of the discussion. Well in this case, one student hesitated. Why not explore that hesitation and why it would be offensive to him and then move on? If the prof thought that the primary objective was to force everyone to do it (at the threat of expulsion), he is an idiot.

[Indy Coug]

I think the textbook exercise has legitimate value in demonstrating the power of symbols. It's more than effectively illustrated by each student's hesitation or refusal. I fail to see what additional learning comes from forcing someone to actually do it. At that point, it isn't educational, it's simply abusive.