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#1
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by treeoflife - Today at 01:25:55 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on Today at 10:03:10 AM
QuoteI still wonder what diversity officers spend their time doing.

Some of them send emails defining privilege, which according to the former Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins, includes among others "white people, heterosexuals, cisgender people, men, and Christians". 

QuoteChief Diversity Officer Steps Down Amid Backlash Over 'Privilege' Email

QuoteDr. Sherita Hill Golden has stepped down from her role as vice president and chief diversity officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The act comes two months after backlash for an email newsletter in which Golden explained the concept of privilege, according to reporting from The Baltimore Sun. In the January newsletter from the Baltimore hospital and research center's diversity office, Golden wrote that "privilege" was the "word of the month," defining it as "a set of unearned benefits given to people who are in a specific social group." The social groups were categorized, in part, as white people, heterosexuals, cisgender people, men, and Christians.

A correction is unfolding in the DEI space before our eyes. This is a good thing, we need DEI initiatives but we need correction to the discourse.
#2
The State of Higher Ed / Re: Senate Bill
Last post by treeoflife - Today at 01:00:42 PM
This article should be viewed as paid advertisement or the ACLU director who wrote it never practiced tax law or administrative law a day in his life. A non profit designation is an administrative action and there is nothing wrong with the agency giving it having the ability to investigate. This is what is meant by executive power.
#3
General Discussion / Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Last post by cathwen - Today at 12:49:05 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBB yesterday for bollard, oddball, and rollbar. Genius with pangram so far today.

LB: I had the "official" multiplexes-show. No solution yet today.

Ciao_yall, Rouffignac and Font-de-Gaume are truly amazing. I understand reluctance to visit a reconstructed cave. However, Lascaux II is painstakingly done, the guides are fabulous, and the lectures beforehand are fascinating. More touristy, to be sure, though. The others are off the beaten path. Enjoy the southwest! I love that region.

Happy puzzling and vacationing!
#4
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by dismalist - Today at 12:22:30 PM
Quote from: spork on Today at 12:14:15 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on Today at 07:54:58 AM[. . .]

  • Another made a point about making sure to compliment immigrants on their English.

[. . .]

Odd that this qualifies as a "wrong" response. I complimented an immigrant on her English. Now we are married, which makes me more diverse.

Now where did I put my "Gays for Gaza" t-shirt?

Quote"I talk to everyone, CEO to janitor, top to bottom."

That one's my favorite, and I do talk to everyone. As proof I offer the following occurrence: Two security guards, both Black, were chatting near the entrance to a lecture hall, discussing what one could get out of life. As they saw me approaching one said to the other: Dismalist would say "life wasn't meant to be easy". We knew each other that well.
#5
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by spork - Today at 12:14:15 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on Today at 07:54:58 AM[. . .]

  • Another made a point about making sure to compliment immigrants on their English.

[. . .]

Odd that this qualifies as a "wrong" response. I complimented an immigrant on her English. Now we are married, which makes me more diverse.

Now where did I put my "Gays for Gaza" t-shirt?
#6
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by Ruralguy - Today at 12:10:18 PM
Truthfully, we've had some job candidates who were fairly cringy on a wide-range of topics. But I can see how DEI might bring out the worst of such tendencies.
#7
Teaching / Re: Favorite student emails
Last post by mythbuster - Today at 11:57:08 AM
The ones that boggle my mind are the vacations that include the entire first week of the semester. Given that our schedules are posted 2 years in advance- they really should know when the semester stats.
#8
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by Dismal - Today at 11:08:20 AM

QuoteTrying to remember specifics.


  • One just wrote "I have no idea what to say here."
  • Another made a point about making sure to compliment immigrants on their English.
  • "I talk to everyone, CEO to janitor, top to bottom."




QuoteI cringe just reading that middle one now....

Maybe 20 years ago my U at that time was trying to get faculty to engage with diversity issues and a newsletter touted the successes so far. A faculty member in STEM wrote that he was trying to become more knowledgeable about student culture and so he had assigned math problems involving the number of tacos. We hoped it was a joke but the diversity office seemed to think it was real.   
#9
The State of Higher Ed / Re: DEI programs in the news
Last post by apl68 - Today at 10:57:43 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on Today at 07:54:58 AM
Quote from: Wahoo Redux on May 07, 2024, 09:14:00 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on May 07, 2024, 09:08:56 AM
Quote from: dismalist on May 07, 2024, 08:31:28 AM
QuoteIn announcing the change, M.I.T.'s president, Sally Kornbluth, said diversity statements constituted a form of compelled speech that do not work.

If they don't work, they wouldn't have to be abolished. Problem is they do work in selecting faculty.

I disagree. I have seen some that were so cringeworthy we were able to avoid wasting our time interviewing the candidate.



Why were they cringeworthy?  What does someone say in a DEI statement that is so wrong it eliminates them as a job candidate?

Trying to remember specifics.

  • One just wrote "I have no idea what to say here."
  • Another made a point about making sure to compliment immigrants on their English.
  • "I talk to everyone, CEO to janitor, top to bottom."

That sort of thing. People who are more about making the point that they see humanity in those others might see as sub-human or inferior as opposed to being reasonably educated about why a college with a diverse student population might be asking such a question.

I cringe just reading that middle one now....
#10
Teaching / Re: Favorite student emails
Last post by the_geneticist - Today at 10:47:40 AM
Quote from: secundem_artem on May 07, 2024, 07:21:08 AMBy the time I was an undergrad, I was no longer vacationing with my parents.  Seems like a lot of kids are not willing to fledge and leave the nest.

Why not?  Many families still travel together, even when everyone is an adult.  Parents can typically fund a better trip than a student can afford on their own.