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This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

okwu.edu

181–190 of 707 posts

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#181
post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to add some more info; it was the student union that was running the yoga class and cancelled it, the university administration had no part in its cancellation. This was wholly done by students.

That doesn't seem to change how ridiculous it sounds, does it?

Not in the least.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#182
post #6

I think the world would be better if, before you're allowed to respond to someone being wrong, you have to first be able to express their position in a way that they agree represents their view. Because 'political correctness' isn't the cancer at the heart of social politics, it is straw-manning. On both sides of every issue. I'd be surprised, perhaps even amazed, if Dr Piper had represented the complaint in any way…

You're being generous to the author. I'd be amazed if anyone at all had complained to the university president about their sermon. "The complaining student" is now a trope along the lines of the cab driver who always speaks to New York Times columnists in a way that is convenient for their column.

Except, in this scenario, the cab driver is OKWU and the new york times is also OWKU.

It's reasonable for OWKU to make this announcement. They are laying out their expectations for their student body. It is inconvenient but students who dislike their position are free to transfer.

OWKU is a private institution and also a religious one (even greater protection). They are well within their means and rights.

I'm starting to think that feelings are being hurt on HN; hence all the controversy.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any evidence of this claim (that it's a troll or "doesn't exist"), other than just your assertion that no normal person would do this? I can assure you that I know plenty of young people who would do something like this - heck, I'm a young person (and also a Christian), and whilst I probably wouldn't be brave enough to actually approach a lecturer and voice such thoughts, I am sure that in a moment of wea…

> When somebody calls us out for something, it's only natural to want to blame somebody else - it takes an incredible amount of self-awareness and discipline to immediately jump to self-reflection, without trying to pass the buck. Well, this goes both ways. Like most HN threads on this topic, this discussion is largely full of reactions against perceived "victimization", devoid of any self-reflection about what merit…

I like to replace the phrase "politically correct" with "respectful treatment of individuals" or "empathy".

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#184
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A little research will produce a vast number of examples of political correctness with real consequences and not just "straw-manning". Here is a recent example: A Canadian university cancels a yoga class because yoga comes "from a culture that “experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy,” In a world that can do that, I don't find it surprising that a student could…

Just to add some more info; it was the student union that was running the yoga class and cancelled it, the university administration had no part in its cancellation. This was wholly done by students.

And honestly, I'm fine with that. Universities are for learning, and real learning comes from doing. The questions the students were grappling with are real ones. I expect they misapplied them here, as the yoga traditions I'm familiar with are mostly conscious Indian exports, their effort to share something with the world. But students should frequently get things wrong, because that's how real learning happens.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#185
Oklahoma Wesleyan is an "evangelical Christian university," and if it's anything like the other evangelical universities I'm aware of, it's not much better than a daycare. Institutions like this exist to isolate their students from the dangerous "secular" ideas they might pick up at a normal university. And many of the students going there, are there because their parents have refused to pay for a normal university. A friend of mine went to one of these institutions, and reported that one of the mandatory classes was a semester-long course in creationism.

Needless to say, I find this article pretty rich.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#186
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A little research will produce a vast number of examples of political correctness with real consequences and not just "straw-manning". Here is a recent example: A Canadian university cancels a yoga class because yoga comes "from a culture that “experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy,” In a world that can do that, I don't find it surprising that a student could…

Just to add some more info; it was the student union that was running the yoga class and cancelled it, the university administration had no part in its cancellation. This was wholly done by students.

Furthermore, I don't believe they outright cancelled it, but they suspended it temporarily to look into whether or not they should cancel it.

Still ridiculous, but less so than it's being represented as.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#187
post #6

I think the world would be better if, before you're allowed to respond to someone being wrong, you have to first be able to express their position in a way that they agree represents their view. Because 'political correctness' isn't the cancer at the heart of social politics, it is straw-manning. On both sides of every issue. I'd be surprised, perhaps even amazed, if Dr Piper had represented the complaint in any way…

Daniel Dennett refers to this as Rapoports rule.

How to compose a successful critical commentary:

You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way. You should list any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement). You should mention anything you have learned from your target. Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/28/daniel-dennett-rapo...

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#188
post #149

Regardless of the content, it seems to me that if someone came forward to complain to you, the time and place to deliver the message you had in response was when they came forward with the complaint. Yeah, it's a university, not a daycare, and as such a direct adult dialogue about the issue should be expected. A public letter like this from the university President is appropriate for a broad issue that goes beyond so…

Why do you assume he didn't? It's quite possible to have this conversation one on one and then use it as an opportunity to address a wider audience. They are not mutually exclusive.

I conclude that he didn't address the student personally and directly with this message from the fact that he expressly framed the public response as a message intended for that student as well as others, rather than a public recitation for others of a message he had delivered to the complaining student in person.

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm asian. I don't feel threatened by black crime when it's also shown that police target black people for arrest more than whites and that the system is often stacked against black people. I'm more uncomfortable that white males are shooting up schools in my country several times a year because there's nothing being done pointing this demographic out. Your experience doesn't reflect the experience of all others.

That's why there is something called Statistics and they show that you are objectively wrong. Now, about your feelings and uncomfortableness it's up to you.

> there is something called Statistics

And there's a reason there's a famous book titled "how to lie with statistics".

Re: This Is Not a Day Care. It’s a University

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could also be related to the person. A prof who's being racist will receive more criticism for being racist, and will have more cause to complain of "political correctness".

I gotta say, anecdotally, this is what I often find ... the people complaining about political correctness, are those that have in the past been openly racist, or at a minimum, fond of racially charged jokes (ie. "black people are great, everyone should own one"). They are chafing against a cultural change that no longer appreciates and/or tolerates behavior like that.

Well, anecdotally, I often find that being used as an easy excuse to dismiss someone's concerns without having to address the concerns.
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