Category: Diversity

When Subtle Brain Washing Doesn’t Work..... GO BIG. Enter the “OPPRESSION TUNNEL."

10/24/2016

Have you ever read about, watched, or heard of a program called Scared Straight? If not, the idea was simple. Juvenile delinquents were taken to a prison and the biggest, ugliest prisoners would yell at them....curse them....and tell them all of the nasty things they would do to them if they continued their life of crime.

Brilliant, right? We can simply scare the hell out of kids to make them behave....especially those with conduct disorder or anti-social personalities.

Well, the research on the program failed to show much of a positive effect. Most studies showed null effects, a few showed increases in recidivism, and some showed the program reduced recidivism. Call it a cathartic expression of discontent that really didn’t make a difference.

Who knew that Scared Straight would be embraced by the diversity crowd? Seriously? Who knew? Because I thought yelling at people, calling them racist names, and belittling them was kind of frowned upon on most campuses.

Apparently not......or not any more.......or not if the right group is yelling at the other right group.

Enter the “TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION."

I kid you not. UC, like other universities, is hosting a TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION, which includes “direct confrontation experiences.” Essentially part of the TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION includes students YELLING, YELLING, YELING at other students so, you know, they can “walk in the footsteps of others."

No longer content with merely brainwashing students in (fillintheblank) studies courses, mandatory diversity courses, or with imposing political litmus tests, UC has gone full CRAZY with the TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION.

I don’t blame students for this kind of stuff but I do blame faculty and those in the diversity office who peddle this kind of anti-intellectual mumbo jumbo.

Funny thing, you can slap a “diversity” label on verbal assault and all of a sudden it becomes a valuable learning experience.

Here you go............the TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION:

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Speaking of the Diversity Fraud

6/29/2016

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Harvard Business Review just published a piece on why diversity fails. The article was written by a Harvard sociologist and a professor from Israel so it’s going to be difficult for critics to say this is just a conservative hit piece.

YOU should read this article and look at the supporting documentation. There is actual evidence that diversity efforts often MAKE THINGS WORSE. They trigger biases, cultivate resentment, and make people less charitable.

The article can be found here: hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail

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Black Student Unions / White Student Unions....The Evidence Says.............?

12/17/2015

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Can we really escape the irony of some parts of the diversity movement? Seriously, step back away from it and ask yourself how we can simultaneously label racial and ethnic segregation as a bad thing--and it is sometimes--and then ask for more racial and ethnic segregation on campus?

Well, I’ve been looking for evidence on these things and what did I find? This article empirically shows that “ethnic enclaves” found on university campuses create increased social distance between groups. For whites these enclaves come in the form of frats/sororities, while for blacks they come in the form of “cultural centers,” frats/sororities, and some academic programs.

It seems that by talking to people JUST LIKE US creates further animosity, resentments, and distortions.

There is strong evidence that shows that humans desire being around others like themselves. There are important evolutionary reasons for this but the impulse for similarity is strong.

That said, we do not grow or learn or expand when we hang out with people JUST LIKE US.

I don’t have an axe to grind against Greek life or even against cultural centers. I’m sure there are benefits to each, including group cohesion, increased in-group trust, and social networking.

I think diversity operates best when it is organic. When people trust each other enough to talk freely, to joke around, to share, then most barriers can be broken down. Trust, however, is the ingredient most often overlooked by diversity advocates.

JPW

Here is the article:

1iyisb-sidanius_ethnicenclaves.pdf
File Size:	181 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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No Whites Need Apply

12/17/2015

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I actually prefer these adds because even though they are illegal, they are nonetheless honest.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/12/16/u-l-ripped-help-wanted-ad/77437116/

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You’ve Heard of Hashtag Morality, Now We Have Placemat Morality

12/17/2015

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Another storm brews at Harvard. This time it is not between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, but between which placemat is most correct. Yes, the great minds at Harvard--and there are many great minds at Harvard--have focused their attention on a subject so singularly important that Western civilization may fall if it is not addressed. What’s the issue, you ask?

How to talk to your family during Christmas break.

No kidding.

For those of you who don’t know, college students seemingly have to return home to their socially and politically backwards families--families who don’t understand the complexities of the world around them. To aid in this traumatic process, Harvard created a set of placemats that gave students “talking points” that could be used around the dinner table, under the mistletoe, or maybe even while opening presents.

Brought to you by the office of diversity and stupid ideas, the placemats provided tips on how to talk to stupid parents about student activism, Islamaphobia, and black crime.

