Posted on 09/13/2017 8:15:34 PM PDT by Academiadotorg
The university that has proudly proclaimed itself to be the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement may also become its graveyard.
"In a letter addressed to the UC Berkeley campus and the larger Berkeley community, 76 faculty members from various departments have called for a complete boycott of classes and campus activities during the so-called 'Free Speech Week' to be held on campus September 24-27," Hank Reichman writes in the Academe blog maintained by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). "The week is sponsored by the Berkeley Patriot, a conservative student newspaper, and includes 'Feminism Awareness Day' and a 'Mario Savio is Dead' event. Speakers scheduled to be on campus include Milo Yiannopoulos, Ann Coulter, and Steve Bannon."
"We're not afraid of Milo, Ann (Coulter) or Bannon’s words," associate teaching professor of African American studies Michael Cohen, one of seven co-authors of the letter said. "We have a deep anxiety over the violence that their followers bring in response." Actually, their supporters are most likely to be uniformed in bow ties and blazers but their detractors tend to show up ready to rumble.
The university is sticking to the schedule, for now, although they are clearly giving themselves a big out. "Although the university administration has pledged to protect the right of the three speakers and others on the program to address their audiences, UCB assistant vice chancellor for communications Dan Mogulof said yesterday that Berkeley Patriot, whose membership he estimates at between 5-10 members, 'still has not completed the critical steps' necessary to arrange venues for the events. The group has failed to provide requested information needed to provide security for the events, 'nor has it confirmed the list of speakers and when they intend to schedule events with those speakers,' Mogulof told reporter Carla Marinucci."
"Faculty in the school's Anthropology Department have already been compelled to reschedule a scholarly lecture to facilitate security arrangements for the week, a fact noted in the faculty letter." All of this sounds similar to what we heard at Columbia nearly 20 years ago.
Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia. He can be reached at mal.kline@academia.org.
Lied about being the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement
Lying about now being the end of Free Speech Movement
These folks sure have an inflated opinion about their impact on Free Speech.
The so-called “Free Speech Movement” has always been about shouting down pro-American viewpoints.
From the very start.
“We have a deep anxiety over the violence that their followers bring in response.”
Also a blatant lie. It is those hostile to Coulter and Milo who bring the violence.
Who dressed up in identity hiding paramilitary clothing?
Who carried four foot long clubs?
Who actually beat other people there simply expressing their opinions?
Who broke windows?
Who started fires?
It's preposterous the double-speak before during and after these events.
The only people acting like actual NAZIs in these events, label everyone else a NAZI.
Wish the administration at these schools would stand up and act like they had authority on these campuses.
This professor doesn’t believe in the First Amendment because he’s a “progressive.” Progressives lack compassion and tolerance. Only their self-aggrandizement matters.
I’ll wager a good number of the letter signers are members of Antifa or have direct connections to the group.
As to the first I would say that the Progressives would answer that they only despise those who lack compassion and tolerance.
As to the second I would say that self-aggrandizement is not the issue. They have given themselves up to the "hive mind" in my conception. However you want to describe it, it is not egoism. This use to be a big sci-fi theme, didn't it? In those days it was considered to be a metaphor for Communism. Well, guess what?
IS the complete list of professors who signed the letter available? Can it be put on FR? We need to know who the enemy is.
‘Mario Savio is Dead’ - long live ‘the stupid’ who have taken his place... Berkeley ain’t what it use to be...
That’s fine. they don’t show, fire them. The students don’t show, suspend them and force them to get a high GPA the next quarter or be expelled.
rwood
Thing is, those probably weren’t even students or faculty.
ANTIFA has been sending in muscle from off Campus.
That right there is ground for the university to have the police check id’s and move them out before there are problems.
And yes, these professors are actually this dumb. Really.
The stupid, it hurts.
These “professors” need to be fired for daring to speak.
If they really wanted to stop violence here’s how it should go: “Dear students, you may have noticed the many prison busses parked on campus. Anyone committing acts of violence or destruction will be handcuffed and firmly escorted to these busses and sent to jail pending trial. Berkeley will retain attorneys bent on obtaining the maximum punishment for your crimes. Any student found guilty will be expelled immediately with no tuition refund. Thank you.”
Possibility, but this statement in the article may be damning for the profs:
“”In a letter addressed to the UC Berkeley campus and the larger Berkeley community, 76 faculty members from various departments have called for a complete boycott....”
So unless this letter was sent by other groups, and that there were no statements made by those 76 calling for the boycott, they re pretty much caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
And students can make a statement, but not using my money to do so. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, UC Berkeley attracted $847.5 million in new awards, (just the new awards that are in addition to the old funds), and The federal government provided 50 percent of these funds. That’s a lot of taxpayer money to throw away to do nothing to change anything that I worked hard for so they could make their future and I get nothing on return. They better not waste it or they deserve to be held accountable fo the waste.
But we, also, have a hand in paying for the security of the campus so we are going to have to pay for the outsiders coming on that upset the college standard operations. This is where legal actions need to happen from the local law enforcement with arrests and illegal or violent crowd disbursements. Again, it will cost us money, but hopefully less than letting it go.
rwood
It is COMPLETELY about themselves. NOTHING else matters to progressives.
These universities are so screwed up, they don’t know up from down.
It’s way past time to start demanding they clean their acts up.
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