Yale Defamation Case

Yale Daily News reports:

"With the help of a subpoena issued six months ago, attorneys for two Yale Law School students have succeeded in unmasking several anonymous users of the Web forum AutoAdmit whom the women are suing for defamation."

For some background on the AutoAdmit case see Feministe. The gist of it is that a bunch of law students decided to post pictures of and make degrading comments about female students. They got sued. From YDN:

"One of those authors was “AK-47,” who, in 2007, posted that women with one of the Yale Law students’ names “should be raped” and said they were “gay lovers.”"

I think that if someone were publishing comments like that about me I'd be pretty displeased to say the least. It's a good thing for their student paper to be covering this story.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

The Argument from Citation

Peter Coghlan, a senior lecturer in the school of philosophy at the Australian Catholic University has felt the need to argue that 'Religion should not be glibly dismissed as mumbo-jumbo'. I hope he surprises me and uses some arguments that I haven't seen before, but I'm afraid that I'll be disappointed.

He starts with a fair and accurate representation of Catherine Deveny's argument, which I will boil down to one sentence - "Religion is nonsense and you shouldn't constrain your life and thoughts with it." In response to this Coghlan argues:

"Deveny's stance represents one possible response to human experience. It is the kind of response that Wordsworth expressed in A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal when he spoke of the absolute finality of the death of loved one."

At this point my simple-relativism-ometer is flashing and my inner Ratzinger is drafting excommunication speeches. One possible response? A 'glib dismissal' is a possible response? Coghlan doesn't recover himself either. He doesn't retrieve himself from the edge of simple relativism, which even I with my postmodern Arts student education dislike.

Instead, he presents the Argument from Citation, which doesn't so much prove that there is a god or that religion should be taken seriously, but that people in the past have written stuff that took it seriously and that the author has read their work. Coghlan describes Wordsworth's position and then says,

"But Wordsworth's vision needs to be placed alongside other deeply felt responses that find meaning and value in human experience that may extend beyond the grave."

Simple relativism anyone? Coghlan employs T.S. Eliot's 'Four Quartets' and while wikipedia notes that he converted to Anglicanism, this doesn't prove anything. So it's a good thing then that Coghlan asks the question: "Which vision is right - Wordsworth's or Eliot's? "Reason", "evidence" and "common sense" may not be able to answer that question conclusively." But here again, he resorts to simple relativism, arguing that some people might go for Wordsworth, others for Eliot and others for a combination.

"But ultimately, our adoption of one position rather than another is deeply personal.
[...]
They do not provide us with conclusive proof of any reality that transcends the natural world of space and time. This is what I miss most from Deveny's article: a humble awareness of the limits of "reason" in this context."

Sure, reason has limits, but why should faith, religion or spirituality be the necessary choice for transcending these limits? Why can't the simple "I don't know" be good enough? Why can't the conjecture, hints and guesses regarding the unknowable (or noumenal, in a Kantian sense) be treated as conjecture, hints and guesses?

Ultimately, I don't know what Coghlan was trying to argue apart from, "You can't prove there is no god." It's like saying that I can't prove there are no positively charged electrons. Electrons are more or less by definition negatively charged, but this position is based on inductive reasoning employed by physicists (every electron they have thus far encountered is negatively charged). There is nothing stopping them from finding the counterexample of a positively charged electron, except for its nonexistence, which cannot be proven. Great. See Celestial Teapot, see Invisible Pink Unicorn, see Flying Spaghetti Monster.

If, for all his philosophy and fancy poetical references, Coghlan's argument boils down to this then perhaps religion really is just mumbo-jumbo.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

The Sunday Age is Boring

So I dragged in my copy of The Sunday Age today, even though it was a little wet and had a skim. However, I'm afraid that I continue to be uninspired by the paper. While Chris Berg entertained me for a while, his arguments all seem to come from the same place. It's hard to express exactly what that place is, but it has stopped interesting me. But there wasn't even that today, there weren't even letters devoted to shredding his neoconservative arguments. The first few letters were about an article on John Brumby, but the letters page quickly descended into a farce of Christians arguing amongst themselves over who is the fairest Christian of them all. Apparently there is a 'Progressive Christian Network of Victoria' - this is the first I've heard of them, maybe they were founded to write dull letters to Sunday papers.

