If you think Confederate is bad, try 'Vanderbilt'

Tennessean ^ | 28 September 2002 | Tim Chavez

[stainlessbanner]

Well written article about Vanderbilt. Unrelated to the article, I have heard the UDC is trying to schedule a meeting with VU administrators.

Still no response from my letters to VU - 2 weeks and counting.

FReepmail to get on/off southern news flags

[demsux]

BUMP

[Fraulein]

I am a graduate student/teaching assistant at Vandy, and, shame to say, last week there was not one student in a class of over 70 undergraduates who could give the date of the Civil War. One guy finally took a guess and said "the late 18th century." No joke.

[terilyn]

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[TomServo]

While I'm proud both my Father and my Uncle graduated from Vanderbilt, I'm saddened they've turned into leftists and cowards.

[Ciexyz]

I love the story about Vanderbilt when he was cheated in a business enterprise by two associates. He wrote them, "Gentlemen, I could sue you, but the law takes too long. Instead I'll ruin you. Sincerely, Cornelius Vanderbilt"

[Polybius]

Some of the greatest names in American history made their fortunes through shameless chicanery — Vanderbilt, Morgan, Rockefeller, Stanford. . . . ''

He forgot Joe Kennedy.

[STONEWALLS]

.....one of my kids went to Chapel Hill and they have a nice Confederate soldier statue on the quadrangle...it's dedicated to the students and alums that served....in the lobby of one of the auditoriums they have some beautiful oil portraits of Confederate generals that were alums...I know it's just a matter of time before such memorials come under attack......IMHO the best defense is for individuals to cut off donations when schools pull crap like Vandy did...that gets the president's attention...

Good luck to everybody!!

Stonewalls

[x]

It's hard to know how seriously to take these quotes. The railroaders of the late 19th century have been subjected to abuse for a century, much or most of it undeserved.

I've heard that W.H. Vanderbilt was criticized for rate hikes and asked if he shouldn't run his business as a public service. That's what provoked the "public be damned" quote. Imagine asking any CEO now whether he shouldn't swallow his losses, avoid price increases and run his business as a "public service." What kind of answer do you think you would get? It's the thinking embodied by the question that doomed the railroads, though the answer wasn't a public relations boon, either.

The whole article's pretty moronic as the present-day management of Vanderbilt University has as little to do with the New York Central as it does with the Confederacy. They no longer honor the Vanderbilts or serve Vanderbilt interests; they serve their own interests. If the board felt cause to drop the Vanderbilt name they would. They may well do so some day, but abusing the Vanderbilts won't put the "Confederate" back on the building.

[stainlessbanner]

They may well do so some day, but abusing the Vanderbilts won't put the "Confederate" back on the building.

Perhaps you are correct, but it does point out the hypocrisy of the PC crowd. Reminds of the Penn State movement against the Confederacy, Southern heritage, etc - the only thing the PSU students forgot was their school's founder was a slave trader.

[stainlessbanner]

It gets worse:

• One in 10 did not know George Washington was the first president.
• 17 percent did not know there were 13 original colonies.
• 15 percent did not know the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
• Nearly one in four did not know who fought in the Civil War; 13 percent thought it was the United States and England.
  
  Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, nationwide telephone survey of 1,020 kids ages 12 to 17 was conducted May 31 to June 5, 2001

Can you share with us the mood on campus? Are students affected by this decision, or could they care less?

[billbears]

Uhh, not sure you knew this but Silent Sam is already under attack

Save Silent Sam

[Mr. Mulliner]

I think even a higher percentage of the foreign students I teach English to would get these simple questions right. A week ago, I took a group of 8 foreign students to some sites of the Battle of Franklin. It wasn't like they knew a lot, but they did know the basics.

I hadn't heard about this, but I work at Vandy. To survive, I have to stay away from any official news and not bring up politics with my colleagues. Still, I'm at the end of my rope with a boss who sends out Bush-bashing peacenik e-mails daily, sometimes several a day.

Re the name change, I hope that UDC gets a huge pay-out from the university. And I hope a bunch of alumni stop their support of this once great university.

[STONEWALLS]

"Uhh, not sure you knew this but Silent Sam is already under attack "

....thanks Billbears....I just spent a half hour digging thru that link and enjoyed it very much...it refreshed my memory; those oil portraits of UNC Confederate generals are located in Memorial Hall...sadly, Chapel Hill has been going PC extreme for some time now......when my daughter was in law school there she called me up all excited and asked me if I wanted to come hear a special guest speaker they were bringing in....I "said who is it?"...she says "Morris Dees!"...I said..."deal me out, but ask him what he's doing with the $40 million he's hustled down there at the SPLC."

Good luck to everybody!

Stonewalls

[Fraulein]

Are students affected by this decision, or could they care less?

They could care less.

[doglot]

One of the reasons I give to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

[Fraulein]

To survive, I have to stay away from any official news and not bring up politics with my colleagues. Still, I'm at the end of my rope with a boss who sends out Bush-bashing peacenik e-mails daily, sometimes several a day.

I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes it is more than I can stand. Unfortunately, I have little patience for it all (I'm surrounded by Marxists!), so I tend to speak more openly and passionately than I should, which often gets me in trouble. Academics get absolutely indignant when you do not tow the party line. Anyway, when I get home FreeRepublic is for me like a breath of fresh air. By the way, we also have a peacenik professor in our department who has staged several "peace forums" in the past few weeks, and who has sent out endless emails.

Regards,
Fraulein

[aomagrat]

The people who cry "Diversity!" the loudest are also the people who want everyone to be just like them.

[wardaddy]

I wonder what percentage of Vandy's endowment is still from the original family endowment trusts?