Fun & Games At Harvard

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D. Spencer Hines

Fun & Games At Harvard

Legg inn av D. Spencer Hines » 17 mar 2005 02:41:03

"The Dean Scream of Academe"

"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and
stupid gesture be done on somebody's part." -- Eric "Otter" Stratton
(Tim Matheson), "Animal House," 1978

""In a sharp and unexpected rebuke of University President Lawrence H.
Summers, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted
yesterday that they lack confidence in his leadership."-- Harvard
Crimson, March 16, 2005

The 218-185 vote "was tantamount to a vote of no confidence," explains
the Crimson; by a wider margin, the faculty also approved "a second
motion, expressing regret for Summers' Jan. 14 remarks on women in
science and certain 'aspects of the President's managerial approach.' "

As the Crimson notes, "The two non-binding motions, unique in Harvard's
history, are largely symbolic gestures -- only the Harvard Corporation,
the University's top governing body, can force Summers to step down."
In short, it was a show trial, both in procedure and in effect (that is,
in the lack thereof). Fittingly, the venue for this vain display was
the Loeb Drama Center.

What's the point? Blogger David Bernstein, a law professor at
Virginia's George Mason University, explains:

"It's pretty simple, isn't it? The far left at Harvard is extremely
frustrated with political trends in the U.S.

Their votes and activism against Bush were not only completely
ineffectual, but they don't even have a Democratic governor in one of
the most liberal states in the country.

So they pick on the closest thing Harvard has to a powerful
right-winger: moderate Democrat and university president Larry Summers,
who becomes a stand-in for all evil conservative white men, from Bush on
down.

The far-left faculty finally participates in a vote that it can win, and
experiences cartharsis [sic]; that'll teach the world to ignore them!"

The Harvard faculty majority are acting like a china service in a
bullring.

Their attitude, with its toxic mix of self-pity and thuggery, is common
on campus and is often characteristic of an alienated political
minority. You can imagine some hysterical Harvard prof shouting, "Larry
Summers is not my neighbor! Now you sit down!"

But just as Howard Dean's Iowa tantrum and scream were bad for the
Democrats and worse for Dean's candidacy, National Review's Stanley
Kurtz argues that the latest Angry Left eruption in Cambridge is likely
to prove self-destructive:

"I think the vote of no confidence in Lawrence Summers is a wonderful
thing.

Harvard continues to discredit itself with the American public.

The faculty is trapped.

If Summers resigns, this extraordinary example of political correctness
will come back to haunt Harvard, and the entire academy, for years.

But if Summers hangs on, the faculty itself will have been humiliated --
checked by the very fact of public scrutiny.

Either way, Harvard is tearing itself apart. So long as the public
simply writes of [sic] the academy, the mice can play.

But the intense public scrutiny in this case puts the captains of
political correctness into a no-win situation. Like the closely watched
Susan Estrich fiasco, this battle is doing lasting damage to the
cultural left. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. ******

Bingo! As Mr. Justice Brandeis was wont to say. ---- DSH

The Crimson reports that after enduring the faculty fit, "Summers
received a round of applause from undergraduates" after delivering "a
wide-ranging talk outlining his overarching vision for the future of the
University":

"While the crowd quizzed Summers on an array of issues, the president
conducted an informal poll at last night's forum to identify students'
primary concerns.

A chorus of [students] complained about the poor quality of academic
advising and a lack of interaction between students and tenured
professors.

When Summers asked the crowd whether "two senior faculty know you well,"
barely a quarter of students raised their hands."

"Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, pass symbolic
resolutions."
--------------------------

Yep.

Lose -- Lose -- Either Way For Harvard.

The Left-Wing Faculty are furious they couldn't defeat George Bush -- so
they go after Larry Summers -- the President closest to hand and foot.

Hilarious!

