Laurier Censorship Scandal

[Dion]

Shepherd was concerned, of course, that the tenor of her dressing-down would result in her losing her teaching-assistant job at Laurier which, with a scholarship, is helping pay her way towards a master’s degree.

But, as she wrote in an email to the Record, “If this trend continues of radical leftist indoctrination, I’m not really interested in being a part of it.”

“Universities are no longer places where ideas may freely circulate,” she said. “They are places where if you even bring up the ‘wrong idea’—ideas they do not consider politically correct—you are labelled some sort of public enemy.

“Universities are no longer places where one can engage with controversial ideas.

“They are echo chambers for left-wing ideology.”

http://torontosun.com/news/provincia...rence#comments

“You have to think of the kind of teaching climate you’re creating.”

That last line is the one that should be thrown back in the faces of any school instructor or administrator who thinks this conduct is acceptable.

They’re creating a climate where employers will think twice before hiring arts and science grads from WLU. Parents and prospective students will be reluctant to fork over hard earned money for nothing more than basement blog quality indoctrination.

To paint the whole school with the same brush would be a shame, so WLU needs to send a signal that condemns these shenanigans. But a statement by WLU president Deborah MacLatchy suggests we shouldn’t hold our breath.

MacLatchy calls the situation “complex” and says a task force will be called. There’s no whiff of condemnation against the bullies in her statement. This is a problem.

How many other such incidents are occurring? Not every student will feel able to take a stand like Shepherd. And, even if they do, how many will have audio evidence?

http://torontosun.com/opinion/column...-wider-problem

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

This has nothing to do with Trump, populism, or anti-intellectualism. The intellectual principles of post-secondary institutions are being threatened by a kind of moral panic sweeping left-wing culture. Anti-intellectualism outside the campus isn't anywhere near as dangerous as ideological orthodoxy within it.[/URL]

Oh, it absolutely does. This is a matter of gravity, and one which you have it weighted opposite as to what we should be worried about. Ideological orthodoxy within a campus may spring up in ways that arrest us and get our attention, but it’s neither widespread in practice nor acceptance. Instances are the exception, not the rule. Anti-intellectualism outside the campus, however, is being promoted by someone in a role that that impacts and sways many more millions of people than all the ideological professors dotted around the vast post-secondary landscape combined.

I’m not saying the campus problem doesn’t exist, but the problem of it’s existence pales in comparison to how quickly and deeply anti-intellectualism has spread. Just look at this thread and notice a few of the opinions people hold on higher education.

I think you’ve got it wrong, and I think you have it wrong because the problem with ideological orthodoxy in universities is a small scale and fixable problem. It being used as a catalyst to discredit Universities as a whole, to paint them all as leftist havens, is, however, part of a huge and growing problem where you are going to see intellectuals and the educated diminished and discredited on the backs of a false narrative about a university education.

You think climate change deniers are annoying with their “leftist conspiracy” thing now? Just wait until they’ve successfully diminished the value of the intellectual, then see how much trust scientists and scholars have.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Ideological orthodoxy within a campus may spring up in ways that arrest us and get our attention, but it’s neither widespread in practice nor acceptance.

Dogma doesn't have to be widespread to have disproportionate effect if the adults in charge won't stand up to it. Can you can point to cases where adminstrators on Canadian campuses have stood up to leftist activists and said 'sorry, suck it up?' Cases where they've sided with instructors against activists?

Don't want your program associated with radicalism? Then denounce the radicals. Doesn't happen. Because even if they think the students and their mentors in academia are hysterical radicals, the thinking seems to be they're our hysterical radicals. Maybe overly passionate and simplistic, but a necessary counterweight to those other people. The real enemy.

That's what happens when whole institutions succumb to partisanship and polarization. Partisans on the both the right and left tolerate their radicals because they can't be seen to break ranks. To give comfort to the enemy. If you actually care about this issue, take an hour or so out of your life and click links to the Jonathan Haidt videos and explanations on the Heterodox Academy. Orthodoxy is not a small problem in the social sciences and humanities.

As for Trump, anti-intellectualism has a long pedigree in American politics. Richard Nixon won a landslide victory in '68 by appealing to the 'moral majority' against the elitists in their ivory towers.

Populists today have reason to feel resentful. Contempt works both ways. You don't think average Americans in fly-over country are aware that cosmopolitan elites in academia, the arts, and media regard them as backward buffoons? Mock their religion, their lifestyle, their values, even their hobbies?