There was a reasonable article on the etymology of the word 'lesbian', but that's about as far as the interesting went. Perhaps all the interesting writing is to be found through my RSS feeds rather than a sunday paper?

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Dealing with Diversity

An article in The Age today must be ruffling the feathers of someone, somewhere. It covered a supposed divide between international and domestic students, suggesting that there might be a 'backlash'.

That's about the scariest thing I've heard since that little fly trying to eat food from my bin. Simply put, I don't buy it. Sure, there are divides between cultures, but it's not that big a deal. Some people move between cultures easily and others need more time and encouragement. No one is going to go to war over this stuff because it just isn't worth it. Besides, surely having someone whose english skills aren't great in a group assignment isn't that much worse than having someone who is a lazy slob in a group assignment.

And this issue made the front page. A slow news day? Maybe since the Pope has left the country all the News Ltd. journos must be left praying for scandal.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Word-Switching

John Paul II used the umbrella-term 'culture of life' to describe his anti-abortion, anti-stem cell research, homophobic theology. Ratzinger looks set to be using 'non-violence' to try and make these religious doctrines even more insidious.

Larvatus Prodeo provides links to what the Pope actually said at World Youth Day. From the Catholic Herald:

"But what of our social environment? Are we equally alert to the signs of turning our back on the moral structure with which God has endowed humanity (cf. 2007 World Day of Peace Message, 8)? Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space - the womb - has become a place of unutterable violence?

...
The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. "
[Emphasis mine]

So when he talks about violence in the social environment, he is really talking about enforcing pregnancy and restricting anything that involves the manipulation of embryos. To be fair, he mentioned domestic violence in that paragraph, but that was just a buildup to what really mattered - the sanctity of "the most wondrous and sacred human space" which requires the clerical policing and enforcement of its sanctity.

This looks like part of the strategy. Instead of separating these issues out into 'life issues', the church succeeds in confounding the ordinary person and cloaking the theological basis of these positions. For example, Father Bob Maguire who is so often revered as a nice, accessible cleric does this very well. He says, "And they [church bosses] must alert the general membership to the clear and present public danger generated by the moral viruses of affluence, abortion, lousy prison and illegal migrant detention systems, just to name a few." Abortion is neatly juxtaposed against affluence, tapping into the anti-corporate or anti-capitalist sentiments of many left-leaning or otherwise not-rich people. Prison and detention are also within the general domain of leftiness - after all it is 'the hippies' and 'bleeding hearts' who care about the mandatory detention of asylum seekers.

Another example of how Fr. Bob does this is in his post 'Things that never change" where he begins by discussing the execution of Saddam Hussein and then:

"The body of a woman believed to be in her 80's has been found, as we go to press, inside a wheelie bin. Her neighbours were shocked to find her outside a Sydney apartment.

The embryonic stem cell? Does it, him or her, warrant concerned discussion? Some say it, he/she has a place in the world not "per se" but depending on what use it, he/she can be put to - scientific or medical research, for example, to build a better world for some of us."

Apparently it isn't just the embryo that counts, but all of its stem cells too and this is in the same class as executing heads of state and murdered women.

It is religion here that is behaving like a virus as it evolves and adapts itself to become more insidious. Anyone who wants to do scientific research in the area of embryonic stem cells or wants to train to work in reproductive health has some big barriers in their way.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Condensing Catholicism

Over at Hoyden About Town:

"Shorter Cardinal Pell: If you agree to a candlelight dinner then you’re just asking for it, aren’t you? How could sex later be rape?"

And in today's 'Age', the usually pro-religious Barney Zwartz has reported,

"THE Pope's expected apology to victims of sexual abuse by priests has been sabotaged by a senior Australian bishop, who criticised people for "dwelling crankily on old wounds"."

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Sensationalism and Student Media

Change Happens has a post about a student paper covering a rape trial via liveblogging. As the comments show, it is really walking a fine line between exploiting someone's suffering and covering violence against women. These kinds of incidents are part of a continuous conflict between activist progressives and student media. Students involved in media are learning a craft and take on a media-centric ideology. It is common for such students to believe in free speech and the importance of debate. If there is a problem, the solution is to write a letter. If that letter is ignored, the solution is to write another letter.

