Corey Robin
16 May at 09:09 ·
I know this headline and the story it tells are terrible, a sign of just how bad things are and how much worse is to come. But, still, you have to laugh. Here we are, in the middle of this great rallying of society on behalf of beleaguered universities fending off this tetchy administration, and the leaders of NYU, so terrified of this sweet beautiful student, their commencement speaker, who had the temerity
to refer to "the atrocities currently happening in Palestine," and,
so, naturally, is having his diploma revoked.
NYU declared today that it "strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School’s graduation today—one of over 20 school graduation ceremonies across our campus—to misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views." And just in case anyone was unclear about how upset NYU is, they added this:
NYU declared today that it "strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School’s graduation today—one of over 20 school graduation ceremonies across our campus—to misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views." And just in case anyone was unclear about how upset NYU is, they added this:
"NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.”
Oh, poor audience, poor parents, poor students, subjected to remarks like these, having their moment stolen.
Like I said, you have to laugh.
I think back to all those giants who spoke at graduations past, how lionized they were, by the media, by university leaders, by presidents, for what they said, speaking truth to power and all that.
Oh, poor audience, poor parents, poor students, subjected to remarks like these, having their moment stolen.
Like I said, you have to laugh.
I think back to all those giants who spoke at graduations past, how lionized they were, by the media, by university leaders, by presidents, for what they said, speaking truth to power and all that.
There was...
Solzhenitsyn at Harvard in 1978, saying this:
Solzhenitsyn at Harvard in 1978, saying this:
"A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days....Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society."
Susan Sontag, declared a pariah for telling the truth after 9/11, invited to Vassar, where she said this:
Susan Sontag, declared a pariah for telling the truth after 9/11, invited to Vassar, where she said this:
"It’s hard not to be afraid. Be less afraid." And this: "Despise violence. Despise national vanity and self-love.” And this: “Try to imagine at least once a day that you are not an American. Go even further: try to imagine at least once a day that you belong to the vast, the overwhelming majority of people on this planet who don't have passports, don't live in dwellings equipped with both refrigerators and telephones, who have never even once flown in a plane.”
Or Salman Rushdie, still in the flush of the fatwa, invited to speak at Bard, where he said this:
Or Salman Rushdie, still in the flush of the fatwa, invited to speak at Bard, where he said this:
"Since I have come to believe that such defiance is an inevitable and essential aspect of what we call freedom, I thought I might commend it to you. For in the years to come you will find yourselves up against gods of all sorts, big and little gods, corporate and incorporeal gods, all of them demanding to be worshipped and obeyed - the myriad deities of money and power, of convention and custom, that will seek to limit and control your thoughts and lives. Defy them; that's my advice to you. Thumb your noses; cock your snooks. For, as the myths tell us, it is by defying the gods that human beings have best expressed their humanity."
Oh, but the students, the parents, the Israelis.
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All reactions:1.1KYou and 1.1K others
Qamar-ul Huda
So speeches, OP-Eds in student newspapers, personal blogs, the books we read or the books in libraries are more of a threat to our national security than cabinet members using Signal to share military operations & classified information with family members?
Whisper Stone
I graduated from NYU and also worked for the NYU Law School (law clinic) and despite getting my bachelor's degree there and being an excellent employee, the law school went after me when I refused to take copyright notices off of documents that were created by my immediate boss for her job. This is called "work for hire" and copyright is usually retained by the employer (not the one who makes the documents), so NYU was within their rights to claim copyright but I refused to be the one removing the copyright notices. I told them to work it out and not put me in that position. It was done without my immediate boss knowing it -- well, she was removed actually and her job was taken by my new immediate boss, who was the one who told me to do this.
Very long story but they basically f***ed me over and whatever good opinion I might have had of NYU or the law school or those in charge, that is gone.
This was one tiny incident in a large well-known private university but I also had a bad experience at New School University in NYC, where I taught for ten years and was dropped without notice, though my course was extremely popular. Probably partly b/c I was involved in efforts to unionize adjunct faculty.
The recent caving in by universities to Trump EO's (or whatevers) just seems to me to be par for the course. Maybe it's good that the true character of these university trustees or whoever is in charge actually is coming to light finally.
