Another Seuss Cancellation Thread (Summer 2023)

[marshwiggle]

Colleges have big mouths about free speech and free inquiry. 

Colleges also prattle endlessly about being welcoming, being safe for everyone, and DEI.

It may be that you can't have both at the same time, particularly if we conceive of college students as being so incredibly fragile.

As long as "safety" is in the eye of the beholder, that will be the case.

Life is not "safe".

[Wahoo Redux]

Don't know what to make of this one.  Clearly a typical homophobic and racial bigot trying to sublimate in academese...but still, he has an opinion...had to flee to Florida to feel safe with it...

IHE: New College of Florida Hires Professor Who Champions Colonialism

Lower Deck:

The institution's president has appointed Bruce Gilley—who's argued that a "European moral revolution" ended Africa's "endemic slave empires" and said the transgender flag symbolizes mutilating children—to teach.

A second way to "reclaim colonialism," Gilley wrote, "is to recolonize some regions. Western countries should be encouraged to hold power in specific governance areas (public finances, say, or criminal justice) in order to jump-start enduring reforms in weak states." Thirdly, he added, "it may be possible to build new Western colonies from scratch." He did say colonialism could return "only with the consent of the colonized."

<...>

The article was published in September 2017. By the end of that month, Gilley, a politics and global affairs professor, was himself calling for its retraction. "I regret the pain and anger that it has caused for many people," he said in a statement. "I hope that this action will allow a more civil and caring discussion on this important issue to take place." The journal removed the essay from its website, citing threats of violence to its then editor.

<...>

So Gilley clearly hasn't changed his tune. "Decolonization has been the greatest human rights disaster ever," he told Inside Higher Ed this week. He said he's heard support for his arguments from people of color who live in countries that were once European colonies.

"They're sick and tired of having Black activists in America or white film studies professors telling them what they're supposed to think about their own histories," Gilley said.

Hmmm...gotta throw a little doubt on that last one there...

[Wahoo Redux]

And this is more of the typical stick-up-the-wazoo / admincritters-wetting-their-pantaloons type bruhaha. 

IHE: U of Houston Cancels Art Event for Sculpture Deemed 'Satanic'

Lower Deck:

Antiabortion groups say the sculpture being exhibited on campus has "satanic" imagery and reflects the artist's stance on abortion rights.

The sculpture, "Witness," by Pakistani American artist Shahzia Sikander, is slated for an eight-month stay at the Public Art of the University of Houston System collection. It features an 18-foot woman with thick, gold braids that resemble rams' horns and arms and legs that look like roots. The woman also wears a hooped skirt with mosaic details and a distinctive collar that is an homage to the signature lace judicial collars worn by late U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

<....>

Texas Right to Life, an antiabortion advocacy organization, released a blistering statement, describing the sculpture as having "satanic imagery to honor abortion" and memorialize Ginsburg.

<....>

"Disobedience to God certainly should not be esteemed by society, much less lauded with a statue," the statement read. "On the contrary, art should reflect truth, goodness, and beauty: three timeless values that reveal the nature of God. Art cannot have beauty without truth. Art cannot have truth without goodness. A statue honoring child sacrifice has no place in Texas."

[nebo113]

On the contrary, art should reflect truth, goodness, and beauty: three timeless values that reveal the nature of God. Art cannot have beauty without truth. Art cannot have truth without goodness.

Wonder if she approves of Michangelo's David.....  That man is certainly beautiful, and his body truthfully sculpted.....Though his relationship with Tommasso may make him unacceptable to those who require the missionary position.

[Wahoo Redux]

This is a bit of a reversal, but NBC News: BYU now requires incoming students to read controversial 'musket fire' speech

Lower Deck

The 2021 address, which defends "marriage as the union of a man and a woman," called on members of the Mormon church to defend its teachings with "musket fire."

A new required course at the Provo, Utah, university titled "UNIV 101: BYU Foundations for Student Success, a New Chapter for BYU" features the controversial "musket fire" speech by Latter-day Saint religious leader and former BYU President Jeffrey R. Holland as a core reading. Starting in the winter 2024 semester, all incoming students, except transfer students, will have to take the course in their first semester.

In the speech titled "The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University," Holland condemned criticisms of the Mormon faith, calling on members of the church to defend its teachings with "musket fire." One such teaching, Holland said, includes "the doctrine of the family and defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman."

[kaysixteen]

This is BYU.   What would you expect them to do, deny their fundamental teachings and/or not teach these to their students?

