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Phi Beta Cons

The Right take on higher education.


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Columbia Dumps OWS Course

Zounds! The injustice of it all! Columbia University has canceled a spring course devoted to the Occupy Wall Street protests — the brainchild of an OWS protester-prof that was light on reading but heavy on requiring students to work extensively on “ongoing OWS projects.”

Students are still free, of course, to engage in such projects, which include breaking into a foreclosed home and installing a family in it, farming to provide food for the Occupation, and occupying the New Hampshire primary by disrupting candidates’ appearances.

But, alas, because of an attack of good sense at Columbia, they won’t be rewarded with college credits for such hijinks.

New on Phi Beta Cons. . .


COMMENTS   8

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Oh My Head Hurts
   01/11/12 15:34

Ah, but what leads me to think that if the Columbia course had been underwritten by a grant from some suitable foundation or agency, then it would have been offered?

Cool factoid: The solvemedia text, which I need to enter to post this message, is "sulpher smell" with the "e" as shown.

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SC
   01/11/12 16:45

I think it could be a very good course - in the Psychology department.
All sorts of neoroses on display. Also GroupThink.

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Just the facts Ma'am
   01/11/12 17:28

Course was proposed by a PhD student, not a professor, and mistakenly posted to a website, but was never approved by appropriate committee, and so it was never officially offered. Whatever you think of OWS, it is a valid subject for study, not unlike the Tea Party movement, which has had its fair share of attention. Just sayin....

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   01/12/12 15:31

Given her status ( External Link  ), I think her days are numbered at Columbia. She brought disrepute to the institution, and pointed out its poor internal controls. She is history. And it's far too soon to "study" either the Tea Party or OWS.

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   01/12/12 21:27

Never will be too soon if "studying" OWS consists of the aforementioned "projects."

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Larry J
   01/11/12 20:10

"Students are still free, of course, to engage in such projects, which include breaking into a foreclosed home and installing a family in it, farming to provide food for the Occupation, and occupying the New Hampshire primary by disrupting candidates’ appearances."

So, students are free to engage in criminal actions without sanction from the university. Nice. And if they get arrested, will they get a slap on the wrist or face possible jail time?

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   01/12/12 09:55

Who among us believes an OWS course at Columbia would foster disinterested "study" of the movement? Given the fallen state of academia, I consider the odds of anything other than flagrant advocacy in favor of OWS to be small. Conversely, a course on the Tea Party (OWS and the Tea Party are hardly analogous, I might add), would be little more than a hatchet job.

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B17
   01/13/12 15:55

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