[bigtmac19]

"A Nov. 4, 2016 LifeSite article explained the daring of Peterson on that Agenda television program from which Lindsay Shepherd extracted those three minutes:

"For anyone who has doubts about the totalitarian tendencies of the radical left, and in particular the creeping dictatorship of gender-rights ideology, this program is a must-see. On Oct. 26th, Dr. Jordan Peterson appeared on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and defended himself valiantly against three gender-rights activists. He was asserting his right to stick to the English language rather than adopting the various newly-minted personal pronouns, like xe, thon, zer and a singluar 'they', to refer to those who identify with a multitude of alternative gender identities. At the present time, Bill C-16 threatens to make it a violation of human rights for anyone to refuse to use these pronouns. The Agenda debate paints a very disturbing portrait of the intolerant and anti-truth society that is descending upon us"

A very good Blog article on Life Site about this issue. Some interesting comments from Rex Murphy as well.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/j...on-in-north-am

[bigtmac19]

Peterson is definitely a polarizing character of late, but I find many of his lectures, extremely helpful and enlightening, especially with respect to issues of mental health, child rearing, history etc.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by bigtmac19

Peterson is definitely a polarizing character of late, but I find many of his lectures, extremely helpful and enlightening, especially with respect to issues of mental health, child rearing, history etc.

Yeah the guy has some good insights. This crap has been going on with college campus' for years now. Ryerson is a bad one. For some reason though if you pointed this out over the past year you get people calling you alt-right for some reason.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Oh, it absolutely does. This is a matter of gravity, and one which you have it weighted opposite as to what we should be worried about. Ideological orthodoxy within a campus may spring up in ways that arrest us and get our attention, but it’s neither widespread in practice nor acceptance. Instances are the exception, not the rule. Anti-intellectualism outside the campus, however, is being promoted by someone in a role that that impacts and sways many more millions of people than all the ideological professors dotted around the vast post-secondary landscape combined.

I’m not saying the campus problem doesn’t exist, but the problem of it’s existence pales in comparison to how quickly and deeply anti-intellectualism has spread. Just look at this thread and notice a few of the opinions people hold on higher education.

I think you’ve got it wrong, and I think you have it wrong because the problem with ideological orthodoxy in universities is a small scale and fixable problem. It being used as a catalyst to discredit Universities as a whole, to paint them all as leftist havens, is, however, part of a huge and growing problem where you are going to see intellectuals and the educated diminished and discredited on the backs of a false narrative about a university education.

You think climate change deniers are annoying with their “leftist conspiracy” thing now? Just wait until they’ve successfully diminished the value of the intellectual, then see how much trust scientists and scholars have.

False. Universities have been silencing dissenting opinion through various different forms over the past few years. This is just the latest in a long line of "creeping" on campus free speech. I've refused to donate to both of my alma matters because of the below (btw, good tip if you want to stop those donations calls, just tell them you refuse to donate because of their position on X). This type of censorship is disgusting.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonto...ion-group.html


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...sters-1.941376



Don't even get me started on Trinity Western Law School.

[OMG!WTF!]

I taught at a university in the late '90's but was asked to step down after talking to another instructor about buying my first house to flip. The conversation with the dean was just classic. I needed to choose between the world of capitalism and thought that was antithetical to university values and...well...university values. All those young minds saved from the evils of actually making a buck.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

False. Universities have been silencing dissenting opinion through various different forms over the past few years.

Im not sure what you’re saying “false” to, as I agree with you. It’s simply a problem that is contributing and acting as kindling to a much bigger problem.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by bigtmac19

Peterson is definitely a polarizing character of late, but I find many of his lectures, extremely helpful and enlightening, especially with respect to issues of mental health, child rearing, history etc.

I'm wary of how Peterson has turned into a kind of guru. And some pretty dodgy people worship the guy. But you don't have to be a Peterson fanboy to recognize the problems he has identified. His analysis of the psychology of victim culture, and the political movement that fosters it, is sound.

What's concerning about the treatment of Peterson by academia and much of the media in this country is that he's regarded as beyond the pale. A dangerous figure outside the scope of legitimate dialog. Whenever he's mentioned on CBC, they reference how much he earns from this patreon account, as though his popularity on social media is some kind of cynical scam. The fact he's the most well-known and popular Canadian academic in the world today seems to drive them absolutely nuts. If he had different politics he'd be a CBC darling. Instead, he's a pariah.

If Peterson - a professor esteemed enough to earn a position at Harvard - is considered outside the legitimate scope of public dialog, then yes, we're looking at a closed, orthodox value system that does not tolerate dissent. Which is the heart of problem.

