Saturday, November 16, 2002Last sports update for the weekThe Big 2 sports in action today.Football: Dartmouth loses another close one, this one cause by 2 missed PAT's and a failed 2-point conversion, as they fall to previuosly winless Brown 21-18. This marks the fifth time this year Dartmouth has lost by less than a touchdown (losses by two, three, three, four, and five points). This also marks the 2nd week in a row that missed PAT's have come back to haunt Dartmouth. Last week at Cornell they lost by 2 points after missing a PAT early and then being forced to go for 2 in the 4th quarter (and failing). Dartmouth (3-6, 2-4) finishes its season against Princeton in New Jersey next Saturday. Hockey: Dartmouth pulls ahead 3-1 after a strong second period, then manages to hang on with some help from the ref as Cornell dominates the third. After 2 empty-netters, the final ended up 5-2, but the score was not indicative of the closeness of the game. Cornell appeared to tie the game at 3-3 late in the third period but the referee ruled the net had come off its moorings before the puck went in. Dartmouth improves to 3-3-0 (2-2-0 in ECAC), while #9 Cornell loses its first game of the year to fall to 4-1-0 (3-1-0). Dartmouth extended its unbeaten streak against Cornell to 8 games (7-0-1), and that will be put on the line when the team makes the return trip to Ithaca in the 2nd half of the season. The hockey team returns to action next weekend when they host Yale on Friday and Princeton on Saturday at Thompson. Be sure to bring your tennis balls on Saturday to throw at Princeton's goalie after the first goal. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Ben at 9:27 PM (0 comments) Censorship at Ohio StateThe University decided that an ad placed in its Faculty and Staff directory, which is distributed to students, was unacceptable and had workers remove the offending piece, by hand, from 10,700 of the directories.Did "Dockside Dolls" cross the line of acceptability or has OSU gone overboard? Decide for yourself. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 2:43 PM (0 comments) Saturday Sports UpdateHockey:Dartmouth blew out Colgate 6-2 last night at Thompson Arena. Lee Stempniak '05 led the way with a hat trick, the first of his career. He also added an assist. Mike Ouellette '06 also had a 4 point game, with a goal and three assists. Darren Gastrock '04 made 32 saves in net for his first win of the year. Dartmouth (2-3-0, 1-2-0 in ECAC) hosts #9 Cornell (4-0-0, 3-0-0) tonight. Cornell is coming off an 8-0 win at Vermont last night. Dartmouth is unbeaten against Cornell since 1998 (6-0-1). Football: Dartmouth trails Brown 21-12 early in the 2nd half. ESPN College Gameday is live from the Penn-Harvard game today. It's the show's first visit to a non D1-A game site. Penn currently leads 34-2 at the half. For other scores, goto the Ivy League Scoreboard Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Ben at 1:58 PM (0 comments) Friday, November 15, 2002Re: Who's drunk at Dartmouth?If the link that I posted yesterday didn't work for you, try this local copy.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 3:11 PM (0 comments) Re: Office of Black Student AdvisingWhere's the office of Institutional Revolution?Long live the revolution! Long live the dictatorship of the proletariat...er, student body! Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 3:07 PM (0 comments) Washington PostTalcott: You're right, I plumb forgot to post it. While we're on it, however, let's not forget the companion piece by Jay Mathews, in which yours truly gives the most eloquent two-word quote in history.PS - Menashi, fear not, my response is coming... Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 2:14 PM (0 comments) ROTC #s UpFox News released the following military statistics on increase in ROTC participation in the last fiscal year:Army: +4.7% Air Force: +31% Navy and Marines: +1.5% Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 1:28 PM (0 comments) Big sports weekend in HanoverDartmouth (3-5, 2-3 in Ivy league play) looks to get back to its winning ways at home this weekend in both football and men's hockey. The football team hosts the winless Brown Bears (0-8, 0-5) in its final home game of the year on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.The hockey team hopes for a repeat of last year's classic weekend when Colgate and Cornell come to town tonight and tomorrow at Thompson Arena. The puck drops at 7:05 EST. Dartmouth (1-3-0, 0-2-0 in ECAC play) is looking to rebound following a pair of losses last weekend to Brown and Harvard. Last year at Thompson Arena Dartmouth upended Cornell 1-0 in OT in the best home game of the year (Jamie Herrington '02 got the lone goal), then followed it up with a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Colgate, with Herrington again scoring the game-winner, this time with 15 seconds left in regulation. Also of note, Dartmouth is 6-0-1 against Cornell since 1998. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Ben at 1:06 PM (0 comments) Zogby LectureThe United States and the Arab World: The Growing Crisis in UnderstandingFull post and comments below the fold. Posted by Steven Menashi at 12:51 PM (0 comments) Casual sex"Sex is casual at college papers," says Mary Beth Marklein in USA Today.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:50 PM (0 comments) Ben Stein vs. Jeffrey JonesStein = "Bueller? Bueller?"Jones = "Bueller!!!!! Bueller!!!! Oh, Bueller!!!" Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:40 PM (0 comments) Beat BrownMaybe this Sacramento State technique would help the Indians beat the Bears tomorrow.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:35 PM (0 comments) In the redDartmouth shamed in the Washington Post Magazine for intolerance of free speech. Surprised this wasn't posted by our FIRE correspondent.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:31 PM (0 comments) From the Weekend UpdateIt would probably be risky for most Greek organizations to advertize something like this...____________________________________________________ *tHiS SaTuRdaY... tHe LaDiEs oF tHe PINK aNd tHe GREEN hAve a VeRy SpEciaL tReat fOr yOu... ~*PiNk FaNtASKEE*~ ..LoSe YoUrSeLf iN tHe LaViSh GrOoVe... pRoMiSeD tO bE a NiGhT yOu'LL nEvEr fOrgEt... ...CuTtEr/ShAbBazZ uNdErGrOunD... 