Category: Yahoo

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Neanderthalophobia is an ugly thing

Ms. Patricia Ann McGuire, President of Trinity Washington University wins the coveted 'big weenie'!
Ms. Patricia Ann McGuire, President of Trinity Washington University wins the coveted 'big weenie'!

I cannot confirm or deneigh that I have Neanderthal DNA in my makeup. However, the latest scientific research has pointed out that many with european ancestory actually have some and — oddly enough — it may actuallybe harmless. So, on behalf of all of those with possibly some Neanderthal ancestry, I object to her ‘homo sapien centric world view’  that is so free to use a biological fact as an epithet! With actions such as these, it is hard not to understand why the institution of higher learning has fallen in the eyes of the American people.

So why is academia failing us?

Recently, the AAUP ( the American Association of University Professors) presented an award to the President of Trinity Washington University  Patricia Ann McGuire  for her outstanding contribution to ‘academic freedom.’ When any organization holds someone up for acclaim, it is worth seeing who she really is and what goes on at her university?

You may not have heard of tiny  Trinity Washington University ?  Well, you are not alone. This is a small Catholic school of 1700 students accepting 74% of their applicants, which – let’s be kind – means they are ‘less selective.’ Nancy Pelosi is an alumna and are we surprised? Ms. McGuire holds a bachelors and a degree in law. BTW, the closest she ever got to teaching was as an  adjunct professor   (read part time).

When Ms. McGuire, in addressing graduates  only months after 911,  she delivered a lengthy speech which I have linked, but here is an interesting and revealing segment (May 2002):

 “…Where is that energy today? Where are the voices of the universities in this time of war and global danger? Where is the exuberant exercise of free speech in a raucous debate over the conduct of this new war? Do we have it in us to be as passionate about the ethics of the camp in Guantanamo as we can be about parking on campus? Where is the expression of outrage over the increasingly ominous threats to civil liberties in the name of national security? New federal regulations treat international students with suspicion and limit their fields of study… It’s high time for a little outrage.”

You can read more about Ms. Patricia Ann McGuire on her many Presidential Blogs. Here are a couple of provocative thoughts in her most  recent blog:

On President Obama:

“President Obama is one of the most thoughtful, intellectual presidents we’ve ever had.  But he’s surrounded by political operatives who repress his ability to exert true leadership on tough topics like race because they are afraid that he will be perceived as “too Black” or “too liberal.”   Well, heck.  He needs to be himself.   He needs to liberate himself from those advisors who are making him plain vanilla.  That’s not what the voters ordered in 2008, and not what they want now.”

On the greatest threat to education:

“No, the greatest educational threat today is that people who are already well educated are acting like ignorant Neanderthals, abandoning the most fundamental principles of liberal education — “liberal” in the true academic sense of the large perspectives of the liberal arts, not as a political word (yet) — in favor of the most narrow-minded anti-intellectual hate-stirring race-baiting views of the polity and community life.”

The only question I have to ask Ms. Patricia is whose academic freedom are you protecting, your own? One doesn’t have to read too many of the Trinity President’s Blogs to realize that ‘free speech’ may be limited to the University President and that a severe penalty may be applied on all others. I wonder how she handles disagreement and discussion? I found a couple of items in their lengthy ‘rules’ sections that seem to get to the core of this issue:

Here are some of the rather  vague rules of conduct  governing behavior:

“Students who speak to faculty members or other students during class periods in ways that are disrespectful and disruptive will be dismissed from the course without reimbursement, and in such cases the students may incur an “F” grade as well as additional penalties.”

“In keeping with its historic mission as a Catholic college with a special emphasis on women and action for social justice…”

SUMMARY

In an age when the free expression of ideas should be encouraged in academia, referring to those who you disagree with as ‘Neanderthals’ establishes a high bar of intolerance one must pass or remain silent in order to survive on campus.

The AAUP made a very poor decision and I truely wonder if Ms. McGuire was the best they could find? The AAUP should have chosen as a supporter of ‘academic freedom’, someone who encourages and nurtures all sides of a debate and supports free speech for faculty, staff and students. Yes, Ms. McGuire is entitled to her ‘free speech’, but using her position as a bully pulpet casts a shadow of censorship and intimidation on any campus.

