IHE: White Faculty Applicant Sues Over Racism

[Mobius]

Anyone hear of this story? Applied for 79 openings in Kent State's sociology department. Didn't get the hint. Sued for alleged discrimination.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/women/article/15097053/judge-dismisses-discrimination-suit-against-kent-state

[ciao_yall]

Anyone hear of this story? Applied for 79 openings in Kent State's sociology department. Didn't get the hint. Sued for alleged discrimination.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/women/article/15097053/judge-dismisses-discrimination-suit-against-kent-state

He touched her feet? Ew.

[mahagonny]

I definitely don't think full on Wokeism should be dominant and unquestioned. However, I do think we'd be better off if we didn't use "status quo" (disguised as chasing merit or whatever) as a default system because "it ain't broke."  It may not be broke enough for *some* to spend any time trying to fix anything, but for other its very much "broke."

The argument that "merit" can be open to interpretation is reasonable, as is the argument that what counts depends on the goals of the organization. The real test of whether changes to the status quo are legitimate attempts to address that rather than just wokeness run amok is whether things like broadening the criteria used to evaluate candidates apply equally to all candidates, (or whether the "required" response to questions is the same for all candidates),  whether the criteria are cherry-picked to select the "right" candidates, or only applied in certain searches, etc.

I have watched for years while the size and influence of my schools'  Diversity no, Diversity and Inclusion no, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion staff have grown with no end in sight. They routinely portray 'systemic racism' as a monster of incalculable size.

[Wahoo Redux]

Anyone hear of this story? Applied for 79 openings in Kent State's sociology department. Didn't get the hint. Sued for alleged discrimination.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/women/article/15097053/judge-dismisses-discrimination-suit-against-kent-state

He touched her feet? Ew.

Well...given that the case was thrown out and given that the litigant seemed a little unbalanced, I would be a bit dubious about the claim.

[Caracal]

Anyone hear of this story? Applied for 79 openings in Kent State's sociology department. Didn't get the hint. Sued for alleged discrimination.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/women/article/15097053/judge-dismisses-discrimination-suit-against-kent-state

He touched her feet? Ew.

Well...given that the case was thrown out and given that the litigant seemed a little unbalanced, I would be a bit dubious about the claim.

How were there 79 openings to apply for? I guess if they fully advertise every adjunct position for five years? Maybe? But yeah, I'm not sure what we are supposed to take from that. Anybody can bring a lawsuit. Nuisance suits  aren't likely to be much of a problem or particularly expensive for a college-that's why they have lawyers working for them.

[marshwiggle]

Anyone hear of this story? Applied for 79 openings in Kent State's sociology department. Didn't get the hint. Sued for alleged discrimination.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/women/article/15097053/judge-dismisses-discrimination-suit-against-kent-state

From the article:

Sheppard said she unsuccessfully applied for jobs 79 times through Kent State's online human resources website and later met with the White chair of the Sociology Department to discuss employment.

What is a "White chair"? Is that some special designation now?

[Parasaurolophus]

Presumably it's named after someone called White. I knew a family of very rich Whites.

[apl68]

Presumably it's named after someone called White. I knew a family of very rich Whites.

About half the people I've known who were named White were white, and about half were black (I've also been acquainted with both white Blacks and black Blacks).  One of the former was known as "Red" White for his hair.

[Mobius]

The claims are just claims. The 79 applications is the story but being told. She didn't get the hint after the first two or three rejections? Anyone work in departments with a serial applicant?

[onthefringe]

The claims are just claims. The 79 applications is the story but being told. She didn't get the hint after the first two or three rejections? Anyone work in departments with a serial applicant?

As a note, she has relatively recently died.

She represented herself pro se in this and apparently several other lawsuits. It's clear that her grasp of the norms of academia (and the norms of the legal system) were tenuous at best.