The Waterkooler

"After the Vietnam War, a lot of us didn't just crawl back into our literary cubicles; we stepped into academic positions. With the war over, our visibility was lost, and it seemed for a while--to the unobservant--that we had disappeared. Now we have tenure, and the work of reshaping the universities has begun in earnest."

--Jay Parini, Chronicle of Higher Education more

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Masters student Scott McConnell was enrolled at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. Scott was studying to be a teacher. He was doing well, with a 3.78 grade point average and had just written a paper that was critical of multiculturalism and supportive of corporal punishment in the classroom.

His professor gave him an "A" on the paper. The school, however, expelled him from the program.

"I have grave concerns regarding the mismatch between your personal beliefs regarding teaching and learning and the Le Moyne College program goals. Based on this data, I do not believe that you should continue in the Le Moyne M.S.T. (Masters of Science for Teaching) Program. You will not be allowed to register for any additional courses. Your registration for Spring 2005 courses has been withdrawn."

Well, that's the tolerant, open-minded liberal left for you. They are supportive of diversity and free speech - as long as that speech does not diverge from their leftist dogma.


In a related story, read what it takes to get an "A" at an elite private university.


Speaking of openmindedness, this from the Opinion Journal:

I'm Open-Minded, You're a Stupid Jerk
There's something amusing about the obnoxious way in which some people trumpet their own open-mindedness and tolerance. Consider these two passages from an essay by Garrison Keillor in The Nation:

I enjoy, in small doses, the over-the-top right-wingers who have leaked into AM radio on all sides in the past twenty years. They are evil, lying, cynical bastards who are out to destroy the country I love and turn it into a banana republic, but hey, nobody's perfect. . . .

The reason you find an army of right-wingers ratcheting on the radio and so few liberals is simple: Republicans are in need of affirmation, they don't feel comfortable in America and they crave listening to people who think like them. Liberals actually enjoy living in a free society; tuning in to hear an echo is not our idea of a good time.

If this were true, nobody would listen to NPR, watch "Fahrenheit 9/11"--or, for that matter, read The Nation.