The activist left has something of a problem with this kind of thinking. It consumes a lot of energy and letters of reply often don't have as much of an impact as the original articles. To protest such things also results in a political backlash, as evidenced by the Farrago controversies of earlier this semester. If progressive activists ask for discriminatory material to not be published, they are readily accused of censorship. If progressive activists use any power or influence they have to compel the non-publication or retraction of discriminatory articles, then they get hammered. It isn't a very comfortable situation to be in, especially in Australian student unions, where the student paper is published by the union and the media office is just next door to other union offices.

For students in media, the behaviour of progressive activists seems inappropriate. They might be protesting too frequently, spending their time monitoring a publication instead of doing what they're supposed to be doing and fighting for various important outcomes. The students at the Columbia Spectator who are liveblogging a rape trial if asked about what they're doing, might suggest that they are just putting out news in the public interest. The horrors of sexual violence are made plain and clear as day. This is a good thing right?

The strange thing is that in many cases, student journalists and editors are themselves socially progressive. In elections they might deal with progressive factions. They will publish progressively minded articles without hesitation. The progressive activists are not, at least in principle, against free speech, but just protective. Their gains are hard won and easily lost.

It is hard for there to be a resolution to this conflict without someone backing down or feeling like they are giving up something. Sometimes, editors might feel that they have to assert their independence. They will have to refuse to be relentlessly policed and directed by outside forces. Neither should activists be confied to writing letters that are all too readily ignored.

Dealing with and celebrating difference is great in theory, but not so easy in real life. Political expediency in both editor and activist is truly a virtue.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Transitional Blogging

I didn't know that the University of Melbourne has transitional bloggers. They've got entries on the demotion of Paul Mees as well as the study cycle. There is a first year site as well as a second year + site.

There's also an interesting, if a little bit dated, post about Farrago. The author, who distances himself from the Liberal Party by claiming to be a Labor voter, says that it is "as though a bunch of hippies have been trying to brainwash me with the ‘anti-Glyn Davis’ bible." I have the suspicion that his position is not uncommon and he clearly isn't writing from an official perspective, since he doesn't make the point that the 'Arts cuts' are related to a structural deficit in the Faculty and not any recommendations from the Curriculum Review or Melbourne Model implementation. It is certainly a position that is worth taking into account and he is absolutely correct that the Faculty of Arts is not the only one in the University.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

News

The University of Sydney land-grab shuts down a mental health institution Rozelle Hospital, reports Honi Soit.

The University of Manchester Vice-Chancellor Alan Gilbert (former University of Melbourne VC) has responded to criticism in Student Direct. The Reclaim the Uni pressure group has staged protests, including an occupation and disrupting a meeting.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Women in Science

Yale Daily News has an UpClose on Women in the Sciences. They include comments from several different sources, including Hannah Brueckner, director of undergraduate studies in sociology professor and women’s faculty forum steering committee co-chair. “If you’re in the minority, like women are in the sciences, you get talked about like a woman,” she said. “Your successes or slight mistakes are identified with your gender rather than with you as an individual.”

Sexism means that competent female scientists drop out before they can fulfill their potential, which is a great loss to the sciences.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Honi Soit Women's Issue

The April 30 edition of Honi Soit is a women's issue.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Academic Appeals, Plagiarism and Closing Ranks

The latest edition of Honi Soit (23/4/08) describes a few interesting controversies over at the University of Sydney. The censorship controversy is still going, just like the University of Melbourne Student Union's censorship controversy regarding Farrago publishing discriminatory content. But more interesting tales are unfolding as well.

According to the President's Report, the University of Sydney is closing ranks around the Dean of the Conservatorium of Music who repetitively suspected of plagiarism. It is, after all, bad press for a Sandstone to have a Dean involved in a plagiarism scandal. But, if they had their wits about them, they would realise that it is even worse press for a Sandstone to be protecting a plagiariser. Sometimes Sandstones don't behave as intelligently as one would expect.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

"THE head of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music has written lecture notes for audiences at a series of talks at the Art Gallery of NSW that contain phrases and sentences identical to those contained in a treatise by two Pulitzer Prize-winning United States historians.The material comes to light just six months after Kim Walker was reinstated as dean of the conservatorium after being stood down while allegations of plagiarism were investigated."

