At Indiana University, Kim Morris-Newson, an associate director for the Office of Community and School Partnerships, was told there was a hiring freeze for a position above her. But IU later hired a white woman for the job without posting the position, her lawsuit said.
Also at IU, former education professor Ray Haynes said he was unfairly denied tenure. Haynes recently lost his case, with a judge ruling against him, but his attorney said he plans to appeal.
According to the suit, Haynes was hired as part of a diversity initiative but felt like an outsider, surrounded by people who didn't look like him and didn't reach out to him.
He believed he was on track to earn tenure, his lawsuit said. When he applied, he went through a convoluted process, where he said some of his choices of reviewers were turned down, so he was evaluated by people unfamiliar with his area of study — mentoring people of color.I make no comment on the merits of these suits, but I do feel a bit for IU, which appears to be getting flack from both sides. Here is the Indianapolis Star's Conservative House Organ Tim Swarens with his "fairly" titled column, "How a Young Conservative Navigates Liberal IU":
So one day, when an English professor called out students in class for not being more active in liberal causes, Chambers had to decide whether to challenge the instructor's assumptions. He chose, probably wisely, to stay quiet.
"You have professors here or there who are hostile to your world view. Some professors will go out of their way to insult conservatives and Republicans. That's their right; the classroom is not a democracy," Chambers said. "You just try to get through it, and you hope it won't have an effect on grades."So, to combine these stories, IU is being lambasted for being TOO liberal and for not being liberal enough. Huh.
As to the apologist Swaren's column, I note a few important details.
First, the student highlighted is a student at the Kelley School of Business at IU. I also note that his complaint is about an English professor. Does the subject of this column have anything to say about the overwhelming conservative bent of the business school? I know numerous IU business grads, and they all say they same thing: the B-school is very conservative. This is unsurprising, given that conservatives who deify the free market tend to want to be a part of that free market. Contrarily, I was an English Education major in undergrad. Is it any surprise that people who are willing to work for peanuts and are happy to be critical of abstract notions in literature tend to be liberal? Is it any surprise that liberals are less swayed by the rewards of capitalism than conservatives, and thus choose their career paths accordingly? Is this just more Conservative/Affirmative Action whining?
Second, I note that there are not columns about the cold slap in the face that is the professional world. Here is a tip for anyone out there who hasn't learned it yet: your boss doesn't care about your 1st Amendment rights, and they don't apply to him. If I was your boss and wanted to fire you for voting Republican, I am within my rights to do so. If my boss wants to fire me because I'm a snarky liberal, or a Cubs fan, he can do so. I have yet to read a column about some poor idealistic liberal who was forced to temper his/her views about the world to avoid enraging his/her conservative boss.
Third, as to those who are suing IU . . . come on. I am a supporter of civil rights, as I should hope goes without saying. I support the Fair Housing Act, Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Acts, etc. However, when these get pushed to their illogical extreme, you tend to turn people off. I have defended a few civil rights cases, and I can state categorically that my clients did nothing wrong nor did they intend to do anything wrong. Nonetheless, their good names got drug through the mud all because someone decided that suing was a better option for getting money than working.
Just because someone got fired within a year of filing her third worker's compensation claim does not mean that she was retaliated against. Just because she got fired within a year of making her third unsubstantiated sexual harassment claim does not mean that she was retaliated against. Just because you are required to comply with the terms of your lease, mortgage, neighborhood covenant, zoning laws, etc., does not mean that you were denied fair access to housing.
As to the article about IU . . . just because you got turned down for a job AND happen to be black/female/gay/(insert protected group here) does not mean that you were turned down for the job because you are a member of the protected group.
As I've said many times before: I am an equal-opportunity hater.
No comments:
Post a Comment