Conservatives Are Too Stupid For Duke University

The Collegiate Network ^ | 4/12/04

[dukeman]

On February 9, the Duke Conservative Union (DCU) www.dukeconservativeunion.org published an advertisement in the campus newspaper, The Chronicle, that included two quotations from Duke President Nan Keohane:

"My message is straightforward: Diversity is an important value that must be nurtured and used in higher education."
-Nan Keohane, November 1997

"...people learn better when they are challenged by things that they don't expect, when they do not have all their prejudices and assumptions confirmed, but instead have some of their ideas shaken up as part of an education."
-Nan Keohane, February 2003

The DCU then proceeded to list the party affiliation statistics of Duke's deans and eight University departments, which revealed an approximate Democrat-Republican ratio of 17-1. Then they asked a simple question: "Is this diversity?"

In a stunning response to the DCU advertisement, Professor Robert Brandon, Chair of the Philosophy Department, is quoted in The Chronicle on February 10 as saying,

"We try to hire the best, smartest people available. If, as John Stuart Mill said, stupid people are generally conservative, then there are lots of conservatives we will never hire. Mill's analysis may go some way towards explaining the power of the Republican party in our society and the relative scarcity of Republicans in academia. Players in the NBA tend to be taller than average. There is a good reason for this. Members of academia tend to be a bit smarter than average. There is a good reason for this too."

The sentiment itself is shocking coming from the chair of any academic department, but also shocking is the fact that the chairman of the philosophy department at Duke is misquoting John Stuart Mill. What Mill wrote, in a footnote discussing Disraeli in Considerations on Representative Government, was that the Conservative Party in England was “the stupidest party.”

Additional Information:

Durham, We Have a Problem: http://www.newsensemagazine.org/article.php?aid=32

[TaxRelief]

If his premise is true about conservatives being stupid why are the following graduates more Republican than Democrat: 1. Medicine, 2. Pharmacy, 3. Engineering, 4. Chemistry, 5. Physics, 6. Geology, 7. Mathematics, 8. Aviation,

Apparently he did not make himself clear; True intellectuals major in Sociology, Philosphy, Theology and History. < /sarcasm :-)

[T Minus Four]

ping

[TaxRelief]

BTW - This is the typical, some may call it congenital, tendancy of liberals to assume facts not in evidence and use them as a premise to an argument. Too often conservatives, in the emotion of the moment, accept them without consideration and immediately put themselves not only in a defensive mode, but a poor starting position.

Too true, Bob. Conservatives need to get in the habit of challenging the premises presented, before they begin debating leftists conclusions.

A good response may be "If, indeed Premise A is true and if Fact A did not exist, then your position would be realistic, however, before we discuss your conclusion, can you tell me how you came upon Premise A?

Having tried this approach multiple times I can tell you what their answer will always be.

"I read it in the (NY Times, LA Times or Washington Post)."

[justshutupandtakeit]

Those numbers do not sound right. It is almost impossible to believe Duke had 160,000 applicants.

I have always heard Duke was a great school but being an elitist I have never seen any indication of real greatness in its graduates or researchers. Certainly nothing equivalent to one of the schools I attended, the University of Chicago. It certainly has nowhere near the number of applicants you stated for Duke.

[RightWhale]

Liberals are intolerant and simply can not handle being challenged.

Sure they can. Once they discover you can read Husserl, Heidegger, Marcuse, Sartre, and Kierkegaard, which is something they cannot, they quiet down considerably and handle calm discourse quite well.

[RightWhale]

one of the schools I attended, the University of Chicago.

Was that before or after Berkeley? :)

[dukeman]

160,000 applicants

I think there may be a decimal point problem here. As fate would have it, I'm a Duke alum (screen name dukeman)who does some applicant interviews for the school. The admissions office tells us that Duke gets around 16,000 applications for undergraduate admission each year(more when it goes further in the NCAA tournament). It accepts between 1,500 and 1,600.

[wrench]

I thought the number high as well, but it was passed to me by a frustrated parent trying to get their child accepted.

I am glad to know the true number, thanks for the correction.

"Put on your old gray bonnet with the........"

Duke77

[Dog Gone]

If this was supposed to be an intelligent response by a liberal professor, it fell rather short.

[RightOnline]

Now.........as a resident of Raleigh here..............ask me what parents are paying for the privilege of their little darlings attending this sewer called "Duke". Go ahead...........you simply won't believe the answer.

[Agnes Heep]

The Gulag Archipelago. What a great read. I too was quit influenced by it. Glad to have you here.

Thanks. Solzhenitsyn's a great writer. He captures the dark side of Soviet oppression, but at the same time, offers unique analytical insights that go well beyond the pain and suffering outlined by some of the lesser lights.

[wordsofearnest]

I'll bite. How much?

[Bob J]

Yu are right SIR!

[dukeman]

this sewer called "Duke"

So, are you Tarheel or Wolfpack?

[dukeman]

I wonder whether the prof regretted making the response at any time since. Not that he would retract the sentiment, but perhaps he regrets the hassle he may have had. Actually, he's probably a hero in the prof's lounge!

[RightOnline]

Two graduating from NC State this year. :)

[dukeman]

I'd like to take this moment to encourage Julius Hodge to immediately jump to the NBA. :-)