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Students pay good money to be educated in the fields of their own choosing. They should not be forced to be educated (or reeducated) on anything that is not part of their chosen course work.
First year residency is required at this University and since my son's friends were all a year older, we left it up to the school to assign a roommate. I even encouraged this since my own experience gained me a life long best friend. What we weren't aware of is a few hundred "white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality", are selected to room with foreign, non-English speaking, students. Of course, they claim it's not mandatory, but when I tried to reassign my son to another roommate it was impossible to do so without the insinuation of being racist. After a few months of endless forms and asked if a lawyer would be representing my son, I took advantage of my only alternative and claimed, because of financial reasons, it's necessary for my son to move into a private off campus apartment with family (my niece).
I wish I had the request documents to show others the difficulty these schools present to the students
Enjoy being a tool for the rest of your life.
Nice attempt at an ad hominem attack, John UD, but I'm not buying.
Hugs and kisses,
Pilgrim
the other ra "speaking out" on fire's website was only spoken to by his supervisors about being more sensitive because on more than one occaision he was heard making blatantly racist and other hateful remarks, in front of both staff and some students on his floor. several people were extremely offended and complained his supervisors regarding the comments. if issues such as that are ignored and allowed to continue, and an issue with a student comes up, and the university ignored it, the university would probably have been sued.
someone in an authority position such as an ra, teacher, police officer, etc should be a neutral party, presenting facts. having discussions where people can speak their minds, opinions, EITHER WAY. not spewing racist remarks, and not brainwashing kids. neither extreme on the spectrum. "brainwashing"
does NOT occur at ud, i might add. ud is trying to promote tolerance of others and environmentally friendly policies, yes. is it mandatory? no. if you do not choose to participate it is asked that you respectfully decline. AND the few staff members who were mistakenly telling students any floor or building activities were mandatory were reprimanded and the situation was quickly clarified to students in an email stating these events were suggested but in NO WAY mandatory, and ALSO asked for suggestions on how to improve the activities.
rather than believe all of these biased fabricated or misused sources, and being fed whatever someone tells you, use your own brain and do some real research into these issues. is the fire a reliable source? is UD? find out for YOURSELF. for all you know, i'm not a reliable source either. so i urge you all, don't just mindlessly believe what someone tells you, either way...research it and become educated on the issues yourself and THEN decide before forming an opinion...isn't that the message everyone is trying to get across here? think for yourselves?
In my opinion, regardless of Mr. Lenker's status with UD, has no effect on the truth. Now, if what you say is true, perhaps you can point me in the direction of substantiating you claim? I trust, you have a source of UD authority that has given an official statement to clear up this little misunderstanding of, what most everyone considers, a serious issue?
Anna,
One of my stepsons is in his freshman year at GSU and has a similar anti-WASP indoctrination program to deal with... despite the fact that he is enrolled in the College of Business. Fortunately, I had started to prepare him for this contingency several years ago, and he is mature enough and savvy enough to just shrug it off.
Richard Fernandez ("Wretchard") at The Belmont Club has often noted that while the West clearly won the military and economic battles in the Cold War with communism, the outcome on the social and educational fronts is still very much in doubt. It is morbidly curious how much intolerance is perpetrated in the name of tolerance and how much bigotry goes on in the name of diversity. Orwell was right.
I agree with parts of what Dan says (the hiring process, learning about white + other majority privlege (side note though: i subscribe to this theory, and I personally believe I would be ignorant to feel that I never benefited, even unintentionally, from being white. Its like saying Warren Buffet doesn't benefit from being rich).
I was an RA 1 yr before the curriculum and 2 yrs after it was a TOUGH transition. It was a complete change from the "Here's five topics, now do 4 programs this semester." But was it indoctrination?
I say no. I feel like I grew as person when I facilitated curriculum. Is it wrong to ask people to be tolerant of others? Being informed citizens, tolerant of those in your community, and willing to speak your mind - At its core I believe this was the educational focus. Not white = racist (which is misquoted as the ResLife handbook. It came from a supplement of a [i][b]guest speaker[/b][/i] at this year's training).
