Quick Takes
Taking Sides on Professor's E-Mail Comparing Israel and Nazis
Two national groups are weighing in on the controversy over William I. Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara who is being investigated for charges of unprofessional conduct related to an e-mail message he sent to students in one of his courses, comparing images of Nazi attacks on Jews with Israeli attacks on Gaza. Some students have called the e-mail anti-Semitic.
The Middle East Studies Association of North America sent a letter expressing concern over possible violations of Robinson's academic freedom. "Whether or not one agrees with the substance of Professor Robinson’s views on Israel or with the way he chose to express them, we believe that there are grounds for grave concern about the allegation that his e-mail message is anti-Semitic as well as about the university’s decision to bring him up on charges for the content of that message and its circulation to students. As a faculty member at UCSB, which claims to be firmly committed to the defense of academic freedom, Professor Robinson is entitled to express his views freely, even on controversial issues and even when some students may be upset or offended by what he has to say. The expression of those views in the context of a course that deals with global issues seems entirely appropriate as well," the letter says.
Meanwhile, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, a group that has criticized some of the anti-Israeli rhetoric on American campuses, issued a statement backing the inquiry into Robinson. "An important issue is the distinction between legitimate criticism of policies and practices of the State of Israel, and commentary that assumes an anti-Semitic character. The demonization of Israel, or vilification of Israeli leaders, sometimes through Comparisons with Nazi leaders, and through the use of Nazi symbols to caricature them, indicates an anti-Semitic bias rather than a valid criticism of policy concerning a controversial issue," the statement says. "Contrary to what a number of academics who should know better have asserted, academic freedom does not mean that material that is introduced to a curriculum, class, or academic forum should be protected from collegial and peer review and discussion, conducted in a civil and constructive manner. Where peers find scholarship or pedagogy to be substandard, they are entitled, indeed obligated, to say so."
Chasms of Class at Harvard
Harvard University has had notable success in recent years at attracting more students from low-income backgrounds. But even as the university offers generous aid packages that cover all official expenses, students without money find themselves in a series of awkward social and financial situations, The Boston Globe reported. The article looked at the gaps between students who use laundry services and those who wait at the washing machines in the dormitory basements, or those who tell fellow choir members that male students should have tuxedos for a concert, and those who not only don't have a tux, but lack the funds to rent one.
Major Security Snafu With Data on DC Aid Applicants
The District of Columbia agency that handles financial aid requests has just sent detailed information about 2,400 aid applicants to 1,250 of those applicants, The Washington Post reported. The office sent an e-mail to 1,250 applicants and accidentally attached a spreadsheet with 2,400 applicants' names, e-mail and home addresses, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and dates of birth. The agency has since asked all of those who received the spreadsheet to destroy it. Further, it sent an apology to the students whose information was shared, and is offering one-year subscriptions to a credit-monitoring service so that they can try to prevent identity theft.
Rutgers Was Used to Fund Program on Food in Space
New Jersey has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a special Rutgers University appropriation that supported a small nonprofit group to teach school children how to grow food in space, The Star-Ledger reported. Given that space agriculture hasn't exactly taken off, the revelation was sure to be controversial, but the newspaper found that this appropriation featured a peculiat twist on the concept of the no-show job. Much of the money has been going to pay the salaries of two people -- one of whom has been dead for two years. The newspaper first reported the unusual appropriation Monday morning, and by the end of the day legislators were vowing to kill the program.
Roster Manipulation Alleged in Title IX Suit Against Quinnipiac
The volleyball coach at Quinnipiac University testified Monday that the institution has distorted athletic rosters as a means of hiding violations of gender equity laws, The Hartford Courant reported. According to the testimony, in a case in which team members are trying to prevent the university from eliminating the volleyball team, the university drops some male athletes from team rosters just before the season starts, reports on the total numbers of male and female athletes while those men are not counted, and then adds the men back. The university's athletic director declined to comment on the allegations.
Limited Progress for Minority Football Coaches
Big-time college football programs now have a pool from which to select minority coaches, according to a study published in USA Today. The study found that about 15 percent of offensive and defensive coordinators in the football bowl division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association are from minority groups. Those coordinator positions are traditionally the path to head coaching positions. In 2002, the last time USA Today did the survey, only 5 percent of coordinators were from minority groups. Despite that significant growth in the pool, only 7.5 percent of head coaches are from minority groups, the newspaper found, up from 3.5 percent in 2002.
The Anti-Notre Dame Commencement Address
With anti-abortion groups continuing to criticize the University of Notre Dame's decision to have President Obama speak at graduation ceremonies, there was one commencement address the critics might like. The commencement speaker at Ave Maria University, which prides itself on strict adherence to Roman Catholic teachings, devoted time to denouncing Obama and Notre Dame. The Naples Daily News reported that the speaker at Ave Maria -- Thomas Hilgers, an obstetrician from Nebraska -- called Obama "viciously pro-abortion" and compared having him to the the invitation made to the speaker Hilgers heard at his own graduation, whom he described as a priest who turned out to be "a denier of the Resurrection, pro-homosexuality and pro-contraception." The anti-Obama talk on graduation day prompted one person to write to The Sun-Sentinel to ask: "Uh, what happened to 'love thy neighbor.' "
