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Re-Education Residence Halls at the University of Delaware
The folks at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) have put together an interesting and infuriating video about the University of Delaware's bizarre residence-life program. From the group's description of the situation:
In 2007, the University of Delaware's Office of Residence Life used mandatory activities to coerce students to change their thoughts, values, attitudes, beliefs, and habits to conform to a highly specified social, environmental, and political agenda. Following FIRE's campaign, which called the attention of the national media and the blogosphere to the Orwellian program, university President Patrick Harker terminated the program, effective immediately. This video explains the program's invasive thought-reform activities, the horrified reactions of students and the press, and FIRE's response.
Click above to watch the vid (about 15 minutes) and click here to visit FIRE's homepage.
JP|4.28.09 @ 11:14AM|#
As someone with a graduate degree from U of D, I can't wait to watch this video later today.
The Angry Optimist|4.28.09 @ 11:26AM|#
having not watched the video, I can say that Residence Life can
try to make you go to all the shit they want, but if you're smart,
you realize that you have to do the following three things to
graduate:
1. Pay all your fees
2. Finish all required courses for your degree
3. Have enough general credits to graduate
I'll be instructing my (as-of-yet-abstract) children that they are
the customer at college and Res. Life can blow it out their
ass.
Jordan|4.28.09 @ 11:28AM|#
Wait a second, this can't be right. I have it on good authority that Liberals are good on civil liberties. The same authority that assures me that Obama is not a socialist.
|4.28.09 @ 11:33AM|#
Who is retarded enough to go to the University of Delaware?
Sorry, JP.
They used to (and probably still do) have a very good chemical
engineering dept.
Mad Max|4.28.09 @ 11:36AM|#
dbcooper,
Oh, yeah, the Duponts.
The Res Life people have their work cut out for them, counteracting
all these corporate/fascist/heteronormative influences.
MNG|4.28.09 @ 11:38AM|#
The exercise that the students talk about at the beginning is not so bad, it seems like a silly attempt to make sure everyone is "aware" of diversity and racism and such, which is not totally nuts for a residence life program (which is intended to get a lot of diverse kids to live together), but the whole "all white people are racist oppressors no minority can be racist" stuff is nutty Mcnuts...
MNG|4.28.09 @ 11:39AM|#
A lot of corporations do these kind of things too, in fact the Office makes good fun of such things.
Abdul|4.28.09 @ 11:45AM|#
Who is retarded enough to go to the University of
Delaware?
Our current Vice President is retarded enough!
Mad Max|4.28.09 @ 11:45AM|#
Wait, are you saying black people *can* be racist?
Ah, poor MNG, I'm afraid you've been irreparably tainted by your
white-skin privilege. Well, it's too late for you, but at least the
rising generation can be purged of such attitudes, so that they
won't end up as corporate fat cats, or some other kind of enemies
of the people.
Give me the child when he is a naive college freshman, and I will
give you the man.
Oh, no, I said "freshman" and "man," instead of "first-year
student" and "person."
Quick, MNG, you gotta hide me, there's a warrant out for me on a
charge of insensivitude. Please, just a place to crash for a few
weeks, some plastic surgery, a set of new ID, and . . .
Oops, too late they're [ack]
|4.28.09 @ 12:05PM|#
If you have ever felt ashamed that your athletic teams' mascot
seems to be a female, take a marshmallow...
Blue
Hens?!!
Kevin
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:05PM|#
I do feel for these administrators a bit. They have this diverse
population that has to suddenly live, eat and play together for a
few years, and many people really have no clue that some of the
things they say and do will be horribly offensive to some people,
and that that can lead to trouble (fights, people dropping out,
lawsuits, etc).
But it would be better to just tell them what ACTIONS will not be
tolerated (certain slurs and epithets or activities like blackface
parties) rather than trying some type of thought reform...
JP|4.28.09 @ 12:06PM|#
Who is retarded enough to go to the University of Delaware?
Sorry, JP.
You're just trying to smoke out my true identity, aren't you?
Without being too specific, U of D offers a program that is the
best in the country in a very specialized area that shall remain
unidentified.