Both the University of Sydney Students' Representative Council and the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association are fuming over being sidelined at Academic Board regarding Academic Appeals. New policies were passed that reduced the ability of students to solve problems informally as well as giving students less time to lodge appeals. SRC and SUPRA representatives worked with university bureaucrats to amend the policies, but their amendments were voted down and their university support evaporated.

SUPRA's concerns run along the same line as the SRC's.

"What killed [Academic Board] was the new draconian, mean, inappropriate and short-sighted Academic Appeals Policy that was introduced. This policy is so poor that it is now one of the most anti-student policies in the country. The Academic Board approved this policy when both SUPRA, the SRC and other student members of the Academic Board were opposed to it."

University of Sydney student representatives have their work cut out for them. I just hope that the paths of UoM and USyd don't follow each other too closely. Student newspaper problems are bad, but anti-student policy is worse.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Corporate Feudalism

Manchester Metropolitan University [wiki, website] has entered into partnership with a supermarket chain to offer a degree to its employees. Student Direct reports:

Degrees in Shelf-Stacking

Angela Wipperman

SUPERMARKET GIANT Tesco will soon offer its own university degree thanks to a new partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University.

The Tesco Foundation Degree, a two-year course taught through the internet, lectures and hands-on work in store, presumably stocking shelves, is the store's latest move beyond the groceries market.

This is not unique. Many other businesses have training programs that have come to rival a university degree in their comprehensiveness, transferability and market value. But supermarkets?

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Servicing Debt

The Age has run a story about a proposal for students to pay off their HECS debt by volunteering. It sounds, more or less, like a form of pseudo-employment. The article raises several reasons why it might not be such a good idea, including students need income support, students need money to pay living expenses etc.

Professor Chapman, who helped design HECS, in the article:

"If you wanted to relieve the burden for students generally, it's got to be about income support while they're studying," he said. "That's far and away more important."

We should also note that students from lower SES backgrounds are more likely to defer HECS. This scheme would be just extracting more from the poor.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

As in Sydney...

I've been looking through different student publications online. I came across 'Honi Soit' and found some all-too-familiar content in the President's report of their 16/4/08 edition.

University of Sydney SRC President Kate Laing:

I personally believe that censorship should not be conducted when it comes to student newspapers, because free speech and diverse debate and opinions should be embraced. Similarly if students can’t be controversial with their ideas in a campus publication written by and for students then where can they be?

But, under the heading sexism, she writes:

Within the constitution of the SRC there are guidelines that restrict what can be censored, and that is anything criminal or discriminatory.

She continues:

What I am disappointed by is how disconnected the editors have made themselves from the organisation that funds their publication, and will publish sexist remarks that openly undermine the good work of collectives and passionate fellow students.

What a coincidence that at the same time, both UMSU and the University of Sydney SRC are having the same problems with their respective newspapers.

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...

Arts Forum and the Press

This afternoon the University of Melbourne Student Union and University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association held a forum regarding renewed cuts to the Faculty of Arts. Dean of Arts, Professor Mark Considine was in attendance to answer the questions of undergraduates, postgraduates and many tutors.

Some highlights:
1. Voluntary redundancies - increasing workloads, stressing out staff and making working conditions inhospitable surely make getting rid of people easier.
2. Several casual postgraduate students and tutors related their experiences of not receiving proper training or pay.
3. One student asked if this wasn't violating the university's contract to provide the degree she was enrolled in.

At the beginning of the forum, Considine made a remark about the forum being in-house. This lead to an Age journalist being asked to leave. This shows how eager the university is to control its image and its lack of commitment to transparency. The general public is a stakeholder in the university, which is partly government funded:

1.9 [The university] is accountable to the wider community, particularly in Melbourne and Victoria, but also nationally and internationally, for advancing the economic, social, educational and cultural welfare of society.

The public clearly has the right to know about what goes in the University of Melbourne and its Faculty of Arts, yet this makes it quite clear that Arts and the broader university have no such intention of doing this.

In a similar way, it is accountable to its current students:

1.7 To its current students, the University must account for its responsibility to provide a rich teaching, leaning and research training environment in which support services and infrastructure are of the highest possible quality.

So if the Faculty of Arts is happy to ignore its responsibility to account to the wider public, how can students trust that it is upholding its responsibility to account to students?

Review your curriculum...

Close your books...