Forumites I'm Missing

[kaysixteen]

Yes, that would be the impression she gave.   Scientists and humanists have had this internecine quarrel for, well, nigh onto forever.   I confess I am on the humanities side, of course, and consider that the depth of reading and analysis skills given by such an education is, well... better, in these areas, than an engineering degree.   But I do try not to emphasize my views.   Sometimes she made it very very hard.

[Clarino1]

I am pretty sure that she was Vox.  I think we were all under the impression for a time that our jobs were safe, but a new President came in who was gung-ho sports and thought music was frivolous, so, even though enrollments were fairly high, he insisted on abolishing most of the music program, including terminating tenured faculty.  I should mention that she is now a model, which would play into here knowledge of makeup.

[lightning]

I am pretty sure that she was Vox.  I think we were all under the impression for a time that our jobs were safe, but a new President came in who was gung-ho sports and thought music was frivolous, so, even though enrollments were fairly high, he insisted on abolishing most of the music program, including terminating tenured faculty.  I should mention that she is now a model, which would play into here knowledge of makeup.

I'm very sorry to read about what happened to her and you. It sounds like you both have moved on, and from the tone of your post, you are thriving with no bitterness.

There were posters on the old CHE fora who posted a lot, and Vox was one of them. Even though I disagreed with her on some things and we even sparred occasionally, including one epic tussle that I will never forget, I do miss her presence.  A lot of what she discussed resonated with me, and for the most part, she was well-intentioned and gave a lot of informed thoughts to discussions, which often reflected her vast authentic experiences. Yeah, I know she tended to be counted upon to be part of or even lead a pile-on on some hapless clueless newbie, but I think her heart was in the right place. And, I did learn and grow and become a little better at the game of academe, just from reading her posts.

The same thing goes for polly_mer, for the most part, even though there were times when we felt compelled to snark-challenge each other's value and belief systems. I owe a lot of my successful career navigation to polly_mer even though our experiences in the profession were vastly different.

[Parasaurolophus]

As you know, the moderating here is very light. eigen and I have both said in the past that that's not what we'd prefer, but that it's clearly what the membership here wants. And we abide by that, and we're happy to revisit it if and when the community wants to do so.

Despite our laissez faire moderation policy, several posters have received notes and warnings about their posts at this point. I can't speak to the notes the others sent, but I think it's fair to say that any notes you may have received from me were not particularly harsh or inflammatory. I have every confidence that if polly received such a note, it would have been in kind.

If that was the last straw, that's too bad. But it's the same courtesy everyone else here gets, and those of you who've received warnings have done a fine job of sticking around and toeing the line. Hopefully she'll return sometime when she's feeling up to it again.

But not before I outpost her... ;)

[mahagonny]

Aside from that...

You don't need formal warnings to inhibit speech. This is becoming vividly clear in our Orwellian academic and home real life, as the generally understood-as-required aspiring to a value of *diversity* gives those charged with implementing diversity initiatives enormous control. Since they are power-hungry the idea they circulate is never that we have the amount of diversity we need and the appreciation of that diversity that we need; rather, that we never have enough of either. The result is the mania and break with reality we see everywhere.

The forum is a mixture of academics who (1) know each other in real life (2) don't (3) are concerned about people being able to find out who they are and (4) are not, or are less so. A former academic who has things to muse about, related to academia, can even be present. So I would expect the amount of self censorship varies from one poster to the next.

[voxprincipalis]

I am pretty sure that she was Vox.  I think we were all under the impression for a time that our jobs were safe, but a new President came in who was gung-ho sports and thought music was frivolous, so, even though enrollments were fairly high, he insisted on abolishing most of the music program, including terminating tenured faculty.  I should mention that she is now a model, which would play into here knowledge of makeup.

Hello all!

While I kind of wish that this romantic story was mine, it is not. Sadly, I am not a model. This is probably for the best, though, because otherwise I would probably have a cocaine addiction. So, you know, it all evens out.

But, someone told me about this and it inspired me to register and say hello.

My relationship with higher ed is a bit tumultuous right now — that is true. I'd like to leave my job, which is the same one I've had for 15 years. It would mean leaving academia entirely, probably, because who the hell is going to hire full-time/TT music professors right now? No one, that's who. But maybe that would also be OK.

I have a therapist who became a therapist after having worked for a long time in another field, and she said it took her about 8-10 years to actually make the career change. So I have a couple more years to think about it.

Anyway, hello and best wishes to everyone. I hope I've gotten wiser over the years since the regular Fora closed down. I guess we'll see?

VP

[mamselle]

Welcome back!

Good to see your moniker.

M.

[Parasaurolophus]

Yes, welcome back! I hope you'll stick around!

[Clarino1]

Vox, I, too, am glad you are back, even though you are not the lady I knew earlier!

[voxprincipalis]

Thanks to all for your good wishes! I will try to re-find a place here. Maybe it will be different from how it was before. We can all grow and change, yes?

[downer]

Nice to see you again Vox. We have all changed, I'm sure. And now there's no connection with CHE, these fora have a different feel to them. I suspect the numbers of participants are less too. Still, people find the discussions helpful sometimes.

[mamselle]

Biggest plus: NO SPAM!!!! (Thanks, mods!)

M.

[mahagonny]

It's a shame to cut music from a school.

[Wahoo Redux]

It's a shame to cut music from a school.

A tremendous loss.

Hello Vox!  Welcome back! Er...Welcome to your new hideout, I guess!

[Wahoo Redux]

these fora have a different feel to them. I suspect the numbers of participants are less too.

Academia is under stress, times are getting worse for the hallowed halls, and I think we are all sadder than the old'n days of CHE.