11 PM DJ CoMpLejO sHoW oFf YoUr bEsT *BLACK* aNd/oR YoUr wiLdeSt *WHITE* tO reCeive aNd iNduLge iN a SpEciAL LiTtLe sOmEtHiNg... ....cOme sAtisfy yOuR DeSirE.... yOu wOn'T be DiSappoiNted... Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:15 PM (0 comments) Not overstated in the least, Brother ClarkAnd at Cornell I have a few friends who established the Cornell Freedom Project to address some of these issues on their campus. Most recently, they petitioned the SA to abolish seats reserved for minority, LGBTQ and international students. They've also tackled affinity housing. And, believe it or not, they're liberals; where Berkeley went wrong, these students are far more genuine in their free speech demands.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:11 PM (0 comments) AlsoIn the Times article from earlier this week, some students were complaining that they felt that profs singled them out for the "black opinion" in class and they worried other students assumed they were at Dartmouth solely because of affirmative action. Doesn't creating this office (along with affinity houses and minority recruiting) only further serve to isolate and group students by race? How much you want to bet that the same students who were complaining in the article also participate in functions sponsored by the Office of Black Students Advising. You can either complain about being race-identified or you can participate in groups and events that are race-identified. You cannot, however, have it both ways.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Ryan at 12:04 PM (0 comments) Re: An action planI guess I should not be shocked, since I sort of knew it existed, but just seeing "Office of Black Student Advising" on that blitz is somewhat disturbing. When are they going to install the "colored" and "white" drinking fountains on campus?Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Ryan at 11:56 AM (0 comments) Rats!They're on to us!Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 10:41 AM (0 comments) Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 2:48 AM (0 comments) A Celebrity in Our MidstAlison Fanelli,.who received a Masters of Science at Dartmouth this past spring, is still performing with the Dodecs a capella group. Ms. Fanelli may be better known to you all as Ellen from Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete." The Grants and Contracts site lists her as a Project Assistant for the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects. Ah yes...we have Daniel Webster, Robert Frost and Ellen from Pete and Pete.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 2:30 AM (0 comments) Hmm"It's a good thing that ORL has the flexibility to say it is acting on principle, but then cave when it comes to action."This reminds me of someone else. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Rollo at 2:09 AM (0 comments) The Free Press Loves UsFrom the "Week in Review"-wannabe "Commonshare" section on the back page of the most recent issue of the DFP:"The Review Ousts Administration in Defiant Coup Want to step up to the Administration and get what you want? Just say no. Redman limits free speech by ending door-to-door distribution of publications. The Review continues to distribute door-to-door. Redman meets with the Review. The Review continues to distribute door-to-door. Suddenly, it is announced that the ban on door-to-door distribution was not meant for the Fall Term. It's a good thing that ORL has the flexibility to say it is acting on principle, but then cave when it comes to action. We certainly don't mind." Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 1:53 AM (0 comments) Help 'emNo longer scalp 'em. Psi U cares. From the blitz auto-reply of a brother:HELP PROTECT A WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN!!! WISE, the women's shelter of the upper valley, has a woman under their care that needs help. Every morning she has to drive her two eldest of four kids to school near where they used to live. She has to hold her gear shift lever in place (while watching her 5 month old and 4 year old) so it doesn't pop out. She also has bald tires and WISE is hoping it doesn't snow before they can get her new ones. If she cannot get her car fixed soon, she will have to go back to a home that is extremely unsafe for herself and her children so that she can at least get her children to school. Here's where you come in: Psi U is holding a benefit concert Saturday evening to raise money to fix her car so that she can stay under the care of WISE. If we can raise enough money, we can keep her from having to return home with her children. HUSKY DAVE, one of the most high-energy bands on campus, will be playing, and all money raised will go directly to help this woman and Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 1:36 AM (0 comments) James Zogby lectureRE: an earlier inquiry by Menashi, a blitz response from Rocky Outreach explained to me, "He came down with something a few hours befoere (sic) he was supposed to fly out to come here. We're reschheduling (sic) him for sometime in February."Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 1:00 AM (0 comments) From the archivesAn interesting interview with Lamar Alexander, former plaid-wearing presidential candidate, Secretary of Education, and Governor of Tennessee, current Senator-elect, and hopefully Pres. Wright's successor. Actually, with all the Hu Jintao news today, I was thinking that we're more likely to wind up with someone who's more Hu, less Lamar.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:25 AM (0 comments) Our Friends at the California ReviewImitation is the highest form of flattery.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:17 AM (0 comments) Good RiddanceCal pres resigns. Not that he'll be replaced with anyone great.