(Also, I understand their undergrad program is good value for money
if you're a DE resident.)
|4.28.09 @ 12:11PM|#
Yeah you just get fights and whatnot breaking out all over
campus these days what with all that diversity and stuff eh
MNG?
I don't recall any of this from my experiences in college dorms in
the US, and we didn't have any programs like this, or any programs
at all really. I call bullshit on you.
|4.28.09 @ 12:16PM|#
⅞ Libertarian, would that university be in Athens, or that newer
one at the state capital?
Seriously, I'd be ashamed of an [anystate] STATE university.
:)
Kevin
Peter Bagge|4.28.09 @ 12:20PM|#
At about the 11:46 mark, Prof Blits -- a CRITIC of this scrapped program, says that one of the "best" outcomes of it was that some students described their parents as "racists, CAPITALISTS, and other terrible things."
|4.28.09 @ 12:21PM|#
Seriously, I'd be ashamed of an [anystate] STATE university.
:)
Does that mean you aren't impressed by my associates degree in art
history from South, South West Missouri State College, Bupkis City
satellite campus?
|4.28.09 @ 12:24PM|#
At about the 11:46 mark, Prof Blits -- a CRITIC of this
scrapped program, says that one of the "best" outcomes of it was
that some students described their parents as "racists,
CAPITALISTS, and other terrible things."
He said that sort of thing was described by the program directors
as one of the best outcomes. I suspect he was merely being dry when
he said "racists, CAPITALISTS, and other terrible things." i.e. He
was indicating in a subtle manner his amusement that these people
would lump capitalists and people who didn't think that america was
a terrible state of "minority" oppression etc into the same
category as those "dreaded" racists.
|4.28.09 @ 12:27PM|#
They used to (and probably still do) have a very
good an excellent chemical engineering dept.
(Also, I understand their undergrad program is good value for
money if you're a DE resident.)
As an out of state school of the same level go, it is a good value
for out of state students as well. The U of D is not really a state
school, but some sort of bastard arangement of a private school
that is publicly supported.
Disclaimer: I am the only one in the family (mom, dad, both
sisters, both brother-inlaws) that has not gone to UofD as an
undergrad or post-grad. Though, I did spend some time in the 70s
passed out on the floor of the Rodney D dorm.
|4.28.09 @ 12:31PM|#
As an out of state school of the same level go, it is a good
value for out of state students as well. The U of D is not really a
state school, but some sort of bastard arangement of a private
school that is publicly supported.
[snark]I'm guessing you didn't study english composition,
right?[/snark]
I didn't really mean to cause offence, but that was pretty
difficult to read.
|4.28.09 @ 12:31PM|#
I imagine must of this is just feel-good busy work for the RAs. Most undergrads I meet are already self-squeezing oranges when it comes to the dogmas of diversity.
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:33PM|#
dbcooper
You don't remember it happening at your college in your day so that
proves it's not a potential problem at other colleges in our
day!
Just put together some common sense:
1. Many people say things that are very offensive to other people
often because they are not even aware of how offensive it might be
to some people
2. Sometimes when people hear someone say something that offends
them they will want to fight the person who said it
3. State colleges have a lot of people going to them, so the
chances they get folks from group 1 and 2 in the same place at the
same time is high
4. Presto.
dhex|4.28.09 @ 12:35PM|#
"Most undergrads I meet are already self-squeezing
oranges"
what an intriguing metaphor - what does it mean?
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:36PM|#
I can't tell you how many people I grew up with would use the word "fag" or "queer" as a general term of derision. Hell, as TAO can readily and eagerly attest, I still do sometimes. Now put them in a dorm room with someone who is gay, and presto, you've got a very probable administrative headache...
|4.28.09 @ 12:36PM|#
what an intriguing metaphor - what does it mean?
Nothing. NutraSweet is bipolar. Just ignore him.
|4.28.09 @ 12:37PM|#
If black people would learn how to not offend people of other races, we would all get along a little better.
|4.28.09 @ 12:38PM|#
Um, if you can't speak because the university told you to stuff
your mouth with marshmallows, isn't it the university that's
oppressing you? Disobey them, spit out the marshmallows, and speak
clearly.