1d
Like
Edited
==
Qamar-ul Huda
So speeches, OP-Eds in student newspapers, personal blogs, the books we read or the books in libraries are more of a threat to our national security than cabinet members using Signal to share military operations & classified information with family members?
1d
Whisper Stone
I graduated from NYU and also worked for the NYU Law School (law clinic) and despite getting my bachelor's degree there and being an excellent employee, the law school went after me when I refused to take copyright notices off of documents that were created by my immediate boss for her job. This is called "work for hire" and copyright is usually retained by the employer (not the one who makes the documents), so NYU was within their rights to claim copyright but I refused to be the one removing the copyright notices. I told them to work it out and not put me in that position. It was done without my immediate boss knowing it -- well, she was removed actually and her job was taken by my new immediate boss, who was the one who told me to do this.
Very long story but they basically f***ed me over and whatever good opinion I might have had of NYU or the law school or those in charge, that is gone.
This was one tiny incident in a large well-known private university but I also had a bad experience at New School University in NYC, where I taught for ten years and was dropped without notice, though my course was extremely popular. Probably partly b/c I was involved in efforts to unionize adjunct faculty.
The recent caving in by universities to Trump EO's (or whatevers) just seems to me to be par for the course. Maybe it's good that the true character of these university trustees or whoever is in charge actually is coming to light finally.
1d
Edited
Oh, but the students, the parents, the Israelis.
See less
All reactions:1.1KYou and 1.1K others
Qamar-ul Huda
So speeches, OP-Eds in student newspapers, personal blogs, the books we read or the books in libraries are more of a threat to our national security than cabinet members using Signal to share military operations & classified information with family members?
Whisper Stone
I graduated from NYU and also worked for the NYU Law School (law clinic) and despite getting my bachelor's degree there and being an excellent employee, the law school went after me when I refused to take copyright notices off of documents that were created by my immediate boss for her job. This is called "work for hire" and copyright is usually retained by the employer (not the one who makes the documents), so NYU was within their rights to claim copyright but I refused to be the one removing the copyright notices. I told them to work it out and not put me in that position. It was done without my immediate boss knowing it -- well, she was removed actually and her job was taken by my new immediate boss, who was the one who told me to do this.
Very long story but they basically f***ed me over and whatever good opinion I might have had of NYU or the law school or those in charge, that is gone.
This was one tiny incident in a large well-known private university but I also had a bad experience at New School University in NYC, where I taught for ten years and was dropped without notice, though my course was extremely popular. Probably partly b/c I was involved in efforts to unionize adjunct faculty.
The recent caving in by universities to Trump EO's (or whatevers) just seems to me to be par for the course. Maybe it's good that the true character of these university trustees or whoever is in charge actually is coming to light finally.
1d
Like
Edited
==
Qamar-ul Huda
So speeches, OP-Eds in student newspapers, personal blogs, the books we read or the books in libraries are more of a threat to our national security than cabinet members using Signal to share military operations & classified information with family members?
1d
Whisper Stone
I graduated from NYU and also worked for the NYU Law School (law clinic) and despite getting my bachelor's degree there and being an excellent employee, the law school went after me when I refused to take copyright notices off of documents that were created by my immediate boss for her job. This is called "work for hire" and copyright is usually retained by the employer (not the one who makes the documents), so NYU was within their rights to claim copyright but I refused to be the one removing the copyright notices. I told them to work it out and not put me in that position. It was done without my immediate boss knowing it -- well, she was removed actually and her job was taken by my new immediate boss, who was the one who told me to do this.
Very long story but they basically f***ed me over and whatever good opinion I might have had of NYU or the law school or those in charge, that is gone.
This was one tiny incident in a large well-known private university but I also had a bad experience at New School University in NYC, where I taught for ten years and was dropped without notice, though my course was extremely popular. Probably partly b/c I was involved in efforts to unionize adjunct faculty.
The recent caving in by universities to Trump EO's (or whatevers) just seems to me to be par for the course. Maybe it's good that the true character of these university trustees or whoever is in charge actually is coming to light finally.
1d
Edited
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