If your house is like mine, these are the issues we discuss over Christmas dinner. I particularly enjoy discussing the finer points of Islamaphobia while my kids open presents. Nothing, after all, better reflects the spirit of Christmas than a discussion on prejudice.

If it seems like my sarcasm engine is revved up, then you have caught on.

The Harvard republicans pushed back and created their own placemats and some other students joined the chorus. Eventually, and to their credit, Harvard apologized saying their motives were good.

Let me state the obvious: This is what ideology looks like.

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7093

https://twitter.com/AaronHenricks/status/677196778249322497

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The Thorny Issue of Affirmative Action

12/14/2015

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As most readers of this blog know, the Supreme Court is now contemplating the thorny issues of affirmative action in university admissions.

I say it’s a thorny issue for a couple of reasons:

First, affirmative action means different things to different people. Many on the left, for example, see it as a mechanism to ensure fairness and as a mechanism to increase diversity. Both of these are admirable goals. Those on the right, however, typically view affirmative action policies as violating principles of fairness and they strongly suspect that they erode merit to the degree that they create and institutionalize discrimination. Both sides can be correct, of course.

Second, affirmative action can be done in a way that helps to ensure fairness and that broadcasts opportunities to minorities. Few, I think, are opposed to affirmative action done in this matter. However, affirmative action can also create substantive distortions in the admissions and hiring process. These distortions work to disrupt reasoned assessment of a candidate’s merit and potential or, worse, they can easily slide into quotas or mandates to hire.

Third, efforts to create diversity through affirmative action often result in supporters over-emphasizing the benefits of affirmative action and downplaying the costs. Perhaps this is to be expected. However, supporters often have to justify engaging in behaviors that would, under any other scenario, be classified as discriminatory. Now, I understand that discrimination comes in different flavors and that we can legally discriminate under certain conditions. Even so, there has to be a compelling state interest that justifies the discrimination. What happens, however, is that supporters of affirmative action often wish to deny that discrimination is sometimes part of the process. Instead, they engage in a remarkable level of deliberate intellectual obfuscation.

Finally, I’m reminded of a comment by Jonathan Haidt who said diversity can often be divisive. I’ve been thinking seriously about this for some time and will post something later. His point, however, highlights a fact that often goes unrecognized. Affirmative action sometimes generates a strong sense of injustice and unfairness amongst those who do not benefit from these policies. Perhaps the phrase “who do not benefit” is too shallow. Maybe I should be more accurate and say “who are excluded” by these policies. The point is, when universities practice exclusion in hiring or in student admissions they generate suspicion and animosity.

So, what about the data?

There are now a couple of studies that show that women applying to STEM positions in academia are preferred to male applicants by about 2:1. That is, hiring committees are predisposed to hire women STEM faculty over men.

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/17/5360.abstract

There are also several studies on the effects of affirmative action on law school admissions, university admissions, and student performance. These studies are rather remarkable in both detail and finding.

http://www2.law.ucla.edu/sander/Systemic/final/SanderFINAL.pdf

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jels.12007/abstract

http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/rcherry/documents/georgetownreview.pdf

Conservatives in academia want a diverse environment--indeed, we are an important and undervalued part of having a diverse university. When I think about it, we are likely one of the smallest minorities on campus. Yet how we arrive at a diverse environment is important.

I do not favor discrimination so I do not favor affirmative action for conservatives, even though there is compelling evidence that conservatives are discriminated against in many fields. At the same time, I do not favor discrimination for any other group or against any other group.

My advice to conservatives and to other minorities is always the same: Work hard. Study. Address your intellectual shortcomings. If you suck at math, take more math courses. If you need help with writing, take a course in writing. If you cannot get into Harvard, go someplace else. If your LSAT, GRE, SAT, ACT scores aren’t so good, study more and retake the test. Don’t expect to be admitted or hired because of your race, ideology, gender, hair color, sexual proclivities, background, or simply because your awesome.

Here is a post by Robert Cherry on the subject:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428442/university-affirmative-action-admissions-policies-toxic

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When Subtle Brain Washing Doesn’t Work..... GO BIG. Enter the “OPPRESSION TUNNEL."

Speaking of the Diversity Fraud

Black Student Unions / White Student Unions....The Evidence Says.............?

No Whites Need Apply

You’ve Heard of Hashtag Morality, Now We Have Placemat Morality

The Thorny Issue of Affirmative Action

John Paul Wright and Matt DeLisi

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