Faculty At Columbia Smoking the Crack
This poster is responding to a group of faculty members at Columbia denouncing the university’s administration decision on a sundry of issues. One of the issues was the way the President of Columbia strongly denounced the so-called President of Iran.
My question: Say that a Columbia department sponsored a forum, to which it invited a virulently homophobic, ethnically bigoted political leader — who was also big on using the power of government to suppress dissent — on the quite plausible theory that he’s an important leader and it’s valuable for Columbia students to learn such people. Imagine someone like David Duke, perhaps, only ideologically worse and more powerful. And say a University official forcefully but substantively criticized this leader’s speech at this forum, while of course allowing the leader to talk.
Do you think these Columbia faculty would or should condemn the University official’s behavior? Oh, wait, that’s exactly what happened here, except the person wasn’t named David Duke.
More on Columbia from a different poster.
Five students drinking Gatorade and water for a week are apparently all it takes to bring a major university to its knees. Columbia has had more than its share of lunatic events this year - the noose, the cancellation of the Minuteman speakers for the second time, inviting and then abusing the Iranian madman, and last week another controversy over a biased comment someone had scrawled into a library book. But the collapse of the university in the face of five student hunger strikers - the number was reduced to two students before the university folded - makes all the previous lunacies seem sane.
The strikers got most of their scattershot agenda. New faculty will now have to endure diversity indoctrination as part of their hiring. Columbia’s core curriculum, much too “Eurocentric” for the strikers, will now feature more more required courses on Asia, Africa, and Latin America. More money and staff will be added for ethnic studies. The Office of Multicultural Affairs will be expanded and another high-ranking diversicrat will be named to the administration. The collapse will cost Columbia at least $50 million.
Go multiculturalism. May you ruin everything.
November 16th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I think it was in poor taste for the president of Columbia to invite a Ahmedinejad to speak, then publicly insult him. If there was a chance for debate that’s one thing, but to simply make a stab without a chance for him to respond is immature and not how the president of a major university should conduct himself. Also, if he is politicizing the academic atmosphere the faculty should stand against him.
As for the hunger strike, well most American schools are too Eurocentric. I don’t really care enough about it to say more though.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Michael, how can you possibly say “make a stab without a chance for him to respond” when he’s introducing Ahmedinejad’s speech, which will not be censored? That’s ridiculous. Ahmedinejad could, and did, respond in the speech.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
What exactly is multicultarism ruining? Columbia is private last I checked. If they feel that those steps will help with alumni contributions and number of applications, then it is a smart business move. Nobody pays here - this is a private organization looking out for the bottom line. You can have a distaste in your mouth about the whole thing, but the solution for you then is simple. Don’t give any money to the business.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I think we have a constant and intractable difference in opinions on whether or not a movement or ideology should, in its entirety, be held rhetorically responsible for the actions of its dumbest proponents.
I would point out that all of these people you hate are Americans, and therefore you’re saying that you hate America, but I’m sure when you do it then it’s appropriate to apply nuance.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:42 am
So then you would strongly denounce the argumentation used by this faculty.