Posted on 04/29/2005 12:11:14 PM PDT by white trash redneck
A Residential College class titled "Race and University Admissions" will be taking a closer look at two 2003 U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding the University's race-conscious admissions process this fall. The mini-course will concentrate on the plaintiffs' position that race-based admissions are unjust.
Grutter v. Bollinger challenged the Law School's race-conscious admissions system, which was upheld, while Gratz v. Bollinger managed to strike down the point-based affirmative action system that the College of Literature, Science and Arts employed.
Philosophy Prof. Carl Cohen, an outspoken critic of the University's race-conscious admissions policies and affirmative action in general, will be teaching the class and has openly stated in the course description that the class will not provide a balanced discussion of the issue.
Cohen said the course is a response to the University's supportive stance on affirmative action.
"My view normally is that professors ought not take a position on matters of a controversial matter, but on this very complicated subject ... the University takes a very strong position," Cohen said. "So I thought it would not be inappropriate for me to speak vigorously for it to balance that controversial activity."
The class will include visits from Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter, the plaintiffs from the two cases.
Cohen said he asked the administration for permission to teach a course designed to present the position of Gratz and Grutter. He said that because the University only presents one side of the argument, he should be able to do the same thing in the classroom.
"I'm making no bones about the fact that I'm not going to be presenting a balanced two sides of the case," Cohen said. "I'm going to be doing what the University does all the time."
Michigan Student Assembly representative Melton Lee said that while classes about affirmative action are important, they should present a more balanced discussion.
"I definitely think courses on affirmative action need to be taught here, since Michigan is at the center of the debate, but I don't see the educational value in a course that's openly biased," said Lee, an LSA junior.
"I think it's highly unethical for Cohen to use his faculty position and University resources to further his political agenda," he added.
LSA senior Evan Major said he agreed that the class should present both sides of the issue and said he hoped the class did not turn into a pedestal for Cohen's position.
"(Cohen) is a very outspoken individual on one side of that issue, and if he's doing it in the classroom, I'd be not so thrilled with the University for letting that happen," Major said.
Rackham student Kate Stenvig, who has run for MSA president under the Defend Affirmative Action Party three times over the past three years, said she could not see the class opening up any debate or providing any educational value.
"I think there needs to be more debate on the campus about affirmative action, but this class taught by Carl Cohen does not encourage that debate," Stenvig said. "I can't even imagine what would be talked about in the class aside from abstract statistics that he's going to obsess over that are not in any way related to why affirmative action exists."
The course is worth one credit and will last for five weeks. Cohen said he would also invite the attorneys from the cases and University administrators.
"If I could get President Coleman on the debating podium, I would love to do it, but I doubt that she would meet me," Cohen said.
The protests from the leftie students about the course's lack of balance, and Cohen's being "unethical" wouldn't be so laughable if leftie professors followed Cohen's example with regard to honesty.
It might be nifty if this prof put a syllabus and lecture abstracts online.
The student then continued: "I'd get a lot more value from the course if the professor snuck the bias in there when I wasn't looking, and then denied that this was what he was doing. You know, like they usually do."
and they give college credit for a course that is basically beauracratic favoritism 101?
no wonder people don't respect college degrees as much as they used to.
There's more than a little irony here, since "affirmative action" is simply bias in favor of "people of color." It's absurd that criticizing racial preferences is considered somehow biased. Wrong! We're opposed to bias, and in favor of judging people as individuals.
you'd be surprised at how even technical degrees are erroding. it's sad to watch. seems like nobody wants to excell, to work hard and earn something - they want the piece of paper so they can get a job.
Actually they don't...I went to a professional conference (forest biometry) a few years ago. The subject of U-M came up -- one guy there told me that the place had gone downhill since we had gone there (he was somewhat older than I was -- I didn't know he had gone to U-M before the conversation started). He said that U-M students couldn't do much but be lobbyists because they were mostly b.s. artists -- so apparently he did hire U-M grads in the past but is now much more reluctant to do so.
Note to self: it's not called "racist bigotry" anymore.
Now it's called "race consciousness".
Got it.
Let's not confuse things with the facts, shall we, Kate?
For once, he will be honest in his presentation. That is, openly biased. Any bets on whether he will bring up the memos by Senator Kennedy and others to delay confirming one of Bush's nominees to the Circuit Court, and not informing 2 conservative judges who retired just before the announcement of the case, so that the Libs had a stacked liberal court to hear the case?
Hehehehehe! Don'tcha just love it when they open their mouths? The little tykes say the damnest things, don't they?!
"This is a remarkable development that Prof. Cohen is going to be teaching a course opposed to affirmative action, at the U of Michigan, right in the belly of the beast, as it were. I also applaud his coming right out and announcing his bias - far be it from the leftie professors to be so honest."
He will be fired before Christmas.
Melton Lee,Quote:"It's highly unethical for Cohen to use his faculty position to further his political agenda." Now that is CHOICE!
Perhaps.
I have not yet begun to prepare the list. I will be using the briefs in the cases -- and my own book of course: Affirmative Action and Racial Preference, Oxford University Press, 2003.
Come up and join us! Be well. Carl Cohen
Lest we forget...this ruling for affirmative action at Michigan was made possible by the collusion of Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy, who bottled up the appointment of a conservative judge until after this case was heard. It was revealed by a Repubican senate staffer who had intercepted some Dem emails, and after the MSM howled about the GOP uncovering this plot, the staffer was fired! Did we ever hear a call for an ethics investigation in this blatant interference with the judiciary by the Democrats? Of course not. I think the next time the piddly little questions about Tom Delay's travel vouchers are trotted out, someone ought to say that he will be charged right after the Senate charges Kennedy for this egregious flouting of the separation of powers.
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