Try to do better next time.

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does google do harm?

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UPDATE: 37 States join probe into GOOGLE!!!
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Does Google cause harm?
does google cause harm?

There is some concern that Google is doing more than running a simple search engine and browser. My entire family has had our blogs and web sites ‘black listed’ for reasons we can not understand. We have seen our sites drop from several hundred hits a day… to virtually nothing at times. We have corresponded with Google and their response has been inadequate at best. I can only wonder what the future holds?

Here is a recent quote in a letter to Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Joe Barton, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group’s John M. Simpson wrote: 

“Based on today’s Washington Post, it appears that Google holds classified U.S. government contracts to supply search and geospatial information to the U.S. government. In addition, White House records show that Google executives have been holding meetings with U.S. national security officials for undisclosed reasons. Finally, it also appears that Google’s widely criticized efforts to collect wireless network data on American citizens were not inadvertent, contrary to the company’s claims.”

“As history has repeatedly shown, alliances between the U.S. intelligence community and giant corporations that collect data on American citizens can be a toxic combination where the U.S. Constitution is concerned,”  the letter said.”

For now… we will use BING, YAHOO and anybody else and maybe you should, too.

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no transparency at cal poly and inclusive excellence

cal poly ombuds program?
what are you hiding Cal Poly?

I really love inexperienced managers because they feel that any problem can be solved either of two ways: 1) hide, evade or just say it isn’t so (even if everyone knows what is going on) or 2) use a bigger stick to try to make it go away. By the way, managerial experience isn’t measure by years of service, it is measured by outcomes and the loyalty and respect of all stakeholders.

Yesterday, I pointed out a letter by two of the many many vice presidents of Cal Poly that appeared in the hard copy but not the on-line copy of the newspaper. Today, a related front-page article appeared in the “Virtual Mustang,” but not in the regular online format that allows comments.  If an article is important enough to be on page one, shouldn’t it be presented in a form that allows the community to post responses?

As for the substance, I have placed both pages of today’s article on-line for your review.  See if it doesn’t raise a few questions in your mind.

Page 1 of Mustang Daily’s ‘Ombuds services article’ (Don’t call it ombudsman as that’s not ‘PC’)

Page 2

I have a couple of questions:

1) In the article, Ombuds Patricia Ponce’s role is described as “working with students before referring the issue to another department or individual.”  The example of a student admitting to slashing another student’s tires was used to illustrate a matter that would be referred. But what else is going to be “referred?” Offensive speech? “Sexually suggestive fruit eating” (actually banished by another university)? Putting up a flyer other students don’t like (which was  Steve Hinkle’s “crime”)? What possible punishments await the person whose actions are “referred?”

2) Even though referrals will be made, the article states that “no individual records” or “paper trail” would be kept. How then, would an accused person protect himself/herself when David Conn goes looking for an applicable “free speech or campus policy?” Don’t we have a basic right to confront our accusers? It seems like the Cal Poly Ombuds program is combining confidentiality and accusations in a dangerous way.

FIRE has repeatedly informed the campus that the way to move their current yellow light rating to a green is to explicitly state that students will not be punished for protected speech, even if it is uncivil and offensive. Having an ombuds is fine, as long as the focus is on helping the offended student deal with his/her feelings, but Cal Poly will once again find itself in court if it tries to punish the offenders.

try a little harder, Chip.

Roger Freberg

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inclusive excellence aint what they say it is

No shortage of 'clowns' at Cal Poly

Before addressing the official responses to Brendan Pringle’s recent opinion piece on “inclusive excellence” in the Mustang Daily, I’d like to make a personal note to Cal Poly administrators David Conn and Cornel Morton: I would suggest approaching this and any subject in your public comments by arguing the merits of your side of the case, not attacking the student-author in question, as many view this as unnecessarily intimidating, threatening and unprofessional…. Or as they say, ‘pick on someone your own size.’ After all, universities are all about teaching critical thinking, and the collective power of two Vice Presidents coming down in a very personal way against one student seems unfair.