[burn_this_city]

There’s been a concerted effort to destroy his reputation when the majority of his positions seem reasonable. It seems to be backfiring though, any article with a character assassination has 90% support for the guy.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Im not sure what you’re saying “false” to, as I agree with you. It’s simply a problem that is contributing and acting as kindling to a much bigger problem.

Then the people who can address the problem - university administrators and faculty - should do something about it. They could start by issuing something like the Statement on Principles of Free Expression put out by the University of Chicago.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Then the people who can address the problem - university administrators and faculty - should do something about it. They could start by issuing something like the Statement on Principles of Free Expression put out by the University of Chicago.

Sure. Pick a fringe university, it's no Laurier though.

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I taught at a university in the late '90's but was asked to step down after talking to another instructor about buying my first house to flip. The conversation with the dean was just classic. I needed to choose between the world of capitalism and thought that was antithetical to university values and...well...university values. All those young minds saved from the evils of actually making a buck.

Please tell me you didn't teach business haha

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Then the people who can address the problem - university administrators and faculty - should do something about it. They could start by issuing something like the Statement on Principles of Free Expression put out by the University of Chicago.

Absolutely. When issues like these surface, they need to be dealt with and stomped out by the majority as quickly as possible. By letting this continue and by more educated professionals in these institutions allowing this sort of unacademic behaviour, all they do discredit the vast majority of excellent professors and institutions where a higher education is still of the utmost value.

They just can’t sit around and do nothing about it, even if it’s a relatively small number of institutions/professors they engage in this type of thing. If they do nothing, or if people don’t speak up, you’re just going to get more and more unintellectuals looking to discredit higher education as useless, politically partisan, and restrictive of free thinking. Anything that emboldens anti-intellectuals is a clear step backwards for society as a whole.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I'm wary of how Peterson has turned into a kind of guru. And some pretty dodgy people worship the guy. But you don't have to be a Peterson fanboy to recognize the problems he has identified. His analysis of the psychology of victim culture, and the political movement that fosters it, is sound.

What's concerning about the treatment of Peterson by academia and much of the media in this country is that he's regarded as beyond the pale. A dangerous figure outside the scope of legitimate dialog. Whenever he's mentioned on CBC, they reference how much he earns from this patreon account, as though his popularity on social media is some kind of cynical scam. The fact he's the most well-known and popular Canadian academic in the world today seems to drive them absolutely nuts. If he had different politics he'd be a CBC darling. Instead, he's a pariah.

If Peterson - a professor esteemed enough to earn a position at Harvard - is considered outside the legitimate scope of public dialog, then yes, we're looking at a closed, orthodox value system that does not tolerate dissent. Which is the heart of problem.

The problem with Peterson is that he uses his credentials and professional pedigree as appeals to authority for some of his more ridiculous takes, especially those that fall outside his areas of expertise (constitutional law being one example).

[Duruss]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Absolutely. When issues like these surface, they need to be dealt with and stomped out by the majority as quickly as possible. By letting this continue and by more educated professionals in these institutions allowing this sort of unacademic behaviour, all they do discredit the vast majority of excellent professors and institutions where a higher education is still of the utmost value.

They just can’t sit around and do nothing about it, even if it’s a relatively small number of institutions/professors they engage in this type of thing. If they do nothing, or if people don’t speak up, you’re just going to get more and more unintellectuals looking to discredit higher education as useless, politically partisan, and restrictive of free thinking. Anything that emboldens anti-intellectuals is a clear step backwards for society as a whole.

I agree with you but I don't think the anti-intellectuals will stop until they are the only voice. The painting of academia as partisan is very intentional, look at the attempts by Alt-Reich speakers to tour Universities.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Duruss

The painting of academia as partisan is very intentional, look at the attempts by Alt-Reich speakers to tour Universities.

Go back and check those links to Heterodox Academy I posted. The extreme partisanship is real. Some faculties are 30:1 Democrat:Republican.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Go back and check those links to Heterodox Academy I posted. The extreme partisanship is real. Some faculties are 30:1 Democrat:Republican.

What are republicans going to teach at university? Creationism? Tax breaks for the top 1 percent? Climate change denial 101?

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Go back and check those links to Heterodox Academy I posted. The extreme partisanship is real. Some faculties are 30:1 Democrat:Republican.

You don't think that is at least in part because Republicans have for the better part of a century now adopted anti-science and anti-intellectual positions on most major issues?