I just got expelled for saying that, didn't I?
Jordan|4.28.09 @ 12:39PM|#
Does that mean you aren't impressed by my associates degree in art history from South, South West Missouri State College, Bupkis City satellite campus?
To be fair, I wouldn't be impressed by an art history degree from
anywhere.
|4.28.09 @ 12:40PM|#
dhex,
A Clockwork Orange ref. Once the state is through
re-educating you, your mind becomes the self-squeezing orange, no
exterior pressure is required for juicing. You look normal on the
outside but have internalized the controls of authority, and thus
become an automaton.
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:45PM|#
You know what I learned from watching A Clockwork Orange? Stanley Kubrick likes tits.
dhex|4.28.09 @ 12:46PM|#
ahh, gotcha.
i mean, in general (and from a pr point of view) it's a good idea
to lay down guidelines, no matter how incredibly obvious it may
seem on the surface. not drinking a quart of vodka also seems
incredibly obvious, but college students manage to die from that on
occasion.
some of the stuff in the video does have the gross markings of some
kinda twisted cultural indoctrination program/parody, but on the
other hand that's what institutions do.
|4.28.09 @ 12:46PM|#
Ah but it was only a few years ago I was at that university (UC
Berkeley), and I work at another university now. I really do not
understand why people think there are such potentially large
problems. And besides, why do US "liberals" place such weight on
the possibility of someone being offended?
College students do not need any diversity etc training to
co-exist. Sure, a minimal code of conduct for living in dorms is
justified, but there is no justification for attempting to train
people in beliefs etc just because they live in a dorm.
|4.28.09 @ 12:51PM|#
domo, I might be impressed if you got a music degree from the
University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople.
Kevin
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:53PM|#
"And besides, why do US "liberals" place such weight on the
possibility of someone being offended?"
Well, I don't know about these mythical "liberals" of yours, but I
imagine college administrators worry about fights breaking out in
the dorms, students quitting the college, and "hostile environment
lawsuits" being filed.
Most organizations try to keep their members from offending other
members and customers. It's a very human and sensible thing to do,
but not when it involves mandatory thought reform type stuff.
MNG|4.28.09 @ 12:53PM|#
"College students do not need any diversity etc training to
co-exist. Sure, a minimal code of conduct for living in dorms is
justified, but there is no justification for attempting to train
people in beliefs etc just because they live in a dorm."
I agree with all three sentences btw.
|4.28.09 @ 12:55PM|#
[snark]I'm guessing you didn't study english composition,
right?[/snark]
Nope, I is an engineer.
|4.28.09 @ 12:56PM|#
"Most undergrads I meet are already self-squeezing
oranges"
what an intriguing metaphor - what does it mean?
During my time in the military we used the phrase "self licking ice
cream cone" to refer to intelligence gathering activities that had
no ultimate end user. (most of them)
|4.28.09 @ 1:01PM|#
And besides, why do US "liberals" place such weight on the
possibility of someone being offended?
Because taking offense is the lifeblood of the academic economy. As
soon as you find something you can take offense at, you have a
bloody shirt to wave. You get money and tenure and other forms of
payoffs and benefits.
Here at my university, a provost was questioned on why
African-American enrollment was down. In a moment of stupidity, he
mentioned something possibly true, but definitely not politically
correct. He gave a lengthy auto de fe and was forced to
resign. The newly minted Vice President of Multiculturalism was
bought a 250K house in my neighborhood as a signing bonus. The
Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center was expanded and given a
full professor position to oversee it. And the head of
African-American Studies was given an office five times the size of
his old one.
Offense is a currency, and a potent one.
|4.28.09 @ 1:04PM|#
Well, I don't know about these mythical "liberals" of yours,
but I imagine college administrators worry about fights breaking
out in the dorms,
Were fights due to insensitive comments such a problem that
re-education programs were needed? Why wouldn't sanctions for, you
know, fighting, be the solution?
students quitting the college,
Were students quitting due to insensitive comments such a problem
that re-education programs were needed? Most colleges turn away
applicants anyway, its not like they couldn't fill vacancies left
by the hypersensitive in a heartbeat.
and "hostile environment lawsuits" being filed.
