The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on November 27, 2013, 11:17:53 am
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Prof corrects minority students’ capitalization, is accused of racism
Posted By Robby Soave On 9:20 AM 11/26/2013 In | No Comments
Racial tensions are inflamed at the University of California at Los Angeles following several incidents — most notably, one where a professor corrected the grammar, punctuation and capitalization in minority students’ assignments.
The act of correcting a black student was “micro-aggression,” according to the members of the student group “Call 2 Action: Graduate Students of Color,” which launched a sit-in during a subsequent meeting of the class.
“A hostile campus climate has been the norm for Students of Color in this class throughout the quarter as our epistemological and methodological commitments have been repeatedly questioned by our classmates and our instructor,” wrote the group in a statement to the college. “[The] barrage of questions by white colleagues and the grammar ‘lessons’ by the professor have contributed to a hostile class climate.”
Some 25 students participated in the sit-in, including five of the 10 members of the class.
Val Rust, a professor of education and information, was the official target of the sit-in, though the aggrieved minority students had problems with UCLA’s handling of racial issues that went far beyond just one classroom, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Rust is guest-lecturing in China this week, and did not respond to a request for comment. He sent a letter to his colleagues in the education department, however, in which he clarified that he meant no offense to minorities.
“I have attempted to be rather thorough on the papers and am particularly concerned that they do a good job with their bibliographies and citations, and these students apparently don’t feel that is appropriate,” he said in a statement, according to The Daily Bruin.
Some of the corrections were clarified by sit-in organizer Kenjus Watson. Rust told one student that she should not capitalize the word “indigenous” in her papers. This correction was ideologically-motivated, according to Watson.
Rust admitted that he likely made matters worse by not aggressively and proactively taking the side of a minority student who was engaged in an argument with a white female student. The minority student told the woman that she had no right to feel oppressed, and Rust did not express agreement either way.
“Two weeks ago a Student of Color and a white female student got into a big discussion,” said Rust. “She wants to use Standpoint Theory [a method of analysis coined by feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith, based on the idea that all knowledge is subjective and based on one's position in society] in her dissertation, and the Student of Color told her she had no business claiming that she was a member of an oppressed group.”
“She came back saying there are all kinds of oppression. I likely did not handle the situation well, because I chose not to stop the discussion between them, so it went on for quite a while, and the Students of Color apparently interpreted my silence to mean I wasn’t supporting them.”
But the minority community at UCLA is upset about more than just Rust’s class. A recent report claimed that minority professors are the victims of discrimination and racial bias. The report urged the university to strengthen its bias incident response procedures and hire a Discrimination Officer.
“What we’re speaking to is part of a larger, institutionalized culture on campus,” said Watson in a statement.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/26/prof-corrects-minority-students-capitalization-is-accused-of-racism/
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Apparently blacks will be oppressed until Ebonics is
accepted celebrated as the standard for scholarly research articles.
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Ya know, it you were to attach a heavy electrical generator to the body of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he would power half of the East Coast as he spins in his grave over issues just like this.
This is considered "empowerment" in the Black Community, who have for generations taught their children that being educated is "too white". I wonder if any of these students read cursive writing.....
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Rust told one student that she should not capitalize the word “indigenous” in her papers. This correction was ideologically-motivated, according to Watson.
It's an adjective! :shrug:
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They are university students. If they can't do such basic things as punctuate and capitalize correctly, they''d fail my class. I'd be buggered taking the time to correct their papers.
Grammar I am slightly more flexible over. :laugh:
I haz dreem - indeed.
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“micro-aggression” (?)
I think what this student of color (or, SOC) means to say is "passive-aggressive." Or would that be too rectal for him?
And as for the prospect of hiring a "discrimination officer" ... what color would be the correct color for a discrimination officer? I would suggest they choose someone rainbow colored. Yes, that would be a nice color for a discrimination officer. Don't you think?
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(http://www.yourfaceisa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Yvonne-Craig-Star-Trek.jpg)
It's the fairest color.
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Would her name happen to be - wait for it - envy (...I can already hear the groans)
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That pun was vert-ually intolerable. :beer:
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I wonder if any of these students read cursive writing.....
What's scarier than the fact that cursive isn't taught in schools is that 1) it's easy to learn, 2) in spite of it being easy to learn, the high school I'm acquainted with know that they don't know cursive and are content to say "I can't read cursive" rather than taking a small amount of initiative and learning it, and 3) their parents aren't teaching cursive in the home as a last resort. As long as our founding documents are in cursive, I think people should go to great lengths to make sure their kids learn it even if the schools don't teach it.
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You know what bugs me the most about garbage like this??
There still is REAL racism in this country, and it's not being addressed appropriately because of the idiocy of these groups.
The racial divide is deepening, and it's the fault of the left, and the left alone.
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And to think how a black president of the United States of America could've done so much to help heal racial divisions and yet he did so little, and in fact exacerbated racial resentments. What a wasted opportunity ...
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And to think how a black president of the United States of America could've done so much to help heal racial divisions and yet he did so little, and in fact exacerbated racial resentments. What a wasted opportunity ...
Yes!! Even though we hate his political views and his plan to "fundamentally transform" America, he could have done something good.
Instead, he has done the opposite, and in crying racism for everything, he has done nearly irreparable damage to race relations.
All he had to do is be a decent human being.
But he isn't........
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Yes!! Even though we hate his political views and his plan to "fundamentally transform" America, he could have done something good.
Instead, he has done the opposite, and in crying racism for everything, he has done nearly irreparable damage to race relations.
All he had to do is be a decent human being.
But he isn't........
Yeh! Eben dough we hates his political views and his plant to "fundmently transfoam" Amrica, he coud ave done sompen good.
Instead, he ben doin the oposit, and be crying race ism fo everting, he be doin near irrapable damage to race relasions.
All he be needin to due is be a descent humon bean.
But he not be doin nothin.
Who needs to proficient in English to be in college? :silly:
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Yeh! Eben dough we hates his political views and his plant to "fundmently transfoam" Amrica, he coud ave done sompen good.
Instead, he ben doin the oposit, and be crying race ism fo everting, he be doin near irrapable damage to race relasions.
All he be needin to due is be a descent humon bean.
But he not be doin nothin.
Who needs to proficient in English to be in college? :silly:
I am SO sick of the word racist. If you're having your grammar and punctuation corrected in college, you're the one with the problem.
We are slowly emerging as a dumbed down world in order to appear non-racist.
Why didn't the professor say the grammar and punctuation was terrible and it's a shame he had to correct it in the first place? How about the truth for a change?
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Why didn't the professor say the grammar and punctuation was terrible and it's a shame he had to correct it in the first place? How about the truth for a change?
Because he's too busy apologizing and prostrating himself before the perennially offended racial lynch mob: Rust admitted that he likely made matters worse by not aggressively and proactively taking the side of a minority student who was engaged in an argument with a white female student. The minority student told the woman that she had no right to feel oppressed, and Rust did not express agreement either way.
“Two weeks ago a Student of Color and a white female student got into a big discussion,” said Rust. “She wants to use Standpoint Theory [a method of analysis coined by feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith, based on the idea that all knowledge is subjective and based on one's position in society] in her dissertation, and the Student of Color told her she had no business claiming that she was a member of an oppressed group.”
“She came back saying there are all kinds of oppression. I likely did not handle the situation well, because I chose not to stop the discussion between them, so it went on for quite a while, and the Students of Color apparently interpreted my silence to mean I wasn’t supporting them.”
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So what does not supporting the minority student have to do with capitalization errors?