Whether you support Israel, the Palestinians, Hamas or Fatah, the deceit and arrogance of the City College of New York (CUNY) is illustrative of the state of our universities. The current issues that are facing this college show how out of touch it is. Universities used to be places of learning that encouraged discussion of the issues of the day without a right ( or shall we same "correct") answer. The process of researching your opinion and making the intelligent argument to validate your point of view was the point, not necessarily what the professor thought. Now it seems these bastions of education have morphed themselves into "indoctrination farms" where the only correct answer is anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-west. Should you disagree with your professor or he with your opinion, you are ridiculed and your grade suffers. Where have we gone wrong?
It seems the movement started in the "free-thought" days of the late 60's and early 70's. The awakening of the "me" generation where everything was OK and nothing in the past was good. Many of the young people who were educated during that period have become professors in the colleges of today.
As a student in those times, I found it very interesting that the free thinkers were anything but that. They were so sure of their philosophy that any discussion was unnecessary. They were right and you were wrong and they were not interested in discussing it. In essence their "free thinking" was an oxymoron. Those for the Vietnam War were baby killers and those against were heroes. Servicemen were spit upon when they returned and Jane Fonda was idolized. The Bernadine Doren's of that generation were heroes when they shot people and blew up things like ROTC detachments on the college campuses. There was no middle ground, it was us against them and if you were not with us, you were the enemy.
So with this type of attitude, it is no wonder that when they got the reins of power in the universities, that they would install the same type of doctrinaire thinking. This is where we are today. Discussion is limited to the professor's view of the topic. Disagreement is thought to be not educational but disrespectful. The professor knows all and the students are to hang on his/her every word. This is not education, it is the way of the Soviet gulag.
So when CUNY only brings in anti-Israeli speakers or flies the Palestinian flag, should we be surprised? This is the college of today. For example, when CUNY is challenged regarding the flag, their first response is that they were flying all the flags of the United Nations (UN). However, then it was pointed out that the Palestinians are not members of the UN, they said in essence, they did not care. Arrogance and intentional deceit by an educational organization does not bode well for education in America.
In the following article by Alana Goodman in Commentary Magazine dated May 11th, 2011 we read about this deceit. What is your opinion and do you have any suggestions to improve education in America? Or do you think it is too late to make the necessary changes? I would like to hear your opinions.
Palestinian Flag to Fly at CUNY Commencement
Alana Goodman - Commentary Magazine, May 11th, 2011
The City University of New York, which has already outraged Israel supporters with its decision to honor anti-Israel playwright Tony Kushner, will also be taking the unusual step of flying a Palestinian flag at the upcoming commencement for City College, a spokesperson for the university told me today.
“The City College flies all of the flags that are flown at the United Nations,” the Vice President for Communications Mary Lou Edmondson told me. “It has nothing to do with foreign policy.”
But there’s one problem—the United Nations doesn’t fly the Palestinian flag. It only flies the flags of its 192 member states.
Then what prompted the college’s decision? I’ve asked Edmonson to clarify her statement, and haven’t heard back yet. But it seems pretty obvious that politics did play a role. CUNY’s City College hasn’t flown the flag in previous years, and so this decision had to have been made recently. And with the Kushner debate still raging, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a no doubt the most volatile subject on campus.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, who’s been at the center of the Kushner controversy, said that the flag issue seemed to point to a double-standard at the university.
“I would think if we were going to fly the flags of aspiring nations, then we should certainly those of aspiring nations that have been in the mix even longer, like Tibet, like Kurdistan,” Wiesenfeld said. “In other words, whatever the policy is, it should be based on a consistency, but not a fashion of the moment.”
One City College faculty member said it reflected a deeper problem in academia. “It seems completely inappropriate, considering that there are no other flags of non-nations,” she said. “I just personally feel very upset by it because I feel that there’s so much anti-Israel sentiment in general, and specifically on college campuses.”
Flying the Palestinian flag is not a problem in itself. But flying it alongside the flags of UN member countries, at a public university, makes a particular statement. It says that CUNY’s City College is recognizing the state of Palestine, and its quest for UN member status, regardless of the outcome of the peace process. The college is free to argue that this has “nothing to do with foreign policy,” but the reality speaks for itself.
Update: CUNY’s City College VP of communications Mary Lou Edmondson emails this response: “I regret that I misspoke about the flags flown at the United Nations. At this time, in this 10th anniversary year of 9/11, we are focused on prominently displaying ten American flags in silent commemoration of the thousands of men and women who lost their lives.”
It seems the movement started in the "free-thought" days of the late 60's and early 70's. The awakening of the "me" generation where everything was OK and nothing in the past was good. Many of the young people who were educated during that period have become professors in the colleges of today.
As a student in those times, I found it very interesting that the free thinkers were anything but that. They were so sure of their philosophy that any discussion was unnecessary. They were right and you were wrong and they were not interested in discussing it. In essence their "free thinking" was an oxymoron. Those for the Vietnam War were baby killers and those against were heroes. Servicemen were spit upon when they returned and Jane Fonda was idolized. The Bernadine Doren's of that generation were heroes when they shot people and blew up things like ROTC detachments on the college campuses. There was no middle ground, it was us against them and if you were not with us, you were the enemy.