I don't believe that such lawsuits apply to educational settings,
as opposed to workplaces. Being a student isn't a job, students
aren't employees, and employment law doesn't apply to that
relationship.
David|4.28.09 @ 1:04PM|#
I heard what finally killed the program was that one time when the obese Samoan lesbian diabetic ended up stuffed with marshmallows.
|4.28.09 @ 1:14PM|#
I heard what finally killed the program was that one time
when the obese Samoan lesbian diabetic ended up stuffed with
marshmallows.
Man, those
Samoans are a surly bunch.
stuartl|4.28.09 @ 1:16PM|#
Well, I don't know about these mythical "liberals" of yours,
but I imagine college administrators worry about fights breaking
out in the dorms, students quitting the college, and "hostile
environment lawsuits" being filed.
Anyone with stats showing these as real issues? Strictly
anecdotally, I do not think that this is much of an issue among
college age kids in the US.
Jordan|4.28.09 @ 1:19PM|#
domo, I might be impressed if you got a music degree from the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople.
Are the Hoople Heads their mascot?
phalkor|4.28.09 @ 1:32PM|#
These programs are bullshit; I hated the student life office at
my school. Fuck'em those fuckfaces.
Early in my freshman year we had a "workshop" on race and college
admissions. I was too dumb at the time to keep my mouth shut and
let the facilitator tell me that my presence in the college dorm
was a symptom of an oppressive system. I suggested that without
students like me, who get minimal to no financial aid and front
full tuition, there wouldn't be enough money for the "necessary"
injections of diversity. That turned out to be a mistake. The event
ended with a black girl from Oklahoma talking about getting kicked
out of a country club, bursting into tears and storming off.
Afterwards, some guy on my floor put up a cartoon showing a black
child cartoon character eating watermelon and fried chicken while a
kkk child was urinating on him. It said something like "discuss
diversity and affirmative action on campus university center 8pm".
This was followed by a investigation in which the everyone on my
floor was interrogated.
I don't know who put the blasted thing up their but some
bastard(s)(I will never know who) told the head of student life
that I put up the cartoon. I was threatened with expulsion among
other things. A week passed, heard nothing since.
So FUCK diversity and the people who force it. Student life and
their ilk are a stain in the fabric of humanity. They bullied and
harassed me just a month into my time as a student. Ahh I feel
better, now I know what I'm going to talk about the next time the
alumni giving office calls.
|4.28.09 @ 1:41PM|#
@kevrob:
Seriously, I'd be ashamed of an [anystate] STATE university.
:)
Mine was a lame throwback comment to another post. I don't want any
record mistakenly associating me with OSU (an abbreviation
discouraged by their website BTW).
|4.28.09 @ 1:44PM|#
Well, I don't know about these mythical "liberals" of yours,
but I imagine college administrators worry about fights breaking
out in the dorms, students quitting the college, and "hostile
environment lawsuits" being filed.
And, once more, MaunderingNannyGoat throws down the
AbsurdHypotheticalCard.
If we don't do this, the hallways will run red with the blood of
innocents. Because college students are delicate, flower-like
creatures, who must be coddled and "protected" from any form of
mental confusion or discomfort, as they have been since birth.
|4.28.09 @ 1:57PM|#
The newly minted Vice President of Multiculturalism was
bought a 250K house in my neighborhood as a signing bonus. The
Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center was expanded and given a
full professor position to oversee it. And the head of
African-American Studies was given an office five times the size of
his old one.
Offense is a currency, and a potent one.
our nation is spiraling quickly into self congratulatory
irrellevance. it will take some real poverty to turn things
around.
|4.28.09 @ 2:01PM|#
"""Well, I don't know about these mythical "liberals" of
yours,"""
Don't spoil his 2 minutes hate.
dhex|4.28.09 @ 2:03PM|#
sadly for universities, being sued or even getting bad press over a hostile environment, real or imagined, is far from a chimera.
Boomer|4.28.09 @ 2:24PM|#
some kinda twisted cultural indoctrination program/parody,
but on the other hand that's what institutions do
Mine didn't, but I was educated in more enlightened times.
|4.28.09 @ 2:26PM|#
dhex,
They brought it on themselves. The proper response to one of these
rare incidents to say to the offendee "You know what? Sometimes
people are assholes." and to the offender "Stop being an asshole."
