Discussion: Reed
in: AliC; AliC > 2017-11-02
Nov 3, 2017 7:20 PM
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I suspect you've seen or heard about this: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017...
I am curious what your take is from the inside. From my point of view of a fairly liberal person but clueless as to what life on campus is like these days, these protests seem very misguided and misdirected. What's the general sentiment on campus? Is this a prevailing feeling, or are these students a minority?
I am curious what your take is from the inside. From my point of view of a fairly liberal person but clueless as to what life on campus is like these days, these protests seem very misguided and misdirected. What's the general sentiment on campus? Is this a prevailing feeling, or are these students a minority?
Nov 3, 2017 9:57 PM
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AliC:
Being away on sabbatical last fall and on leave this fall, I'm definitely not the most in-the-loop about sentiment on campus.
Here's a counter perspective to this article from one of my colleagues: “What if instead of trashing our student activists, this essay focused on the way that student activism has led to the accelerated implementation of Reed's first Critical Race and Ethnic Studies program (starting next year), the accelerated review of Hum 110, increasing support for trans students and students of color on campus, and large scale crucial conversations both about where our college money is invested, and also what it means to have a core class and whose voices are (and are not) welcome in that class? Yes, our students are imperfect and inflammatory in their activism. These students are also disrupting, drawing attention, and getting work done. They are getting support from community organizations like Don't Shoot Portland. These parts of the narrative are lacking in the many national news articles, like this one, designed to insult our students and paint them as ridiculous and entitled special snowflakes. Today they are on day eleven of their occupation of the Administration building.”
So at least that's another side of things.
I'm not sure there is a general sentiment - I think there's a whole range of opinions from very sympathetic to very critical of RAR, both among faculty and students. The big complaint of many faculty who teach in Hum 110 is that the course isn't merely a celebration of the (supposedly racist or at least non-inclusive) Western Cannon - as they teach it, the course brings up many of the issues the protests would like addressed. The majority of my physics students last spring wished the protestors would stop interfering with their Hum 110 course.
Here's a counter perspective to this article from one of my colleagues: “What if instead of trashing our student activists, this essay focused on the way that student activism has led to the accelerated implementation of Reed's first Critical Race and Ethnic Studies program (starting next year), the accelerated review of Hum 110, increasing support for trans students and students of color on campus, and large scale crucial conversations both about where our college money is invested, and also what it means to have a core class and whose voices are (and are not) welcome in that class? Yes, our students are imperfect and inflammatory in their activism. These students are also disrupting, drawing attention, and getting work done. They are getting support from community organizations like Don't Shoot Portland. These parts of the narrative are lacking in the many national news articles, like this one, designed to insult our students and paint them as ridiculous and entitled special snowflakes. Today they are on day eleven of their occupation of the Administration building.”
So at least that's another side of things.
I'm not sure there is a general sentiment - I think there's a whole range of opinions from very sympathetic to very critical of RAR, both among faculty and students. The big complaint of many faculty who teach in Hum 110 is that the course isn't merely a celebration of the (supposedly racist or at least non-inclusive) Western Cannon - as they teach it, the course brings up many of the issues the protests would like addressed. The majority of my physics students last spring wished the protestors would stop interfering with their Hum 110 course.
This discussion thread is closed.