So with this type of attitude, it is no wonder that when they got the reins of power in the universities, that they would install the same type of doctrinaire thinking. This is where we are today. Discussion is limited to the professor's view of the topic. Disagreement is thought to be not educational but disrespectful. The professor knows all and the students are to hang on his/her every word. This is not education, it is the way of the Soviet gulag.
So when CUNY only brings in anti-Israeli speakers or flies the Palestinian flag, should we be surprised? This is the college of today. For example, when CUNY is challenged regarding the flag, their first response is that they were flying all the flags of the United Nations (UN). However, then it was pointed out that the Palestinians are not members of the UN, they said in essence, they did not care. Arrogance and intentional deceit by an educational organization does not bode well for education in America.
In the following article by Alana Goodman in Commentary Magazine dated May 11th, 2011 we read about this deceit. What is your opinion and do you have any suggestions to improve education in America? Or do you think it is too late to make the necessary changes? I would like to hear your opinions.
Palestinian Flag to Fly at CUNY Commencement
Alana Goodman - Commentary Magazine, May 11th, 2011
The City University of New York, which has already outraged Israel supporters with its decision to honor anti-Israel playwright Tony Kushner, will also be taking the unusual step of flying a Palestinian flag at the upcoming commencement for City College, a spokesperson for the university told me today.
“The City College flies all of the flags that are flown at the United Nations,” the Vice President for Communications Mary Lou Edmondson told me. “It has nothing to do with foreign policy.”
But there’s one problem—the United Nations doesn’t fly the Palestinian flag. It only flies the flags of its 192 member states.
Then what prompted the college’s decision? I’ve asked Edmonson to clarify her statement, and haven’t heard back yet. But it seems pretty obvious that politics did play a role. CUNY’s City College hasn’t flown the flag in previous years, and so this decision had to have been made recently. And with the Kushner debate still raging, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a no doubt the most volatile subject on campus.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, who’s been at the center of the Kushner controversy, said that the flag issue seemed to point to a double-standard at the university.
“I would think if we were going to fly the flags of aspiring nations, then we should certainly those of aspiring nations that have been in the mix even longer, like Tibet, like Kurdistan,” Wiesenfeld said. “In other words, whatever the policy is, it should be based on a consistency, but not a fashion of the moment.”
One City College faculty member said it reflected a deeper problem in academia. “It seems completely inappropriate, considering that there are no other flags of non-nations,” she said. “I just personally feel very upset by it because I feel that there’s so much anti-Israel sentiment in general, and specifically on college campuses.”
Flying the Palestinian flag is not a problem in itself. But flying it alongside the flags of UN member countries, at a public university, makes a particular statement. It says that CUNY’s City College is recognizing the state of Palestine, and its quest for UN member status, regardless of the outcome of the peace process. The college is free to argue that this has “nothing to do with foreign policy,” but the reality speaks for itself.
Update: CUNY’s City College VP of communications Mary Lou Edmondson emails this response: “I regret that I misspoke about the flags flown at the United Nations. At this time, in this 10th anniversary year of 9/11, we are focused on prominently displaying ten American flags in silent commemoration of the thousands of men and women who lost their lives.”
I was a sociology professor at a major university many years ago. I encouraged students to think and express their views on sensitive topics of the 1960s, such as women's rights, racism, poverty, Vietnam War, etc. But their grades were never based on their political views. That is the antithesis of academic freedom.
ReplyDeleteIn that regard, I am now very concerned about endowed chairs getting funded by private interests with the stipulation that the professor who occupies the chair must always teach students a particular political/economic philosophy. This leads toward politicization of the academic environment rather than encouraging free inquiry among faculty and students.
--David
David,
ReplyDeleteGreat posting from someone who has been on the "inside."
The way you taught your students is exactly what college used to be and what it should be. In fact, the stronger the respectful disagreement between student and teacher, the more learning that goes on. There is nothing more mentally challenging than to have someone push back and make you back up your ideas with facts. That is when real learning occurs.
Unfortunately, we do not see that occurring in many classrooms today and that is a tragedy. We end up with students who can only regurgitate what they have been told and they have not been taught how to think. Without a thinking populace, we end up with undesirable ideas and people in charge.
Agreed. A course like "Sociology 101" should be taught differently than "Algebra 101." In behavioral sciences like sociology, economics, political science, psychology, not all perspectives are equally supported by empirical facts, but there are competing theories and schools of thought that should be presented and discussed with the students.
ReplyDeleteNow that many state universities are getting only 10% or 20% of their operating funds from the state, it opens the door to private interest groups with an "axe to grind" to fund endowed chairs with strings attached -- meaning the professor holding the chair must teach only the slant they prefer. To the extent that a university faculty becomes nearly homogenous in its orientation, the students are not exposed to a diversity of research and findings in the discipline. That is what concerns me.
--David