The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on Today at 03:37:06 PM

Quote from: dismalist on Today at 03:35:51 PMHamas is not Gandhi.

Who said they were? These aren't pro-Hamas protests, and I wasn't talking about Hamas's attack on Israel.

"I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours."
--Lewis Carroll

Quote from: dismalist on Today at 03:35:51 PMHamas is not Gandhi.

Who said they were? These aren't pro-Hamas protests, and I wasn't talking about Hamas's attack on Israel.

Hamas is not Gandhi.

It may be worth reminding people that even the Civil Rights protests, protests which we widely acknowledge as good and non-violent, and models of good protests, were very unpopular. In 1961, only 27% of people thought sit-ins, freedom buses, etc. helped the Civil Rights cause. in 1968, fully 75% of whites disapproved of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Protests are disruptive, and that doesn't win them many friends. But that doesn't make them wrong, or less important.

I just found out one of the students in one of my classes recently turned 15 yrs old. So she was only 14 when she entered college.  She's quite smart and very cute and I hope she does not just wind up as jail bait for a senior football player or frat bro.

Sorry to hear that Artem U's leadership is continuing to put off tough decisions.  That will only make for tougher ones later.

As I said on another thread, I'm proposing to our Board of Trustees this coming week that we reduce service hours slightly, to recognize that we've reduced staff hours by letting a semi-retired staff member drop from full-time to part-time.  The savings will only amount to 2% of the budget, but it's a start on right-sizing our budget--and on what may end up being a greater long-term reduction in staff.  Doing some less painful things to save money now when we still have money in the bank will be better than using up all our reserves and then suddenly being forced into desperate measures.

Quote from: marshwiggle on Today at 06:38:24 AMI would imagine at any sort of protest, from any part of the political spectrum, many (if not most) of the most violent agitators have little or no connection to the cause, but just want to steal and destroy.

What you describe above is clearly wrong, but just as clearly unlike what is actually happening in these protests.


https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/05/03/college-campus-protests-israel-gaza-student-journalists-00155672

The government has announced the arrests of three men who are alleged to have carried out a hit on behalf of the Indian government. CBC reports that at least some had student visas here in the last couple of years. Presumably in my province, since that's where the murdered guy lived.


All three are the names of students I've had in the last couple of years. Now, they're fairly common names, so it may not be them. But...

Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with a hint for the last word, arrowroot. QB today with hints for the last two words.

LB: rapido-obstinancy. I was really surprised that rapido was accepted, but I am not complaining!

Ab_grp, don't you just hate it when a repair person comes and does something simple that you should have thought of? When my induction range stopped working, the repairman asked, "Did you check the circuit breakers?" Uh...no. Turns out that was the problem.

I hope that your husband's appointment goes well, and that his issues are not serious.

Happy puzzling!

Quote from: secundem_artem on April 19, 2024, 10:01:57 AMThanks to all for the concern and good wishes for all the ongoing mishegoss at Artem U.  I'm personally safe and close enough to retirement that if the merde well and truly hits the fan, I am well funded for retirement and can just leave.

Earlier this week, the advisory body that was the next step in the process just spit the pacifier and threw all the toys out of the crib.  Were I the prez, I'd argue that they did not negotiate in good faith.  They have essentially ceded all decision making to the board and gawd knows what those guys may do.

Said advisory body seems to have recognized they shat the bed and are scrambling to come up  with a last minute, Hail Mary proposal to get in front of the board.  I'd offer that the proposals are about as effective as "let's have a bake sale".  Rather than dance with the devil they knew, now we all get to dance with the devil we don't.  Academic governance is a freakin' farce.  Nobody should take it seriously. 

Update.

All the tall foreheads and deep thinkers on the board punted.  No decision made.

Everybody knows something or somebody is gonna get cut. But nobody has the balls to wield the knife.

SO NOW FVCK1N6 WHAT!!!!???!!!

I'm inclined to ride this thing all the way to the bottom just to see how cowardly, incompetent, naive, foolish and generally stupid people can be.  I'll turn off the lights off on my way out.

My contempt for so-called faculty governance continues if the various wets and sob sisters cannot actually make a painful decision.  Putting adherence to mission over financial concerns is fine, BUT ONLY IF THE BLOODY FUNDS EXIST TO PAY FOR IT!!