“We, the Concerned Asian, Black, Latin@, Native, Undocumented, Queer, and Differently-Abled students at Dartmouth College, seek to eradicate systems of oppression as they affect marginalized communities on this campus,” begins the letter, which the students called the “Freedom Budget.”
That is what is happening at Dartmouth, where student activists have threatened "physical action" if their demands are not met. In response, the wussy university president says, "Hey! We have committed 30 million bucks to diversity on campus", to which the victim students say, "Not enough".
"On behalf of Lynda Baker, Evelynn Ellis, Charlotte Johnson, Maria Laskaris, and Michael Mastanduno, we write as members of the senior leadership of the College and people who care deeply about Dartmouth. We want to share a message with the community: we hear your concerns about ensuring that Dartmouth is not only diverse in numbers, but also a place where all community members thrive. And we hear your desire to share your ideas with us and to engage with us on these and other important issues."
- "More than $30 million will be invested in the Society of Fellows program to bring recent post-doctorates to campus. Post-doctoral programs have been an effective tool for recruiting diverse faculty from other campuses. This was a recommendation from the Alumni Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion."
Too bad this isn't Fousesquawk University, where the president would tell these blackmailers, "If you don't like it here, study somewhere else." Whatever happened to that tired old phrase?
Mike,
ReplyDeleteIt really is crazy, isn't it? A bunch of students make demands and the university quivers in terror.
A brief history:
ReplyDeleteThe "New Left" began on the dusty backroads of Mississippi 1963-1964, where a rather small number of people were courageous enough to brave real danger (a few lost their lives) to eradicate genuine evils. But then they went back to school.
Many more, who never bothered to put their bodies on the line for anything, were inspired to embrace all kinds of revolutionary rhetoric, but, hey, they had a lucrative future to think about, making money with their newly minted degrees, becoming conoisseurs of fine wines, and somehow, they wanted to still FEEL revolutionary.
So, they made a practice of supporting the revolution furthest from home (South Africa is half way around the world, perfect), and for good measure, invented "cultural" liberation, so EVERYONE could feel oppressed, no matter how comfortably.
Its not unlike the American Christians who feel "persecuted" in the comfortable living rooms of their well-appointed McMansions because someone, somewhere, is spouting something disagreeable to their faith.
And so, here we are. Possibly we should try something truly Maoist, like shutting down all four-year colleges and universities for two years, sending the students to pick crops or something. Those who really have a political commitment will stay and organize unions that will make UFW look like the Republican Party. Those who come back to campus will be too tired to do anything but study chemistry so they can get a good job with Dow Chemical.
Or maybe the president of Dartmouth should simply tell them "The 80s called. They want their 'Me Generation Self Shop' back."
It seems to me that Dartmouth ( and other colleges with the same predilections ) have it backwards. When you give anyone preference because they are "Asian, Black, Latin@, Native, Undocumented, Queer, and Differently-Abled" it is the essence of racism. Student enrollment, grades, and other accomplishments should be based on merit and not any other criteria. Since when does the color of your skin give you a free ride for life?
ReplyDeleteThe university is frightened of these groups or they resonate with them anyway. The quality of education as a whole has gone down as a consequence. They forget their main function. It is not diversity, it is education.