I concede that this is the first teeny-tiny sign of sanity at this once-elite institution that I’ve seen.
But one can’t help but note that the piece is not signed, but merely has the approval of at least 2/3rds of the board members.
Is it not telling that these “thought leaders” cannot bring themselves to sign their statement?
Is it not even more telling that they fail to unequivocally denounce the presence of cancel culture and the lack of free speech on their campus while still considering themselves liberal/progressive - but simply accept that as an immutable fact of life?
First, I want to commend the authors for taking this up.
Second, if somewhere between 82% (students) or 98.5% (faculty) of the school self identify with a single perspective - it seems incumbent on the University to actively invite diverse views into the homogeneous community. We all talk about the benefits of diversity in crafting the experience (especially learning experiences). If that is true, then Yale (not alone of course) is failing miserably.
“it seems incumbent on the University to actively invite diverse views into the homogeneous community.”
😂😂😂
You think Yale’s administration is today the slightest bit interested in *more* diversity of thought, when almost every action is designed to ensure less?
Why not just ditch ‘identity’ altogether? I’m liberal AND conservative, but I am neither A liberal nor A conservative. Sure, there is value in group affiliation (as a heuristic) but over-reliance on such affiliations risks swapping that heuristic with identity. Hold your identities lightly so that they serve your agency, so that you don’t become their slave.
Someone (or group) needs to do some research before linking a clearly ironic piece from a woman now at FIRE as evidence that conservatives are unwelcome at Yale (I mean clearly they are unwelcome now, and perhaps even in 2018 when the piece ran, but you’re not going to be able to determine that from this piece).
I suspect *some* people knew this was satire, but that many did not - especially if they only saw the headline, or only read the first paragraph of the piece, because then you unfortunately could have believed it was legit…
The idea that one should be neither liberal-biased nor conservative-biased, but rather truth-biased, is refreshing to hear. This "novel" idea aligns well with Yale's seemingly forgotten motto of Lux et Veritas.
I believe there are Yale alum who would welcome the privilege of helping Yale progressive get a better understanding of conservative thinking and values. My own part of that would be to help Yalies better understand Jesus Christ. Here are some bullets from my story.
I grew up at Taft, went to Hotchkiss, then college. During college I met the woman who has been my best friend for 50 years (married 48). After a year and a half of getting to know each other, I was visiting her home in Bryn Mawr, PA. Over those months, her mother had been dying of cancer. At a certain moment someone told us, "Mom wants you in her bedroom." We went.
Her mother said, "I have two things I want to talk with you about before I go. First, are you going to get married?" Well, she had that right. Then she said, "Second, I want the two of you to promise me to read the Gospel of John." Huh? We promised, but made no plans.
Back in college the next Spring, we took a course on the writing of C.S. Lewis. A year or so later, we were living in London. My wife went to the bank one day and "bumped into" a woman who'd been college (Wellsley) roommates with my wife's older sister (8 years). We were invited to dinner.....
We began to attend a new church that she and her husband were starting in their home...
After London, we moved to New Haven, where I attended the Forestry School (Y$FS '80)...
There's much more to the story (e.g. 4 kids, 4 in-law-kids, 11 grandkids), but the "glow" of our lives has been love of and for Jesus.
I concede that this is the first teeny-tiny sign of sanity at this once-elite institution that I’ve seen.
But one can’t help but note that the piece is not signed, but merely has the approval of at least 2/3rds of the board members.
Is it not telling that these “thought leaders” cannot bring themselves to sign their statement?
Is it not even more telling that they fail to unequivocally denounce the presence of cancel culture and the lack of free speech on their campus while still considering themselves liberal/progressive - but simply accept that as an immutable fact of life?
First, I want to commend the authors for taking this up.
Second, if somewhere between 82% (students) or 98.5% (faculty) of the school self identify with a single perspective - it seems incumbent on the University to actively invite diverse views into the homogeneous community. We all talk about the benefits of diversity in crafting the experience (especially learning experiences). If that is true, then Yale (not alone of course) is failing miserably.
“it seems incumbent on the University to actively invite diverse views into the homogeneous community.”
😂😂😂
You think Yale’s administration is today the slightest bit interested in *more* diversity of thought, when almost every action is designed to ensure less?
Why not just ditch ‘identity’ altogether? I’m liberal AND conservative, but I am neither A liberal nor A conservative. Sure, there is value in group affiliation (as a heuristic) but over-reliance on such affiliations risks swapping that heuristic with identity. Hold your identities lightly so that they serve your agency, so that you don’t become their slave.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/04/13/yale-needs-to-stop-accepting-republican-students/
Someone (or group) needs to do some research before linking a clearly ironic piece from a woman now at FIRE as evidence that conservatives are unwelcome at Yale (I mean clearly they are unwelcome now, and perhaps even in 2018 when the piece ran, but you’re not going to be able to determine that from this piece).
I suspect *some* people knew this was satire, but that many did not - especially if they only saw the headline, or only read the first paragraph of the piece, because then you unfortunately could have believed it was legit…
Apologies, Andy. We understand that the article is satire, hence why we did not link it to the original version of our piece.
The idea that one should be neither liberal-biased nor conservative-biased, but rather truth-biased, is refreshing to hear. This "novel" idea aligns well with Yale's seemingly forgotten motto of Lux et Veritas.
I believe there are Yale alum who would welcome the privilege of helping Yale progressive get a better understanding of conservative thinking and values. My own part of that would be to help Yalies better understand Jesus Christ. Here are some bullets from my story.
I grew up at Taft, went to Hotchkiss, then college. During college I met the woman who has been my best friend for 50 years (married 48). After a year and a half of getting to know each other, I was visiting her home in Bryn Mawr, PA. Over those months, her mother had been dying of cancer. At a certain moment someone told us, "Mom wants you in her bedroom." We went.
Her mother said, "I have two things I want to talk with you about before I go. First, are you going to get married?" Well, she had that right. Then she said, "Second, I want the two of you to promise me to read the Gospel of John." Huh? We promised, but made no plans.
Back in college the next Spring, we took a course on the writing of C.S. Lewis. A year or so later, we were living in London. My wife went to the bank one day and "bumped into" a woman who'd been college (Wellsley) roommates with my wife's older sister (8 years). We were invited to dinner.....
We began to attend a new church that she and her husband were starting in their home...
After London, we moved to New Haven, where I attended the Forestry School (Y$FS '80)...
There's much more to the story (e.g. 4 kids, 4 in-law-kids, 11 grandkids), but the "glow" of our lives has been love of and for Jesus.
Glad at this point to take questions...
Thank you for sharing your story, Robert, and for interacting so thoughtfully with our piece.
'n y a pad de quoi...