Marquette and L’affaire McAdams

The Catholic Thing ^ | 1/27/15 | Howard Kainz

[marshmallow]

With the ongoing advocacy of gay marriage and mandatory attendance at “sensitivity” classes, pressures on faculty at universities to avoid doing or saying anything “politically incorrect” have significantly increased.

A recent example, which has entered into national headlines, arose when a graduate student in philosophy, Cheryl Abbate, teaching a course on ethics at Marquette University, was discussing John Rawls’ “Equal Liberty” principle, which affirms individual freedom unless the rights of others are impugned.

When Abbate asked in class for examples where this principle might be employed, one student offered the example of bans on same-sex marriage as flouting the principle. After class, a student recorded a conversation with Abbate on his smartphone (legal in Wisconsin and thirty-seven other states). He complained to her that discussion of same-sex marriage had been too abruptly cut off in class, and offered some arguments he thought reasonable against same-sex marriage.

Abbate responded that the discussion of certain topics would be “inappropriate,” including “sexist” or “racist” opinions. She reminded the student that if he did not want to avoid bringing up inappropriate topics, he could withdraw from the class. He did, and expressed his disappointment about his apparent muzzling to tenured Professor of Political Science, John McAdams, who sided with the student in his conservative and independent blog, and criticized the philosophy instructor for unnecessarily restraining the free speech of her students.

Hundreds of supporting messages and condemnations ensued for both McAdams and Abbate, not only from Marquette, but from other parts of the country. Some included insults or invectives. In the aftermath, McAdams has been suspended with pay, his courses for the Spring semester have been cancelled, and he has been prohibited by administrators from setting foot on the campus.

He has received legal support, however, from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty....

[allendale]

Simply underscores the sad reality that the Jesuit order in the US has devolved into an unspeakable cabal. Their universities should not be considered “Catholic”. Parents who spend $60,000 per year thinking their children will receive a “Catholic” education are badly mistaken and are wasting their money. The Jesuit order has been a disgrace. In the 1980’s when Cardinal O’Connor was fighting the good pro life fight, he not only received no support for the supposedly Catholic intellectual citadel of Jesuit Fordham university but he was routinely undermined. The Jesuits of Georgetown covered Catholic symbols when the vile Obama was invited to speak on their campus so as not to offend him. The Jesuits routinely give a platform to pro abortion and homosexual agenda advocates. Not one so called Catholic Jesuit law school has done anything to aid the pro life movement. Sadly it is what it is. Decent Catholics should no longer support this wrong headed and duplicitous cabal.

[Steve_Seattle]

I hope McAdams sues for $10 million and shuts the place down. Marquette is a fraud - it is NOT a Catholic university.

[Steve_Seattle]

I am an alumnus of Seattle U, another Jesuit university gone rogue. I spit on it.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Send him a good word of support. He's a fighter, he is. I swear he'll beat the petty tyrants at Marquette.

john.mcadams@marquette.edu

Help the guys who are helping him, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty

http://www.will-law.org/donate/

I threw in $20. And you?

[Mrs. Don-o]

I think this John McAdams may be of interest to you.

Send him a good word of support. He's a fighter, he is. I swear he'll beat the petty tyrants at Marquette.

john.mcadams@marquette.edu

Help the guys who are helping him, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty

http://www.will-law.org/donate/

I threw in $20. And you?

[mlo]

I know John. The latest is that the university will only suspend him if he apologizes in writing, but is threatening termination if he doesn’t. Of course, he won’t.