[ciao_yall]

This is a bit of a reversal, but NBC News: BYU now requires incoming students to read controversial 'musket fire' speech

Lower Deck

The 2021 address, which defends "marriage as the union of a man and a woman," called on members of the Mormon church to defend its teachings with "musket fire."

A new required course at the Provo, Utah, university titled "UNIV 101: BYU Foundations for Student Success, a New Chapter for BYU" features the controversial "musket fire" speech by Latter-day Saint religious leader and former BYU President Jeffrey R. Holland as a core reading. Starting in the winter 2024 semester, all incoming students, except transfer students, will have to take the course in their first semester.

In the speech titled "The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University," Holland condemned criticisms of the Mormon faith, calling on members of the church to defend its teachings with "musket fire." One such teaching, Holland said, includes "the doctrine of the family and defending marriage as the union of a man and a woman."

That incoming class has grown up with new of mass school shootings and LGTBQ people portrayed positively in the media. The chances of them having personal experience with these issues, or friends and community members with such experiences is extremely high.

If it makes half the incoming class drop out, BYU might have to rethink that policy.

[Wahoo Redux]

This is BYU.   What would you expect them to do, deny their fundamental teachings and/or not teach these to their students?

I'm just posting the story.

This is yet another example of a university trying to control its students' speech and thoughts, however.  Take that as you will.

[nebo113]

The Morman Church has always been ambivalent about people of color:

"Many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and a delightsome people" 2 Nephi 30:6

[marshwiggle]

This is BYU.   What would you expect them to do, deny their fundamental teachings and/or not teach these to their students?

I'm just posting the story.

This is yet another example of a university trying to control its students' speech and thoughts, however.  Take that as you will.

Does anyone know if BYU has incoming students sign some sort of statement of faith when they arrive?

I don't really have a problem with things like this if they are clear about it up front, so prospective students have the choice of going elsewhere if they don't subscribe to it. (Kind of like joining the military, in that way; the restrictions on recruits are way more extreme than would be acceptable in pretty much any other context, but they can choose to sign up or not.)

With normal institutions that at least pay some lip service to freedom of thought and expression, restrictions imposed after they arrive are another matter entirely.

[nebo113]

This is BYU.   What would you expect them to do, deny their fundamental teachings and/or not teach these to their students?

I'm just posting the story.

This is yet another example of a university trying to control its students' speech and thoughts, however.  Take that as you will.

Does anyone know if BYU has incoming students sign some sort of statement of faith when they arrive?

I don't really have a problem with things like this if they are clear about it up front, so prospective students have the choice of going elsewhere if they don't subscribe to it. (Kind of like joining the military, in that way; the restrictions on recruits are way more extreme than would be acceptable in pretty much any other context, but they can choose to sign up or not.)

With normal institutions that at least pay some lip service to freedom of thought and expression, restrictions imposed after they arrive are another matter entirely.

IIRC, they have to be in good standing with the Church and gat a recommend from the Ward Bishop.  And he does say that he is a practicing Mormon.

[Wahoo Redux]

A Busy Couple of Weeks:

Ex-Stanford professor says he was fired, doxxed after colonialism lecture

A professor who was booted from Stanford University after freshmen students complained about his lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict filed a defamation and retaliation lawsuit in federal court.

IHE: Sex Discrimination or Doctrinal Differences?

A former professor's sex discrimination lawsuit against Moody Bible Institute was recently allowed to proceed by a federal appeals court. The case could have bigger implications for religious colleges.

Mailman professor Abdul Kayum Ahmed to receive letter of nonrenewal following claims of 'political indoctrination'

Abdul Kayum Ahmed, assistant professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, was notified that he will receive a letter of nonrenewal by the end of June following an article in the Wall Street Journal accusing him of pro-Palestinian "political indoctrination" in his course Health and Human Rights Advocacy.

The Wall Street Journal article cited instances in Ahmed's classroom that had been videotaped, including him labeling Israel as a "colonial settler state."

UT Austin Administrators Tried to Punish Professor over Anti-DEI Crusade. He's Fighting Back

University of Texas at Austin finance professor Richard Lowery has annoyed the university's administration by publicly criticizing its embrace of diversity, equity, and inclusion and suggesting that administrators exploit their positions for their children's admission.

Lowery's crusade did not go unnoticed: Several university administrators — and the university president, Jay Hartzell — responded with a "campaign to silence" the professor, which included threatening his job, salary, professional affiliations, and research opportunities, according to a lawsuit Lowery filed against the administrators.