Instead they want to stage a Greek tragedy of soul-searching and
fretting and sensitivity training.
For every kid innocent of some cultural offense he might be giving,
there are 10,000 who are just being assholes. Punish the assholes,
if you must, don't try and indoctrinate everyone.
LarryA|4.28.09 @ 2:49PM|#
I can't tell you how many people I grew up with would use
the word "fag" or "queer" as a general term of derision. Hell, as
TAO can readily and eagerly attest, I still do sometimes. Now put
them in a dorm room with someone who is gay, and presto, you've got
a very probable administrative headache...
Good Lord, you don't mean that there are people attending college
that still have something to learn?
So after you break up the fight, take the gay person and say
something like, "Look, there are people in the world who don't know
why being called 'fag' is offensive to a gay person. You will be
much more effective explaining it to them than punching them
out."
Take the other person and explain why what he said was
offensive.
Then have your group hug and get on with life.
If one or the other students won't learn, proceed with
sanctions.
If you want to teach anything, teach non-violent conflict
resolution. I can lend you my lesson plan from the Texas concealed
handgun license class.
|4.28.09 @ 3:02PM|#
I once referred to someone as a "cocksucker" in front of a gay
friend. I hope I didn't offend him. I need to come up with a better
insult, since sucking cocks is not a bad thing.
Any tips on non-offensive insults?
Jennifer|4.28.09 @ 3:22PM|#
The state university in my town created a brand-new
$150,000-a-year position called "Chief Diversity Officer." I shit
you not. I predict there will be an increase in reported incidents
of intolerance and all-around rudeness, so the
150K-plus-state-bennies guy can justify his job.
Remember: being a grownup means never, ever having to be offended,
and if anything or anyone offends you this is proof that the
universe is on the wrong track and someone needs to Do Something
about it.
Jennifer|4.28.09 @ 3:25PM|#
Any tips on non-offensive insults?
I prefer "piece of worthless crap that needs to be scraped off the
bottom of humanity's shoe."
Mari Dupont|4.28.09 @ 3:32PM|#
Of the many, many reasons to loathe these indoctrination
sessions, I feel the most important is that they're wildly
inconsistent, always shifting, with no clear underlying
principles.
If I'm a evangelical Christian who isn't sure about gay marriage,
and everybody in the dorm yells at me for being a bigot, do I
eventually get victim status too? What if my Muslim room mate has
problems with gay marriage? Who is the oppressor now, and how long
do either of us stay the oppressor? Only until someone threatens a
lawsuit? Can I be a hybrid victim-oppressor?
And as far as offending people, if I tell some fat-ass guy whose
hitting on me that he needs to unload 50 pounds before I'll sleep
with him, does he have grounds to haul me before the Student Court
for my offensive comment? Why or why not?
|4.28.09 @ 3:33PM|#
This shit always reminds me off the "Unmutual" episode of "The
Prisoner."
Jennifer! Unmutual!
|4.28.09 @ 3:43PM|#
News for Reason. For god's sakes don't ask about "Bob Jones University", because the amount of indoctrination there is even worse.
MNG|4.28.09 @ 4:34PM|#
"Bob Jones is a private school."
So what? Are'nt you for free minds in private and public
settings?
"And, once more, MaunderingNannyGoat throws down the
AbsurdHypotheticalCard.
If we don't do this, the hallways will run red with the blood of
innocents."
P Brooks, I don't expect much from you but you still perform below
expectations. I said upthread I was against this more than once. I
only said I could understand the motivation of the administrators.
It's the same motivation that leads to these kinds of programs in
the military and most major corporations.
|4.28.09 @ 4:48PM|#
Bob Jones is a private school.
The emphasis in the video was not on the public nature of this
school and how students lacked choice to leave refunded, it was on
groupthink being promoted. Bob Jones and other universities are
even worse on groupthink. I just want there to be some perspective
on this. These students could have left. They chose not to and the
video indicates that they feel they should be treated a certain way
by forcing the school to not berate them rather than leave and find
a school which doesn't believe in beratement.
|4.28.09 @ 4:54PM|#
Actually, I think the point of the video is the hypocrisy of
calling yourself a "university" - open to all points of view - but
requiring groupthink.