Many examples seen on FIRE, Glen Beck (who happens to be an idiot who [i]conveniently[/i] can't find a guest that disagrees with his POV), etc. are from overzealous [b]individual[/b]. You know what they say about one rotten apple... Thank god I had supervisors who understood that it is impossible to find an open hour that fits 39 different schedules and it was ok to have attendance <100% at a floor meeting.
People drop the M-bomb about RA events because UDel has a bigger problem than this ALLEGED indoctrination - our students are extremely apathetic, and attend very few events. I have told residents that you could argue that nothing at this unversity is mandatory, but you miss alot by skipping everything.
In my experience I never felt like I was shoving ideals down people's throats. I got a lot out of my one-on-one interactions and was proud to be an RA. I grew as a more tolerant person in whole on all my ResLife experiences, trying or otherwise.
I'm a little disappointed in President Harker retracting the rebuttal and immediately ceasing the program over an extremist online firestorm (pardon the pun). It is a tough and ambitious concept which has been negatively spun, and I wish the administration had a bit more backbone
I'd also like to echo Dan's comments about Kathleen Kerr (along with the other ADs in the dept.) being a wonderful person who shouldn't take a fall because of this.
And on the subject of anonymity - no current RA is permitted to speak for the university or the ResLife dept. That's fairly standard business (you don't speak for your employer). I'm a graduate and I still don't feel comfortable giving my name...
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/11/01/breaking-...
"Students will recognize the benefits of dismantling systems of oppression"
Students, you may now think freely.
Discussing with an RA has been their finding your opinion, and if it matches with what the University believes, then you discuss why that is correct. If you disagree, then you discuss why your opinion/belief is wrong and the University's is correct.
So much for being open to new ideas.
I thank everyone who is helping to support our rights as free people in helping to dismantle this "treatment" program. I didn't know I was sick.
It was titled a curricular approach in distinction that it wasn't a typical programatic model found in most Residence Life models.
[quote] Multi-culti bullshit isn't "academic," neither is "optional" participation in the same. Wooo wooo wooo! Short bus pulling in now![/quote]
If you have a mature response I'd be glad to talk to you about it.
Again I ask is it so wrong to encourage tolerance and standing up for what one believes in?
Based on everything I've read so far - including the University's denials and some of the comments above - I have absolutely no reason to change my mind about that.
You are the problem. Have you noticed that everyone (including your own president) besides Reslife RA's are appalled by what your organization is doing. It is filthy and vile.
You are entitled to your own opionion (no matter how twisted it is), but it is wrong (and illegal) to force others to adopt it. YOU ARE A FASCIST! Read about Hitler's practices and you will find striking similarities between his and your indoctrination practices.
I personally believe that the Reslife department needs an overhaul: they all should be fired and replaced.
I also believe that their state funding should be revoked. What they have been doing is completely illegal and should be in no way supported by the government.
If we, as a nation, let actions like this go unchecked, they will stronger and present a threat democracy and our national security.
U od D Reslife's actions are by LEGITIMATE definition in geometric OPPOSITION to DEMOCRACY.
If that isn't a loaded question, I've never seen one. Define tolerance.
You can stand up for what you believe in just don't require every other resident to stand up for what you believe in, or else.
When I went to school (late '70s-early '80s) our "tolerance" lecture consisted of our RA saying "if you don't fight, we won't have any problems."
Unlike Dan, I believe Ms. Kerr should be fired. Regardless of who really implemented this and how nice a lady she is, it happened while she was in charge. She either approved of it or lost control of her staff. Also, it's obvious that UD's ResLife department is way overstaffed since they have the time to come up with something like this anyway, so perhaps the staff should be cut by 50-75%.
"Being informed citizens, tolerant of those in your community, and willing to speak your mind - At its core I believe this was the educational focus." hardly facist ideals. I said before I think poor facilitation on the part of a few overzealous individuals is a poor sampling of the intentions of the Office of Residence Life.
I will not respond to any more immature broad stroke pictures that explicate University of Delaware RAs = evil. Subjectively dismissing any view point besides your own seems facist to me.
