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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Welcome to Fousesquawk University


University President Fousesquawk inspecting the Campus Police


Since none of our universities in America seem to have the cojones to lay the law down to their students, I figured it was time to establish my own (private)university and run the way I want it run, not the way the students and "community activists" want it run. So welcome to Fousesquawk University. For the benefit of my new students, a few rules are in order.

First of all, you are here to study and to learn. The only reason you even got into Fousesquawk is because you have at least a B average. You can have your fraternities and sororities, but that's it. There are no clubs for white students, black students, Hispanic students or Asian students. You are all students, period. And forget about political clubs. Here at Fousesquawk U., we are all proud Americans, OK?Along those lines, forget about taking classes in ethnic studies, women's studies, gay studies and all that other crap. We teach real classes here and have real departments. If you need to "feel good about yourself", go see a shrink.

Another thing you can forget about is your teachers' personal opinions about the world. They are here to teach you the subject, not to impose their political viewpoints on you. You can be assured that they are all patriotic people who love their country. You can also rest assured that they have real life experience and not just advanced degrees from some Ivy League school (in fact, we don't hire anybody with an Ivy League education. In fact, none of our teachers have PHDs). Don't even ask them what their political viewpoints are. It is for you to develop and have your own views.

I repeat. You are here to learn. You are not here to change the world. That will come when you are old enough to know something about the world.

In addition, forget about having campus sit-ins and protests. They are disruptive to the learning process. If you want to protest, go someplace else. A sit-in at Fousesquawk is considered trespassing. The penalty is expulsion and prosecution. No exceptions, no second chances, no probation.

Protests at Fousesquawk are considered disorderly conduct. The penalty is expulsion and prosecution. Be advised that the Fousesquawk Campus Police are well-trained in crowd control, if you catch my drift.

Similarly, Fousesquawk University tolerates no hate speech. Threats or intimidation directed to others is considered a criminal offense and violators are subject to expulsion and prosecution. Don't even think about inviting anti-American hate-mongers to speak here. They will be denied entry onto our campus. If you want to listen to knuckleheads like Norman Finklestein and Ward Churchill, find another school.

No disrespect will be shown to any teacher. Violators will be expelled. As for speakers who come to speak at Fousesquawk (with my approval), you can debate, ask questions and disagree with them. You cannot disrupt their appearance. Violators will be expelled and prosecuted.

Sports? Forget about it. This is a learning institution, not a sports factory. If you want to play sports at college, go someplace else like say, the University of Miami. (and save your cards and letters because I was a jock in college too.)

Any questions? Good, now get to class.

14 comments:

Lance Christian Johnson said...

Don't forget the Thought Police. Gotta have them.

Findalis said...

What no protests over the lousy food in the cafeteria?

I would love a teaching job at your university. Where do I apply?

Gary Fouse said...

Lance,

That's the Detective Bureau within the Campus Police. Actually (seriously), if you want to see real thought police, just go to your local university. It's called Political Correctness.

Lance Christian Johnson said...

Well, what's ironic is that this utopian university of yours is more of an institution of brainwashing than anything that exists today.

You must consider yourself to be a patriotic American and nothing else! Any dissenting attitudes will not be tolerated!

Ja wohl, mein Fuhrer!

Gary Fouse said...

Au contraire, mein Freund,

You attend a math class, you get math. In a history class, you get history. You can learn all about World War 2 without being told it was Bush's fault. In my classes, you won't constantly hear that "Bush is an idiot", nor will you hear that Jimmy Carter was and is an idiot." Fair enough?

Findalis said...

That is the problem. Every professor, every instructor must give his or her opinion on politics, economics, the environment, etc... whether or not it is their subject.

I was taught history not cultural anthropology, math not cultural math, English not cultural English.

I really didn't care or need to know my instructors/Professors personal opinions in the classes.

Still want that teaching job Gary, or should I say President Fouse.

Gary Fouse said...

Findalis,

You're hired.

Lance is fired.

Lance Christian Johnson said...

Honestly, I was referring more to your disdain for clubs and studies centered on women and various ethnicities. Look at what you wrote - "We are all proud Americans."

I have a real problem with that. Not that I'm NOT one, but I don't like somebody telling me that I HAVE to be one.

And have you ever taken a women's studies class? How do you know that it's crap? 'Cause Rush Limbaugh says so? Personally, I don't know, because I've never taken one, so I won't say if it is or if it isn't. I'm going to bet that you haven't either, but just like many "conservatives" out there, ignorance of a subject is never a reason to not have a bold opinion about it.

I can tell you that as an English teacher, we sure spend a lot of time talking about dead white men. I try to mix it up whenever I can, and things are getting better, but I can honestly see why somebody would be interested in ethnic studies. Shoot, if I had the time, I'd love to take some of those classes myself.