No one goes to Bob Jones to gain a broader perspective.
Sensitive Redskin|4.28.09 @ 4:55PM|#
The state university in my town created a brand-new
$150,000-a-year position called "Chief Diversity
Officer."
Ugh.
Jordan|4.28.09 @ 5:03PM|#
So what? Are'nt you for free minds in private and public settings?
Absolutely. I'm also for private property owners being able to
control access to their own property.
Jordan|4.28.09 @ 5:05PM|#
Not that I think indoctrination at private schools is a good thing. However, it is and should remain perfectly legal.
|4.28.09 @ 5:07PM|#
Actually, I think the point of the video is the hypocrisy of
calling yourself a "university" - open to all points of view - but
requiring groupthink.
No one goes to Bob Jones to gain a broader perspective.
I'll agree with your points, but add the caveat that while its
abhorrent to think that the university would engage in such
groupthink, this isn't exactly a libertarian call to arms as the
individuals could not be considered coerced in the traditional
sense. They weer free to leave at any time.
Jennifer|4.28.09 @ 5:59PM|#
Of course, at a public university it's tax money being squandered on this bullshit, same way my tax money is being squandered to pay for a $150,000 per annum Chief Diversity Officer to make sure college students never get their feelings hurt. At least Bob Jones doesn't make ME fund his Orwellian fuckfests.
|4.28.09 @ 6:37PM|#
Wait, are you saying black people *can* be
racist?
One of the funniest things in the last election was the pinkos
going ape-shit over the way that a majority of blacks in California
voted on the gay marriage proposition.
-jcr
Clemsonuee|4.28.09 @ 6:39PM|#
The kids who attend Bob Jones get a much broader perspective.
They spend plenty of time on the streets of Greenville on Friday
nights handing out pamphlets to those of us who don't really want
them. I think they get a fairly broad perspective from those people
less polite than I.
On the positive side for my first two years of Clemson BJU students
would head to Clemson (my alma mater, and about an hour away) to
hand out pamphlets to us. I'd ignore the guys, but I'd always have
plenty of time for religious discussion with the cute girls. Most
of them were totally out of their depth, but a few could hold up
their end of a discussion.
By and large people attend BJU specifically to get that
indoctrination. I can't hold anger at a place for telling people
what they want to hear.
|4.28.09 @ 6:41PM|#
if I tell some fat-ass guy whose hitting on me that he needs
to unload 50 pounds before I'll sleep with him, does he have
grounds to haul me before the Student Court for my offensive
comment?
Hmm... What if the dude loses 50 pounds and then you still turn him
down? Can he haul you before the Student Anti-Tease Tribunal? Or,
once he's not fat do his minority guilt-trip powers go away?
-jcr
|4.28.09 @ 6:51PM|#
I think it would be amusing to bring the marshmallow circle-jerk
to a screeching halt like so:
"You'll take a marshmallow and put it in your mouth if the
statement applies to you".
"Are they kosher?"
"Umm... I don't know."
"HAH! You insensitive anti-semitic clod! Try to feed me a
non-kosher marshmallow, why don't you just demand that I jump in
your oven?"
I don't trot out the "offended Jew" schtick very often, but it can
come in handy sometimes.
-jcr
Mari Dupont|4.28.09 @ 8:45PM|#
John Randolf,
If the Anti-Tease tribunal is getting their marching orders from
the U of Delaware re-educators, I suspect I'd be acquitted.
These types dont want to admit fat people can choose to turn into
thin people, and would willingly give up their victim status just
to get laid. If they assign you victim status, you stay a victim
for LIFE.
Fatty (actually ex-Fatty) would be considered a traitor to the
cause and his case would be dismissed.
ResLifeSucksEverywhere|4.28.09 @ 9:02PM|#
As a gay male, I'm now wishing I went to Delaware so I could
have told the Res Life fascists to take a hike back to
Germany.