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:15 AM (0 comments) Thursday, November 14, 2002An action plan>Date: 12 Nov 2002 19:34:15 EST>From: Office of Black Student Advising >Subject: Emergency meeting summary >To: (Recipient list suppressed) Dear Members of the Black Community, Last Saturday, members of our community came together for an emergency meeting to discuss the content of a study conducted by a Dartmouth economics professor, the "D's" presentation of that study, and a recent blitz sent out by a student for a "gangsta lovin" party. Approximately 30 students, administrators, and faculty were in attendance. At the beginning of the meeting there was a brief discussion for everyone to voice their feelings about these situations. After the discussion ended, we came up with an action plan. Action plan: There are two small committees of people who are working on the following initiatives. 1. There is going to be a letter written to faculty and administrators expressing the concerns black students have about the Dartmouth environment. There will be a petition attached to the letter signed by any student who agrees with the letter. 2. The Black Leadership Council will have a meeting with the president of "The Dartmouth" to discuss our concerns with their presentation of information to the larger Dartmouth community. 3. We are planning a panel discussion to examine the issues raised by the Dartmouth Prof. about the impact of slavery. We are hoping to target a large audience and are planning to invite scholars from Dartmouth as well as other institutions to participate on the panel. We would like to thank those people who were able to participate in this meeting given its short notice and we look forward to working together to put our thoughts into action. If you have any further questions regarding the meeting or you would like to be involved, please blitz the OBSA account. LaRell Purdie Black Student Organization/ Community Coordinator Office of Black Student Advising Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 11:50 PM (0 comments) **The infamous New York Times article comparing Alpha Chi to Phi Tau seems to have helped AXA on its way to ** confidence. That, and our high % of alcoholic brothers.Cheers.... Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 11:20 PM (0 comments) Who is drunk at DartmouthI don't know. Let's find out.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 11:11 PM (0 comments) Diversity at any CostTuesday in the New York Times, Page A1: Colleges Find Diversity Is Not Just Numbers:[A] growing number of institutions, including Dartmouth, are trying to make that connection happen and are spending millions of dollars on the effort. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 3:23 PM (0 comments) Wednesday, November 13, 2002My ServeFirst of all, you quote Mill out of context. In the letter to which you link, Mill argues that Christianity need not persecute heresy in order to prevail, since, as a "true doctrine," it is destined to prevail over the falsehood of skepticism. But we know from Mill's other writings that he did not consider Christianity to be a true doctrine, and fully expected Christianity to be replaced by a secular civil religion. In fact, when he writes in the letter you cite, "one of the strongest feelings in every uneducated mind is the appetite for wonder, the love of the marvellous. Witness the rapid progress of so many religions, which we now think so unutterably absurd that we wonder how any human being can ever have given credit to them. This passion is gratified in the most eminent degree by the Christian religion," he is characterizing Christianity not as a true doctrine, but as the superstition of an "uneducated mind." Certainly, Mill didn't think that Christianity should be allowed to persecute unbelief, but that's because he thought Christianity was wrong and a threat to intellectual freedom. "Liberty," for Mill, worked in tandem with a system of social control to quash false opinion. Since this is a digression, I would refer you to Joseph Hamburger's seminal book on the subject.In any case, even the quotation from Mill you make, "doctrines which, if left to themselves, have no chance of prevailing, may be saved from oblivion by persecution," implies that some doctrines deserve to be consigned to oblivion. Among these are the teachings of the Ku Klux Klan, most people would agree (except, perhaps, you, who is interested in some "grain of truth" you might find in them). Mill's position, which you adopt, is that these doctrines would more quickly be defeated through toleration rather than persecution, and I would agree that that is sometimes the case. Often, persecuting some doctrine makes it more important or widely known that it would otherwise be. Yet this is manifestly not the case with the Ku Klux Klan or Tom Paulin. Students are not sitting around saying, "Gee, maybe whites really are the master race," or "Suicide bombings are great! Jews do deserve to die." All hosting such views at Harvard can do is give them an academic respectability they would not otherwise enjoy. And Mill, who would also count these teachings as "so unutterably absurd that we wonder how any human being can ever have given credit to them," would agree that we should leave them where they belong: oblivion. And this is, by the way, a question of academic standards. If I taught students that the moon is made of green cheese, I think you would agree that I should be fired from the astronomy department. Similarly, if I taught that American Jews living in Israel are Nazis, or that suicide bombings are justified and constructive, or, for that matter, that whites are the master race -- views that are just as absurd, and just as wrong -- I should not be teaching at a serious university. Calling my belief that the moon is made of green cheese "a viewpoint" does not make it any less false. Tom Paulin can rant about killing Jews to his lunatic friends, but it has no place at Harvard. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Steven Menashi at 10:11 PM (0 comments) Re: Tea and KrumpetsMenashi: Firstly, you criticize my comment regarding "invit[ing] the Ku Klux Klan to tea." Apologies: I'm afraid sloppy syntax on my part is responsible for the confusion. I did not mean to imply that "we do, in fact, have to invite the Ku Klux Klan to tea, [emphasis added]" which is how you have interpreted it. Rather, I meant simply to suggest that we might want to invite them to campus to see what they have to say. I, for one, would be interested.You say that ignoring (what we recognize as) the inherent stupidity of Paulin's statements constitutes an abdication of Harvard's mission, to wit, to promote "the best that has been thought and said." Well, I would hope that Harvard does not interpret its mission in so censorious a light. As the University of Wisconsin's Board of Regents noted in 1894, a university "should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found." Indeed, sifting and winnowing, through the good, bad, and positively worthless, is essential to determining what, in fact, is "the best that has been thought and said." Otherwise, it is not the best, but the obligatory, prominent not because of its inherent truthfulness but because alternatives are simply not allowed. You imply, also, that I must think that a university "benefits from stupid and intelligent views alike." Well, in fact, I do think that very thing, and John Stuart Mill agrees. He noted in 1823 that "doctrines which, if left to themselves, have no chance of prevailing, may be saved from oblivion by persecution." Stupid views remind us, by their expression, both why they are stupid and why other arguments are not. Indeed, take the lesson of Paulin's own statements. I would love for him to come to Harvard and say the crap he said in Al-Ahram. What better argument for vigilance against the rising tide of anti-Semitism could there be that to see it first-hand? Furthermore, you say my argument suggests "that universities must never insist on any sort of academic standards in the work they sponsor and produce." I say no such thing, but more importantly, neither does anyone else. No critic of Paulin has thusfar found fault with his intellectual honesty or his academic standards. They have found fault with his viewpoint. Intellectual honesty and academic standards have absolutely no bearing on the matter in question -- Paulin is no Bellesiles. The latter engaged in academic dishonesty and fraud, completely contrary to the mission of a university; he should be run out of town for it (and was, thankfully). Whatever the flaws of his argument, Paulin is not dishonest, but simply wrong -- and the spirit of free inquiry must always grant the right to be wrong. Naturally, there is a strong moral obligation for good people to challenge Paulin's egregious and dangerous error. (Keeping him from speaking denies good people the chance to do this.) But by no means should he be punished merely for holding a certain view -- that's outrageous. So, your charge that I would abandon all standards of academic integrity is irrelevant, since a viewpoint -- not any infraction against those standards -- is at the heart of this controversy. Lastly, you say that "the university shouldn't be an incubator for ideas too stupid and insane to find a platform in the real world." The trouble with what Paulin says, though, is quite the opposite, isn't it? He's symptomatic of a disturbing trend that, worldwide, has quite a prominent platform. (Indeed, we ignore them at our own great peril.) His views are too common, especially in Europe, and they don't need an incubator to thrive. What they need is refutation. Keeping him out of the spotlight denies supporters of Israel the chance to offer the antidote to his poison. Your serve. (PS -- Here's a good page of Mill's writings on free speech.) Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 6:19 PM (0 comments) Speaking of canceling lectures by lunaticsDoes anyone know why the Zogby talk was cancelled?Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Steven Menashi at 3:11 PM (0 comments) Tea and KrumpetsSo Emmett writes, "And he quotes a pithy faculty member who says, 'we don't have to invite the Ku Klux Klan to tea, either.' Well, I say: why not?" which seems to indicate that we do, in fact, have to invite the Ku Klux Klan to tea. That strikes me as plain silly, quite apart from the question of what "grain of truth" Emmett hopes to discover while sipping Earl Grey with the Grand Dragon.On Paulin, Emmett, you write, "He's not prurient or vulgar, just stupid." But it seems to me that the question of his intelligence is not trivial when we're talking about his fitness to lecture at a premier academic institution, which should be, after all, devoted to exploring "the best that has been thought and said," not what even you characterize as "stupid" and "worthless views." In describing Paulin as stupid, you note: "indeed, his is an all-too-common position in academia, alas." But I'm not really sure why you add the "alas," since you think the academy benefits from stupid and intelligent views alike, and that universities must never insist on any sort of academic standards in the work they sponsor and produce. Well, that's also silly; it would constitute a total abdication of the university's role. A university isn't supposed to be an incubator for ideas too stupid and insane to find a platform anywhere in the real word, and universities are moving in that direction precisely because college administrators are increasingly unwilling to judge substandard scholarship as such. So, when you ask, "Should David Duke's regrettable views disqualify him from speaking on a college campus?" I say "yes," and if the Government Department happened to invite Duke to lecture on "Global Struggle against Zionism" or "Israeli Involvement in September 11," I would urge James Wright to rescind the invitation and cancel the talk. Otherwise, Dartmouth would expose itself as an intellectually bankrupt institution. As to whether Paulin's lunatic tendencies "don't really pop up in his poetry," you should read the "poem" at the top of the article to which you link below. And, as someone who thinks American Jews living in Israel are "Nazis," Paulin could certainly make a lecture "about World War II" pretty darn crazy. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Steven Menashi at 2:53 PM (0 comments) Thune Concedes in South DakotaDamn!Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 2:53 PM (0 comments) Real censorship at HarvardFrom the Crimson:The editor-in-chief of The Harbus, the weekly student paper for the Harvard Business School (HBS), resigned suddenly last Wednesday to protest what he called threatening action on the part of the HBS administration. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 12:44 PM (0 comments) Reparations Op-Ed in the DIn a weak op-ed, Pamela A. Hairston (?) mentions "illegal laws." She also closes with the sentence, "Peace and love, my fellow Americans; remember, we're all in this together." In the words of Dr. Stanley Ridgely of the Collegiate Network, "There is no 'we.' There is no 'together.' Get lost, loser."Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:42 PM (0 comments) More on PaulinHere's Paulin's interview in Egypt's Al-Ahram, from April 2002.Here's an article by Tom Gross from NRO. Gross actually believes that Paulin's interview amounts to illegal incitement to terrorism. What a crock. Also, he quotes a pithy faculty member who says, "we don't have to invite the Ku Klux Klan to tea, either." Well, I say: why not? (That being said, his assessment of Paulin's idiotic views as indicative of a resurgence in European anti-Semitism is quite accurate.) Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 12:28 PM (0 comments) LastlyHere's a great piece from Chris Curran '03 on the College's boondoggles.[Grossman adds: As I wrote this past weekend, "If the new Dean of Pluralism Tommy Woon has to mop floors to save money to keep Paddock open a few hours longer on weekends, then I'm all for it."] Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 11:45 AM (0 comments) HilarityThe D has a story about a panel discussion last night called "Shut the Fuck Up," and billed, without irony, as "a forum for 'topics that aren't talked about on a daily basis but should be.'"Commented panelist Alexis McGuinness '03, "I denounce fraternities and sororities on this campus.... They are a refuge for a single mentality." Cf. here, here, here, and, ultimately, here. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 11:34 AM (0 comments) More on PaulinI do indeed hope that you are part of the choir on this one, Menashi. You say that the College should not, in the name of academic freedom, allocate its funds to events that are explicitly prurient or vulgar, and that have no redeeming intellectual value. Fair enough; although freedom of speech extends to any viewpoint, whether or not scarce dollars will be allocated to that speech is a matter of resource distribution, which -- at a liberal arts college -- does require some prioritization, even topical prioritization. As long as the sincere justification is that the money is better spent elsewhere (and not because other views are better), I'm happy to have it thus spent.Now, I'm not sure if I would have invited him in the first place. Perhaps there's information I don't have on him. But it seems to me that he's just stridently anti-Israel. He's not prurient or vulgar, just stupid (indeed, his is an all-too-common position in academia, alas). He seems to have made some extremely intemperate remarks in a Cairo daily (surprise, surprise), but those remarks alone are the only real impetus for disinviting him, and frankly we need to keep a certain tolerance for what is likely to be hyperbolic speech. Remember how the Dems tried to make hay out of John Ashcroft's remarks in Southern Partisan? Although there's a huge difference in magnitude between what was said (Ashcroft said nothing even remotely like what Paulin said, and was right, to boot), it's pretty much the same beast. I really think that the opposition to his appearance hangs on a pretty thin reed. I don't think that his remarks merit automatic disqualification (let's see what Harold Bloom is doing first), but they certainly don't justify retracting the invitation. The simple fact is that he was invited. He was only disinvited (it's true that he assented) when people criticized his selection. And, reports The Harvard Crimson, only about one hundred people objected. One hundred! That's a perilously low threshold of tolerance for views we dislike. (What's more, the protesters appealed to Harvard's speech code and they demanded an environment free from racism. That's patent balderdash.) I'm sure you could have found one hundred people to kaibosh the Lincoln-Douglas debates. On any college campus, you can find one hundred people to object to William F. Buckley. On many college campuses, they have done more to silence Dinesh D'Souza with even fewer people. Should David Duke's regrettable views disqualify him from speaking on a college campus? Should Noam Chomsky's? Should Yasser Arafat's? Should Pat Buchanan's? What's more, all these folks would probably have been discussing their controversial views on the topic in contention; with Paulin, all we knew was that it would be about World War II. These objectionable views don't really pop up in his poetry, reports The Crimson, and hence it's unlikely that they would pop up in his reading. I doubt it would have borne out, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. His reading could have been pedestrian, for all we know. But now we'll never know. Retracting an invitation because of something that was said is never justified; but retracting an invitation for something that seems incidental to the speaker's thought, rather than essential to it, is sheer lunacy. There is both humility and confidence in allowing speech like this. The humility comes from ceding that even seemingly worthless views might hold a grain of truth, and that this possibility compels us to allow the speech. The confidence comes from acknowledging that, in the free marketplace of ideas, truly worthless views can be revealed for what they are: truly worthless views. The pro-Israel position, I think, is strong enough to win the day on its own merits, and does not need to rely on censorship. Refutation and moral condemnation are better tools. This kind of a heckler's veto is immensely damaging to free speech at Harvard; the chilling effect will be great indeed. The English Department's first impulse -- to have a post-reading discussion (i.e., to meet bad speech with better speech) -- would have been perfect. Alas, that doesn't seem to have been enough. The protesters wanted his head on a platter, and they got it. An English major was quoted in The Crimson: �It would have been interesting to see a point of view that you don�t get in the U.S." Hear, hear. I might add, in conclusion: I didn't know until this morning that Paulin is Irish. That is a disgrace. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 10:08 AM (0 comments) This would be funNow up on Drudge:SIGNS POINT TO BOSTON FOR 2004 CONVENTION Tue Nov 12 2002 21:01:55 ET The final decision on the date and city of the 2004 Democratic National Convention rests with party chairman Terry McAuliffe -- but Boston sure thinks it has it wrapped up! The DRUDGE REPORT has previewed a story set for Page Ones in Wednesday's BOSTON GLOBE which claims the involvement of Senator Edward M. Kennedy has brought it home. "Kennedy spearheaded efforts to raise the necessary private funding," reports the GLOBE's Glen Johnson in an exclusive. It would be the first presidential nominating convention of a major party held in Boston, as well as the largest conference in the city's history. MORE "Detroit, Miami, and New York also bid for the convention, with New York thought to be Boston's closest competitor. Over the weekend, McAuliffe told both New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Charles Schumer that the city had undercut its bid by failing to get private cash pledges toward its convention budget, and by refusing to stop seeking the Republican National Convention if it were awarded the Democratic meeting, some of the parties said." According to the parties involved in the discussions, Miami and Detroit failed to come up with fat cash pledges. And New York faces a budget deficit of $1 billion, with projections it could balloon. "Party officials are concerned that they could be blamed if a city had to cut budgets in one area to deliver on its cash commitment for the convention, one individual said." Impacting... **Filed By Matt Drudge... Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 1:54 AM (0 comments) CN Conference 2002This past Thurs.-Sun. at the Washington Court Hotel in D.C. Some highlights:Larry falling asleep during dinner speech by Bill Gertz of the Washington Times, despite a CN staffer's attempt to wake him. Former Ambassador to the UN Jeanne Kirkpatrick surprisingly with it. She was fully impressed with the UN Security Council's unanimous 15-0 vote on the Iraq resolution, which she called "strong." Also surprisingly with it was Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute. Funny/disturbing stories about Italy and Iran. Fred Barnes turned us down for drinks, despite the brilliant pick-up line: "Hey, how about a beer with a couple of Dartmouth guys?" Barnes said that fellow Beltway Boy Mort Kondracke '60 "didn't get an education at Dartmouth. He didn't even go to class much. But the eldest of his daughters went so..." Former Reagan security guy Roger Robinson was touting a plan for universities to divest from companies doing business with terrorist-sponsoring states. Other enjoyable speeches from the Heritage Foundation's Ariel Cohen and Steve Hayes of the Weekly Standard. Irish Times, the main Georgetown Law hangout, was ragey. I had the pleasure of swing-dancing with some obese Nebraskans. Another inebriated Nebraskan in their company kept talking about how he's a high-school principal and wrote recommendations for several current Dartmouth students. Another bar, My Brother's Place, had $12 all-you-can-drink draft beer. Apparently, it's usually just $10 Drank bourbon with Bryan Auchterlonie of CN; trust me, he's cool. But the highlight among highlights: lunch with Mr. Steven Menashi Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 12:52 AM (0 comments) Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor Verizon...When a week straight of rain makes all the telephone lines in your house sound like a 15-year old cassette tape left in a hot car too long and you can only dial-in to the Internet at 2400 bps, remember Blitzlite (or use that login form to the right of the screen). There is simply no better way to check your Blitzmail when the idiots at the local telephone monopoly decide to cut you off from the world for a week or more.Of course, some things are still worth wasting bandwidth on, even if not very much. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 12:30 AM (0 comments) Tuesday, November 12, 2002sic or what?Saith the Daily D:"Ultimately, being a minority at Dartmouth is difficult," and it's only natural for minority students to desire the comfort of socializing with those of the same background, [Ann Chang '03, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma] said.I agree entirely; that's why I enjoy hanging out with my white friends so much. Don't get mad: Miss Chang and I aren't racists at all. Racial segregation can be multicultural. After all (from the same article), "Part of diversity is treating people differently," [Leah Wright '03, Alpha Kappa Alpha president] explained.I really hope that Chang and Wright were both horribly misquoted by the D and that we'll be reading livid letters to the editor from them tomorrow. But I kinda doubt it. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 11:31 PM (0 comments) Help a Reviewer Out~ when was the last time no one rushed the field at Homecoming?Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by alex at 10:02 PM (0 comments) U.S. "Senator" in BahrainThe Discover Islam Center in Bahrain has found a "mainstream [American] politician" who "is a well-known critic of the Zionist lobby in the U.S.," and they have sponsored his four-day visit to Bahrain. Cynthia McKinney? Nope. Jim McDermott? No. David Bonior?David Duke. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Rollo at 9:01 PM (0 comments) On PaulinI sincerely hope you are not preaching to the choir, Emmett. I remember when the Review editorialized on Dartmouth's "Sex Series" two years ago, our position was that a serious academic institution should not be hosting lectures called "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence." Nor, the Review wrote on another occasion, should the academy tolerate dishonest scholarship, such as Holocaust denial and I, Rigoberta Menchu, in the interest of academic freedom -- a doctrine which aims to safeguard the quest for truth, not to allow nutjobs to prattle on about their lunatic political causes. A poetry reading by Tom Paulin, who, among other things, advocates the murder of Jews in Israel, also falls under the general category of "insane crap that shouldn't pass for respectable scholarship." Harvard does not need to ban all discussion of Paulin's work from campus, but no academic institution can sponsor and promote his appearance within its walls and still be taken seriously or considered respectable.