IU administrator violated policy in suspending professor Abdulkader Sinno according to Faculty Board of Review

Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty violated IU policy when she suspended tenured professor Abdulkader Sinno following his attempt to reserve a room for a Palestine Solidarity Committee event, according to the IU Faculty Board of Review (FBR). The FBR wrote that Docherty failed to follow procedure by sanctioning Sinno without first referring the matter to the Faculty Misconduct Review Committee (FMRC), where Sinno could have defended himself at a hearing in front of his colleagues. 

'Brazen and absurd': Penn professor Amy Wax criticizes recommended sanctions in new interview

Wax has drawn criticism for a number of her comments — including claims that Black students never graduate at the top of the Penn Carey Law class and that "non-Western groups" are resentful towards "Western people." Among other allegations,  Wax has also faced criticism for hosting white nationalist Jared Taylor for a guest lecture and allegedly telling a Penn Carey Law student that she was only accepted into the Ivy League "because of affirmative action."

Professor Banned From Christian Campus For Criticizing Identity Politics Settles Case

A professor and ordained pastor who was kicked off his campus two years ago for opposing "diversity, equity, and inclusion" initiatives has settled with Concordia University Wisconsin in a confidential agreement, his lawyer told The Federalist Tuesday.

Philosophy professor Greg Schulz "alleged they breached the contract by violating his academic freedom, and he believes he's been satisfactorily made whole," said Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, a nonprofit public interest law firm that took up Schulz's case on behalf of free speech.

I understand that folks don't want to get into a bun fight or would rather deal with manageable, day-to-day problems in academia, but my goodness----look what the hotbed mess our colleges are becoming.  The original thread got so long a mod cut it in half, and like a worm the second half continued to grow.  Speech and censorship (and yes, we understand free speech in the Constitution regards government censorship) are major issues on our campuses.  The thought police have finally started to lose, Amy Waxman's mental illness and bigotry notwithstanding. 

[marshwiggle]

Wow! You've been busy!

A Busy Couple of Weeks:

IHE: Sex Discrimination or Doctrinal Differences?

A former professor's sex discrimination lawsuit against Moody Bible Institute was recently allowed to proceed by a federal appeals court. The case could have bigger implications for religious colleges.

Garrick's lawyers, however, asserted that Moody officials were aware of her views when they hired her and merely asked her to remove that she was an "ordained minister" from her résumé and sign a doctrinal statement affirming she agreed with the institution's religious views.

This is one of those where I'm sympathetic to the institution if the person signed off on a statement when hired that they later (apparently) recanted. (Now, if the beliefs in questions weren't covered by the original statement, it's a different matter.)

'Brazen and absurd': Penn professor Amy Wax criticizes recommended sanctions in new interview

Wax has drawn criticism for a number of her comments — including claims that Black students never graduate at the top of the Penn Carey Law class and that "non-Western groups" are resentful towards "Western people." Among other allegations,  Wax has also faced criticism for hosting white nationalist Jared Taylor for a guest lecture and allegedly telling a Penn Carey Law student that she was only accepted into the Ivy League "because of affirmative action."

This is one of those cases where "telling the truth" may also be "rubbing peoples' noses in it".
Would these statements have gone under the wire in a more diplomatic format? Probably not, but an interesting discussion.

I understand that folks don't want to get into a bun fight or would rather deal with manageable, day-to-day problems in academia, but my goodness----look what the hotbed mess our colleges are becoming.  The original thread got so long a mod cut it in half, and like a worm the second half continued to grow.  Speech and censorship (and yes, we understand free speech in the Constitution regards government censorship) are major issues on our campuses.  The thought police have finally started to lose, Amy Waxman's mental illness and bigotry notwithstanding. 

Keep 'em comin' Wahoo. I hope you're right about the thought police. (And note my comment about Amy Wax above.)

[Wahoo Redux]

Wax says things that----as with the diversity officers who consistently harp on "white privilege"----have no point but to alienate and make people angry.  There is nothing really to accomplish by pointing out that top law school graduates are generally white unless one has a method for equalizing the disparity. 

It appears that Wax just wants to vent her bigotry.  Fine.  Let her.  And let her face the cultural backlash she generates. 

[Wahoo Redux]

Wow! You've been busy!

Not really.  That's the remarkable part.

I just put "professor" into Google and the first page was filled with this stuff.  It took about a minute.