All we had to do at my school was attend a "here are the fire
exits" seminar and eat really bad pizza with our RAs. The Res Life
dorks were clearly too boring at my school.
ResLifeSucksEverywhere|4.28.09 @ 9:05PM|#
John C. Randolph... I just spit out my marshmallow imagining
that situation. Hilarious.
I'm actually surprised the school legal office didn't bitch slap
Res Life for putting students at risk of choking on
marshmallows.
|4.28.09 @ 9:07PM|#
I'm now wishing I went to Delaware so I could have told the
Res Life fascists to take a hike back to Germany.
I'd pay a couple of bucks to see that on pay-per-view.
What's really sad is that so few of these kids had the
self-assurance to do exactly that. When I was that age, I was
already in the habit of telling anyone that I found pushy where to
go and how to get there, even if what they were pushing was
generally in line with my own positions.
-jcr
|4.28.09 @ 9:10PM|#
Speaking of what random people find offensive, I had a gay
housemate several years ago, who was highly offended by anyone in
drag. Didn't matter whether the guy in drag was gay or straight, he
considered it equivalent to wearing blackface.
-jcr
ResLifeSucksEverywhere|4.28.09 @ 9:24PM|#
What's really sad is that so few of these kids had the
self-assurance to do exactly that. When I was that age, I was
already in the habit of telling anyone that I found pushy where to
go and how to get there, even if what they were pushing was
generally in line with my own positions.
Ditto... which is why my parents were always told, since I was in
the 4th grade, "your son has a serious problem with authority" at
parent-teacher conferences (imagine that from a future Reason
reader). Unfortunately, I also got straight A's so what's the
"heterosexist, educational-industrial complex" to do? Send him to a
magnet school for "special" kids. Now I teach college kids... if my
primary school teachers could only see me now (they'd be
horrified).
[And, I meant the heterosexist, fascist, educational-industrial
complex. I'm all about using outlandish pejorative terms when
discussing diversity in higher education. Fight fire with fire...
pardon the pun.]
ResLifeSucksEverywhere|4.28.09 @ 9:29PM|#
Speaking of what random people find offensive, I had a gay
housemate several years ago, who was highly offended by anyone in
drag. Didn't matter whether the guy in drag was gay or straight, he
considered it equivalent to wearing blackface.
I always found straight males who wore Jordache jeans to be highly
offensive.
engineer|4.28.09 @ 10:30PM|#
"I'm actually surprised the school legal office didn't bitch
slap Res Life for putting students at risk of choking on
marshmallows."
It's because they're racist, homophobic, and misogynistic, and
wanted them to choke on the marshmallows.
|4.29.09 @ 2:37PM|#
JCR has started something.
What if the student offered the marshmallow was a diabetic? What if
s/he/it just wanted to lose some weight? What if s/he/it was
Italian-American, and took offense at cheekpadding, as it brought
back cruel memories of Marlon Brando as Don Corleone. What if
s/he/it was already "differently audible?"† What if s/he/it is
deathly afraid of the High Fructose Corn Syrup Conspiracy? What if
the little sugar
pillows* contain gelatin, and that upsets the strict
vegans?
Oh, the hilarity!
Kevrob
*Note the mention of kosher `mallows in the wikilink
† (Has a "speech impediment")
Differently Audible|4.29.09 @ 6:44PM|#
I was "differently audible" in primary school (had the good ole'
"s" lisp). The name of the school speech therapist was Mrs.
Schaffer. [Horrible back then... hilarious when I look back on
it.]
I bet, nowadays, I could get her fired because I wanted to cry
everytime I had to say her name.
|4.30.09 @ 1:46PM|#
What if s/he/it was Italian-American, and took offense at
cheekpadding, as it brought back cruel memories of Marlon Brando as
Don Corleone
Then he or she should make the "instructor" running the game an
offer he couldn't refuse.
(Yeah, I went there.)
-jcr
John C. Randolph|4.30.09 @ 1:48PM|#
my parents were always told, since I was in the 4th grade,
"your son has a serious problem with authority" at parent-teacher
conferences
You too?
I think that's something that a lot of Libertarians have in common.
I was never very big on being told what to do.
-jcr
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