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Steven Menashi at 5:20 PM (0 comments) Time-bombDoes anyone else love the countdown clock on Fox News? I only wish they had accompanying graphics... say laser designators on a picture of Dictator, err... President, Hussein. Or they could label it "Countdown to Freedom."Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Christian at 4:05 PM (0 comments) Shame, ShameNo one who read what I posted regarding that earlier Summers imbroglio will be surprised when I say that this latest turn of events in the Tom Paulin affair is not good. Michael Sevi reports that the English Department there "sincerely regret [sic] the widespread consternation that has arisen as a result of this invitation." Now, assuming I understand all the facts correctly, I have this to say: on a college campus, consternation is not only a good thing -- it is essential. What good is a speaker who doesn't challenge views, mention the unmentionable, advocate what is, to you, anathema? The idea that mere "consternation" is enough for an event to be withdrawn is shocking and appalling. It's called a heckler's veto, folks. And it does not bode well for free and robust expression at Harvard.Besides: if what he's reported to have said is true, then the refutation of his viewpoints is easy as pie. Why not resort to that, rather than the heavy (and dead) hand of censorship? I assume I'm speaking to the choir here, mostly. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 2:24 PM (0 comments) Re: The Beauty of PoetryMichael Sevi '02 send in an update on Tom Paulin's Harvard appearance:Announcement: By mutual consent of the poet and the English Department, the Morris Gray poetry reading by Tom Paulin, originally scheduled for Thursday, November 14th, will not take place. The English Department sincerely regret theI wonder if Lawrence Summers had anything to do with this, given his speech earlier this year on intellectual leftist anti-Zionism too-often being a front for anti-Semitism. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 1:38 PM (0 comments) HumorFrom The Weekly Standard... The Nov. 6 edition of The New York Times.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 1:11 PM (0 comments) Lastly...FIRE throws its hat in the ring on fraternities! Yay!Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 10:39 AM (0 comments) What Goes Around, Comes AroundThe Dems are suffering from that vision thing, a new poll says...Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 10:35 AM (0 comments) Diversity at DartmouthHere's a piece from The New York Times that features Dartmouth predominantly. It's an article about diversity training on college campuses. True to its reflexive inclinations, the Times sees only the politically correct handwringing it feels is necessary when addressing issues of race -- and completely ignores any alternative views. Where is there room for a critique of multiculturalism? Where is there room for a critique of affirmative action, or of the notion that some interior quality derives from race? No, the Times -- along with, sad to say, Dartmouth -- mutters tired old pieties and creaky shibboleths, in what amounts to a puff piece for the multi-culti mavens.The article also notes the ideological boot camp that makes up Dartmouth's UGA training. (For those of you who know me, you know that I've seen this slop first-hand; those who read The Dartmouth Review know about it second-hand.) "Training for staff members includes workshops in which they are asked to think of Dartmouth in terms of classism, racism and sexism, and then to make recommendations for improvements. They are also told to find ways to incorporate those suggestions into their own lives." The goal, the College claims, is to increase what it calls "cultural competence." Social engineering at its finest, ladies and gentlemen: the College wants your soul. The article cites the "ghetto party" of a few years back as justification for promoting diversity. It is unfortunate that the issue has been thus framed, but the fault lies heavily with those who opposed the racial McCarthyism of that event. They never stood up to those calling for the scalps -- er, heads -- of the "racists." Consequently, the media was in a tizzy, and papers like the Times were able to frame the question as an issue of racism, rather than one on free speech. A crucial lesson is to be learned from this -- though, to judge from subsequent flaps, it has not been learned at all. One last thing. "The white students are friendly in a superficial sort of way," says a Dartmouth senior, Deanne Battle, who is black. One wonders how such a racist comment would fly were a white student saying it about a black student. But I think we all know the answer to that one. For the last word on the issue of thought reform that passes in the guise of diversity training, see Alan Charles Kors' "Thought Reform 101" from Reason Magazine. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Emmett at 10:21 AM (0 comments) Monday, November 11, 2002Update on the AssultS&S refused to confirm the race of the male, because God forbid we make a rapist feel uncomfortable by assigning him a race, but HP confirms (via the Valley News) that the assailant was in fact white.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Rollo at 4:24 PM (0 comments) The beauty of poetry Among other things, he opined that the US-born Jewish settlers should be shot dead. "They are Nazis, racists," he said, adding - unnecessarily, you might argue - "I feel nothing but hatred for them." He also pronounced that the state of Israel had no right to exist, that Tony Blair's government was "Zionist", and that the suicide bombers were an expression of "deep injustice and tragedy".Paulin will be at Harvard on Thursday. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 4:03 PM (0 comments) Maybe Lee ain't so badAn excerpt from this statement by Columbia president (and former Dartmouth so-and-so) Lee Bollinger:Recently, some Columbia and Barnard faculty formed a committee and launched a petition campaign demanding that Columbia University divest from all companies that produce or sell arms or other military hardware to Israel... As President of Columbia, however, I want to state clearly that I will not lend any support to this proposal. The petition alleges human rights abuses and compares Israel to South Africa at the time of apartheid, an analogy I believe is both grotesque and offensive. Right on! Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 3:54 PM (0 comments) More on the Sexual AssultNot that I know anything more about it, but allow me some speculation.1. The male is a Dartmouth student (but not a Tabardite) -He's not in Tabard because he'd be busted by now (brilliant deduction, I know) -He's not a townie because I doubt anyone from town would be in a basement at 4am without any of his friends -He's not a thru-hiker because the season's over -He's not a visiting student from Harvard or something because they tend to hang out with their host -By my math that makes him a Dartmouth student 2. This was on the serious end of the vague term "sexual assult" -If it was some drunk dipshit who tried to stick his hand up her shirt, he'd have turned himself in. Better to do that than be recognized walking across the Green six months from now. -If it is more serious, he'll run like there's no tomorrow because HP will track him down like the POS he is. 3. He's shaved his goatee -If he is a student, he's got nowhere to run to. If I'm right about the second part, then this guy is the scum of the earth and should be taken out back and shot in the face. If I'm right about the first part, then he's living in your dorm. I don't want to start a TIPS program or anything, but this ain't tough people: if your neighbor just shaved his goatee and bleached his hair... 646-2234 (S&S) 643-2222 (HP). Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Rollo at 3:06 PM (0 comments) Sunday, November 10, 2002Sexual Assult on CampusS&S is reporting a case of sexual assult that allegedly occured Friday night/Saturday morning at 4:00am in the basement of Tabard. "Description of the male is 5'10" - 6'0", fair complexion, short dark hair, muscular build, dark goatee or short beard, wearing a shirt with yellow markings." Apparently HP is coming up with a composite sketch of the guy which "will be distributed." This has been posted on the S&S blitz bulletin, and I understand that all frat/sorority presidents have been directly informed by S&S.Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Rollo at 8:36 PM (0 comments) It could always be worse While Dartmouth students and faculty will certainly miss the eightly or so staff positions that President Wright has said may need to be cut, especially those from the libraries, at least they will be better off than those at or attending Duke, which may cut up to ten percent of its faculty over the next three years, accoring to the NY Times. Still, much of the pain in Hanover has been and will be self-inflicted. College administrators, in the boom days of only a few years ago, considered projected ten percent annual gains on the endowment to be "a conservative number," according to Provost Barry Scherr. With the benefit of hindsight, it's obvious that "wildy over-optimistic" would have been nearer the truth. Equally obvious is the lack of foresight in announced budget cuts. While academic departments and resources are feeling the squeeze, too many inessential College programs have maintained the funding that they gained in the late-Nineties. As Mr. Clark has asked, how much College funding continues to flow to programs that impact the College's educational mission marginally at best? Would shuttering Collis, for example, or severely restricting its expenditures, free enough funds to keep the Sherman and Sanborn libraries open and their staffs employed. If so, it would be a more than fair trade, although, unfortunately, one the College is unlikely to undertake or even consider. What about the several employees of the Women's Resource Center (or whatever it's being called this year)? I think the Dartmouth community could make do with a few fewer seminars on masturbation and a few more librarians. Again unfortunately, we will probably never know. If the new Dean of Pluralism Tommy Woon has to mop floors to save money to keep Paddock open a few hours longer on weekends, then I'm all for it. A College's library -- not any dean's office -- is the heart of its campus. These priorities matter, and to save them so much else can be easily jettisoned: If Wyclef Jean and the Jurrassic 5 don't do College-sponsored shows this year, that's fine. Summer Carnival: who needs it? And, while we're at it, why not can the "Big A$$" party, too. I don't know how much cable television costs the College, but it's hardly an essential service. Tuck can probably put off construction for a bit longer of another building of luxury dorm rooms... ...and so can the College. Many students actually enjoy living off campus, probably for the same reasons that the College is making it more difficult to do so. If Tommy Woon knows how to work a leaf blower, that could shave a few dollars off of the Facilities budget. The next time you're waiting for help at the reference desk, remember that every little bit counts. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 8:27 PM (0 comments) Say what?Dartmouth Government professor Linda Fowler, on New Hampshire politics, to the Globe: "The income tax is a very symbolic issue in this state. It really resonates with voters."Symbolic? It's a bit more than symbolic when you're being asked to pay it. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 8:05 PM (0 comments) New SEC commissioner is Dartmouth alumMark Slive takes on a tough job.No, it's not that SEC. Full post and comments below the fold. Posted by Andrew Grossman at 5:08 PM (0 comments) WebbFrank Webb posts on the Observer several reasons why Roe v. Wade does not face a threat from potential Bush SC nominees. He's right, but the reason is much simpler than he makes it out to be: Bush is up for reelection in 2 years.Full post and comments below the fold. 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