D. Spencer Hines

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

Vires et Honor

John H

Re: Fun & Games At Harvard

Legg inn av John H » 17 mar 2005 05:07:06

To D. Spencer Hines,
Why do I (sometimes) need to install a japanese language pack to read your
emails according to WIn XP and Outlook Express version 6
John H
"D. Spencer Hines" <poguemidden@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Gb5_d.1318$uC2.3256@eagle.america.net...
"The Dean Scream of Academe"

"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and
stupid gesture be done on somebody's part." -- Eric "Otter" Stratton
(Tim Matheson), "Animal House," 1978

""In a sharp and unexpected rebuke of University President Lawrence H.
Summers, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted
yesterday that they lack confidence in his leadership."-- Harvard
Crimson, March 16, 2005

The 218-185 vote "was tantamount to a vote of no confidence," explains
the Crimson; by a wider margin, the faculty also approved "a second
motion, expressing regret for Summers' Jan. 14 remarks on women in
science and certain 'aspects of the President's managerial approach.' "

As the Crimson notes, "The two non-binding motions, unique in Harvard's
history, are largely symbolic gestures -- only the Harvard Corporation,
the University's top governing body, can force Summers to step down."
In short, it was a show trial, both in procedure and in effect (that is,
in the lack thereof). Fittingly, the venue for this vain display was
the Loeb Drama Center.

What's the point? Blogger David Bernstein, a law professor at
Virginia's George Mason University, explains:

"It's pretty simple, isn't it? The far left at Harvard is extremely
frustrated with political trends in the U.S.

Their votes and activism against Bush were not only completely
ineffectual, but they don't even have a Democratic governor in one of
the most liberal states in the country.

So they pick on the closest thing Harvard has to a powerful
right-winger: moderate Democrat and university president Larry Summers,
who becomes a stand-in for all evil conservative white men, from Bush on
down.

The far-left faculty finally participates in a vote that it can win, and
experiences cartharsis [sic]; that'll teach the world to ignore them!"

The Harvard faculty majority are acting like a china service in a
bullring.

Their attitude, with its toxic mix of self-pity and thuggery, is common
on campus and is often characteristic of an alienated political
minority. You can imagine some hysterical Harvard prof shouting, "Larry
Summers is not my neighbor! Now you sit down!"

But just as Howard Dean's Iowa tantrum and scream were bad for the
Democrats and worse for Dean's candidacy, National Review's Stanley
Kurtz argues that the latest Angry Left eruption in Cambridge is likely
to prove self-destructive:

"I think the vote of no confidence in Lawrence Summers is a wonderful
thing.

Harvard continues to discredit itself with the American public.

The faculty is trapped.

If Summers resigns, this extraordinary example of political correctness
will come back to haunt Harvard, and the entire academy, for years.

But if Summers hangs on, the faculty itself will have been humiliated --
checked by the very fact of public scrutiny.

Either way, Harvard is tearing itself apart. So long as the public
simply writes of [sic] the academy, the mice can play.

But the intense public scrutiny in this case puts the captains of
political correctness into a no-win situation. Like the closely watched
Susan Estrich fiasco, this battle is doing lasting damage to the
cultural left. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. ******

Bingo! As Mr. Justice Brandeis was wont to say. ---- DSH

The Crimson reports that after enduring the faculty fit, "Summers
received a round of applause from undergraduates" after delivering "a
wide-ranging talk outlining his overarching vision for the future of the
University":

"While the crowd quizzed Summers on an array of issues, the president
conducted an informal poll at last night's forum to identify students'
primary concerns.

A chorus of [students] complained about the poor quality of academic
advising and a lack of interaction between students and tenured
professors.

When Summers asked the crowd whether "two senior faculty know you well,"
barely a quarter of students raised their hands."

"Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, pass symbolic
resolutions."
--------------------------

Yep.

Lose -- Lose -- Either Way For Harvard.

The Left-Wing Faculty are furious they couldn't defeat George Bush -- so
they go after Larry Summers -- the President closest to hand and foot.

Hilarious!

D. Spencer Hines

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

Vires et Honor

martin reboul

Re: Fun & Games At Harvard

Legg inn av martin reboul » 20 mar 2005 01:12:26

"D. Spencer Hines" <poguemidden@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Gb5_d.1318$uC2.3256@eagle.america.net...
"The Dean Scream of Academe"

"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and
stupid gesture be done on somebody's part." -- Eric "Otter" Stratton
(Tim Matheson), "Animal House," 1978

Hah! That's a bit rich coming from the Douglas C Neidermier of SHM...

"Oh boy, is this great!" (Kent Dorfmann)

Even Neidermeyer went to Vietnam Spency, don't forget that - had you, you would
no doubt have suffered the same fate.
Cheers
Martin

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