Getting back to the issues, I wonder how many Cal Poly faculty are aware that the program of ‘Inclusive Excellence’ – as applied by other universities following the same AACU approach – views “selectivity” on the part of elite universities as “bad,” and ignores the SAT scores and grade point averages of certain applicants in order to grant admission. I am sure most faculty do not want to offer remedial education, nor do they wish to flunk unprepared students.

Here’s how Cornell Morton and David Conn  spun the Inclusive Excellence discussion in a letter that I could not find on-line and only in the student newspaper hard copy! ( I thought you two would be proud of such a piece?)

Let’s parse one of the bits of illogic used by others in defending this program in the Mustang Daily:

1) …on whether their high schools are wealthy enough to offer AP courses

2) or the advantage of having parents who can afford to pay for SAT coaching.”

These statements border on the absurd. First, many universities ask high schools to send transcripts with the higher grade point averages from AP classes already factored out. Besides, high GPAs are not a problem at culturally disadvantaged schools—quite the opposite. The student with a 4.0 at a poor school might not be as well prepared for college as a student with a 3.0 from a good school. The whole purpose of using a standardized test like the SAT is to control for just that situation. Secondly, SAT coaching does not jump a student’s score from 700 to 1600 and is a much overrated factor, if a factor at all, except to all who are trying to get every last point.

The SAT and the SAT2 (Achievement Tests), like any classroom exams, have been much maligned by those who believe that they are a barrier to entry to whatever they want to do.  Sometimes, you have to pass the test to pass the course. The problem, for those who want to ignore their results, is that these tests are excellent predictors for college performance, which is all they were ever supposed to do. The achievement tests (SAT2) measure many basic skills, like competence in math, science, and English, without which any student would have an impossible time of securing a degree in a quality major.

Here are two links that support the value of the SAT and SAT2 in college admission:

2009 SAT scores National by demographic

Validity of SAT

I do not suppose that we should be developing majors of lower academic caliber for the new arrivals? Doesn’t Cal Poly have enough of those already?

The California Master Plan of higher education was developed to grant admission based on a multi-tiered system: the best and the brightest would have an opportunity to attend a U.C., the next tier was the C.S.U., and for those who still needed to sharpen their skills before trying for the brass ring, there was the community college. Consequently, opening up Cal Poly to accept students who should learn the elementary skills of reading, math and science by first attending a community college is ill-advised.

Cornel and David, we’re all for fair play and diversity, but your comments about “a retreat from a merit system” are too vague. Please give us your explicit promise that you will not deviate from use of GPA and SAT data to meet your goals.

This is a really bad idea. Work harder, Chip.

Roger Freberg

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anybody but google

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UPDATE: 03/01/10 … blog up on google… for now.  😉

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banned by google

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I think the Google business plan should be looked at very closely. I find it a bit disturbing and what I hear on the grapevine should concern more than just me. I ‘hear’ that they are strong arming universities into accepting their various ‘services’ all or none. Also a lot has been made about Google banning various web sites, some allegedly for political reasons.

I have noted the off again and on again status of my blog and certain local news with Google, particularly on certain issues concerning  Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo.  Google appears to be screening out any stories or blogs that paint Cal Poly in a negative light. I know what others are saying about Cal Poly and I know what comes up on Google about Cal Poly…. and there is a difference.  Google nicely allows you to set up an ‘alert’ on anyone or anything , so I get ‘alerted’ whenever Cal Poly comes up on the web. I’ve seen nothing on any of the ‘sensitive or potentially controversial issues’ surrounding Cal Poly as of late. I wonder why?

So, you may wonder why should you care? Because the person who controls the flow of information controls power … besides,  I don’t trust anyone whose motto is ‘do no harm.’ If they are doing this helpful service for Cal Poly, who else?

Maybe they should change their motto to “TRUST ME.”

Roger Freberg

Personally, I use BING, Yahoo, Alta Vista and virtually anyone else… and maybe, so should you.