But maybe that's just me. I'm not opposed to any kind of knowledge. So maybe I can't use it for a practical purpose, but I imagine that what you learn in those classes contribute to your overall growth of a human being as you'd no doubt have a better grasp of understanding where other people are coming from.

And I don't know how it's possible to teach English without some sort of cultural emphasis being a part of it. After all, the evolution of a language is shaped by culture - and so is the literature that inspires it.

Anyway, I'm jumping around from point to point. Basically, Gary, the message that I get from you is not so much that you're opposed to indoctrination - it's just that you want people to be indoctrinated YOUR way. Because one thing that many conservatives don't want to face is that sometimes the facts stand in the way of their idealogies (intelligent design anyone?)

In all honesty though, I have to wonder how much of what you claim is happening in the universities is actually happening and how much of it is just a series of strawmen created by conservative punditry. Like I told you before, I went to San Francisco State - and I was a creative writing major! You can't get more liberal than that! Yet still, what you describe is hardly what I experienced.

Oh, and nobody teaches that WWII was Bush's fault. Everybody knows that he started The Philippine Insurrection.

Gary Fouse said...

Lance,

If I wanted students indoctrinated to my beliefs, I would do it in the classroom. The fact is my students have no idea what my beliefs are. I teach them English-that's it.

As for woamen's studies, ethnic studies, gay studies etc. I can see why they would have some classes within a sociology department or something like that-but a departmental chair? Would you really want your kid to major in something like that? Hell, they would come out with a four year degree, and that's about all they would know.

Plus, you know as well as I do that these studies are so politically influenced by a culture of victimization. Look at who runs these departments- Long Beach State black studies (Ron Karenga), for example.

Lance Christian Johnson said...

Gary, you need to realize though that your English class is a different sort than other classes are. Yeah, it would be pretty silly for you to spout off your opinions, but nobody really has strong opinions regarding the topics that you bring up.

Of course, there's no controversy when I'm going over things like grammar, essay writing, etcetera, but when we're reading literature that involves controversial issues, it's pretty hard for me to not get my opinions out. I mean, how do I not point out things that the Bush Administration did that are so similar to the things that Orwell warned about in Animal Farm and 1984? (Although, I know that the Democrats will give me material, but my entire teaching career has been under the Bush Administration.)

I'm always careful to preface my opinions with "that's just my opinion, you don't have to agree", and as I've told you before, I've given good grades on essays to kids with whom I disagreed.

However, there are times when it's impossible for me to be completely neutral. (At least, it is for me as I have a hard time being phony.) For instance, a kid once asked me when we were learning about the Greek Gods why they're considered myths but Jesus is considered to be real by so many people. I simply shrugged my shoulders and said, "There's no simple answer to that question, and we have to move on." While that's fairly neutral, I'm sure that the look on my face gave away exactly what I was thinking.

Should I not teach about the Greek Gods because it might cause some kid to question his faith in Jesus? Is that indoctrination? I mean, Greek Mythology is one of the pillars on which Western thought and literature is based - seems like I'd be leaving out something pretty important.

And I always think it's funny when conservatives talk about the "culture of victimization" thing, when they play the victim role just as much as anybody else. I mean, this whole post of yours is kind of a "Boo hoo! The schools don't indoctrinate the way that I want them to!" vibe to it.

Gary Fouse said...

Have we not gone over this before? Besides, lighten up man, it was written as a spoof.

Lance Christian Johnson said...

Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again - conservatives are bad at comedy.

Findalis said...

I've taken a woman's study class. Actually a couple. Including one where we sit around and grip about being a woman (if I ever hear one more of those bitches ever complain about menstrual cramps again, I'll strangle them with a tampon.). These classes were bs through and through. Big bad men keeping women down. Maybe if a few of the instructors had ever gotten laid, it would have been better.

And why not dead white men in English? England (the source nation of the language) is populated by white people. They are the native people. So English will have a lot of white men, dead or living. And some of them were pretty good too.

We don't need cultural diversity, what we need is students who can read and write. Have you ever read some of the papers these "geniuses" have written? I have. And as an educator of English Lance, you are failing badly.

Lance Christian Johnson said...

We don't need cultural diversity, what we need is students who can read and write. Have you ever read some of the papers these "geniuses" have written? I have. And as an educator of English Lance, you are failing badly.

Yeah, I read a lot of bad papers. A lot of these kids are sub-literate by the time they get to me. I never realized that was my fault though. Come to think of it, I never realized that the collapse of the education system was entirely on my shoulders.

Geez! I have a guilty conscience as it is! I don't need that on me too!

Findalis, I'm sorry, but sometimes you're just downright silly. Are you a spoof too?