[quote]Define tolerance[/quote]
to me, it means respecting a difference of opinion while not necessarily subscribing to it.
[quote]You can stand up for what you believe in just don't require every other resident to stand up for what you believe in, or else. [/quote]
I agree. As I stated earlier, I learned alot from my residents through one-on-one interactions. A good number of students that I had were intelligent and dynamic free-thinking individuals. They truly made me appreciate my role as an RA and the time I took out of my day to facilitate the curriculum.
It is my hope and moreover, my belief, that those RAs who blindly went about force-feeding curriculum and ALLEGEDLY brainwashing people are few and far between.
[/quote]
This is the reason for the charges of fascism. You can find the rest of it here:
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/univer...
So then why is DU so intolerant in its attempt to 'treat' its residents? Should other opinions and applications of tolerance be taught which don't conclude all whites are racists? After all wouldn't that be respecting the opinion DU clearly doesn't subscribe to?
Their "definition" of racism is simply agendized leftie propaganda, and simply isn't true.
This rhethoric completely saps meaning from the entire "racial" discussion.
An unconscionable statement, beyond it's shock value, has no merit whatsoever. Yet it's presented as University POLICY!!
UoD students, you have much to learn if you believe any of this groupthink. God help you.
I have to add that I personally disagree with this mantra (I do believe all whites are privileged, even if its unintentional on our part). I think it has been ignored that this definition and others published by FIRE came from a [b]supplement from a [i]guest speaker, Dr Shakti Butler[/i], presented during RA Training (not to the general populace)[/b]
(you might argue UD's complicity in inviting & compensating this guest, but the university hosts many guest speakers of all different perspectives. They host debates on the death penalty and abortion rights at least 2 times a semester)
Anyway, this wasn't the definition of racism I received at previous diversity workshops or in RA class. I believe it would be a mistake to present this idea or incorporate that definition into a curriculum.
RA training is assessed during the Fall semester by feedback surveys (with objective 1-5 ratings with subjective commentary) and I think had I been an RA this year I would noted my concern about such statements, and questioned it during her presentation.
I believe these will be my last comments. Thanks to those who contributed to the discussion!
Achievement isn't "privilege". We work for everything we have.
Pure racism. Any person in authority pushing this line (teacher, school administrator, etc) should be held accountable exactly the same as if they had said something racist against blacks.
I am biracial, and not only do I find your views offensive, they are illogical. The philosophy department at UD must not be that great.
Since I am half white, does that make me half racist? Or just half privilaged? OR does that mean that I am my own oppressor?
My mother is white and my father is black. Is my mother my father's oppressor? Is my mom racist against me and my dad since we are black?
It hasn't been ignored. It just doesn't make a difference. The fact that you knew her stance, agreed with it, forced RA's to listen to her (and Fire has evidence that students have been force to learn the material), and then recommended her literature (as well as a wealth of other similar material) on the reslife website makes it your policy. The speaker may have been the idea's pioneer, but you and your organization perpetuated that disgusting and bigoted idea.
You think that just because it was a speaker teaching all of this crap, that you are off the hook. You are not!!! Your facilitated it!!! Your are just as guilty!!! Just like you would be guilty of hate-speak if you had a Klansmen speak to your students and RAs.
I'm willing to bet a week's pay that it wasn't a debate and speech taught that abortion is right and if you don't agree you are a sexist, and that the death penalty is wrong and if you don't agree you are a murderer.
It is coincidental that you are about to leave the message board. You and your two UD buddies are not used to debating things, are you? You are too used to forcing your beliefs and leaving no room for opposition.
Now that you are losing an argument on every talking point, so decide it is time to go. Thanks for making me laugh so much, it was a good start to the day.
to everyone else tolerance means you respect the freedom of the individual to hold whatever radical views they wish without respecting or accepting their views.
If anyone else out there wants to e-mail me about their experiences at UD with this program please do so at:
Pilgrim@sayanythingblog.com
I'll do another piece as a follow up if enough first hand information comes in.
Be sure to help Pil keep up on this. A great deal more public pressure needs applied to these scumbags!
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