Interesting example of Political Correctness.

[Eidolon Faer]

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadAr ... p?ID=16550

Dissident Arab Gets the Treatment By A ... lobal.net.

[Mozmonar]

Well the professor was right about this...
America is not God's gift to the world.

[Ddrak]

It's a cleverly written piece of propoganda. I have extreme doubts things panned out the way he portrayed them. Without independant third party evaluation and cross references it's completely unknown what went on or what prompted the professor to recommend counselling for this student.

Frankly, this kid has no credibility.

Dd

[Partha]

So, basically, a kid who didn't do the required assignment (we covered this in the other thread) for an introductory course at a 2-year college files a challenge claiming all kinds of things in a 'he said-she said' type manner with no other witnesses or documentation.

Interesting.

[Ddrak]

Allegedly from one of Woolcock's former students (who is a self-described conservative):

http://www.invincibleironman.com/hube/m ... 00381.html

To Whom It May Concern:

As a previous student of Foothill College and as a Political Science major, I became extremely interested when I read the press release issued by the Foothill College Republicans on December 02, 2004. After having taken numerous courses in the field of Political Science at Foothill College, I have had the pleasure of taking more than one course with Dr. Joseph Woolcock. In each course, Dr. Woolcock was extremely Professional and caring.

Through the experience of these courses with him, I am very familiar with Dr. Woolcock. I take exception to the likelihood that he would have forwarded the argument that the Constitution was not progressive. In fact, my assessment of Dr. Woolcock suggests that he would strongly support the position that the document was indeed progressive.

The proposition that he would suggest that a student to seek a therapist because of their political views seems irrational and absurd based on my history with the Dr. I am positive that there must be an alternate explanation for the claimed referral to seek a therapist. He is not shy to confront a variety of views on multiple political topics. He has never, however, in my experience equated conflicting student opinions with their mental or psychological capacity. It is through this history that I must come to the conclusion that the asserted charges may be more of an attempt to divert attention from the reality that student in question may have failed to complete the work satisfactorily. I am certain that an objective review of the work in question may shed more insight into the merit of the claim.

As a consistently conservative student throughout my enrollment at Foothill College, all of my papers have been in the same sense, “Pro-American”, as Mr. Al-Qloushi claims resulted in his referral to a therapist by the Professor. My personal experience offers insight that the sheer presentation of conservative viewpoints in a thorough treatment provided no stimulus for Dr. Woolcock to lash out and make this level of personal attack. I was never referred to a therapist. I was often challenged to consider multiple viewpoints but my personal integrity and mental health were never denigrated.

I feel certain that what I will characterize as a disinformation campaign was orchestrated by Mr. Al-Qloushi and his handlers to discredit Dr. Woolcock in order to avert Mr. Al-Qloushi’s failures as well as promote a political agenda.


As a current Senior at UCLA, majoring in Political Science and History, what disturbs me the most regarding this claim, is knowing that my fellow students at Foothill College would make such an unsupported preposterous claim for a mere 5 minutes of fame.

Intellectual diversity should be protected and nurtured, however to base the fight for it on the ill conceived unsupported merits of Mr. Al-Qloushi’s claim is an astonishing disappointment to this alumnus!

*As a side note to the person who commented on Community College Professors not being of the academic elite, please examine their credentials prior to making the claim. A large portion of Professors at Foothill College are also current or past Professor at four-year institutions like CAL, Stanford, UCLA and Georgetown (to name a few). In addition, many are well-established researchers. Dr. Woolcock is among one of the many high-qualified Instructors at Foothill College.

Dd

[Burz]

I have extreme doubts things panned out the way he portrayed them.

Wouldn't suprise me though. I see this crap (although not to the extreme as to have it forcebly on the test to "prove my way of thinking correct") at my school a bit -- from both sides, although a bit more from 1 than the other .

[Ddrak]

Oh, don't get me wrong - I wouldn't doubt that Woolcock is a left leaning pol sci teacher. I'm going to take best though that Ahmed wrote something rather blinkered and naive in his exam and completely failed to address the question. Woolcock calls him in to discuss his paper and asks him to think of alternatives (probably something he does more to right wingers than left wingers). Ahmed flips out with his lines about America's selflessness etc. etc. and basically refuses to look at both sides of the political spectrum (something essential to succeed in a pol sci course). Kid probably has a lot of repressed anger - at least it seems that way from his writings. Teacher sees Ahmed flip out and tells him he should go see a counseller. Kid flips out about that too and goes wild with the media.

Overall, I don't think that test question was really too bad. The constitution was written by the wealthy elite of the time and I could see an argument along the lines that they probably wrote it to benefit themselves. Not a bad essay topic really for an exploration.

Dd

[Relbeek Einre]

Wait... wait.

You mean Front Page Magazine, that entirely credible news source founded by that unimpeachable bastion of objectivity, David Horowitz, jumped the gun on a story because it happened to agree with a particular political agenda?

You mean, this story's credibility is ... SUSPECT?

Say it isn't so!

[Klast Brell]

Analyze the US constitution (original document), and show how its formulation excluded the majority of the people living in America at that time, and how it was dominated by America's elite interest.”

Emphasis mine
At that time Article one section two clause three was in effect. http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons

So if the kid denies this because it causes him political dissonance then perhaps he does need mental help.

[Relbeek Einre]

Yeah, that's really not a part of a political agenda, that's just fact. Only landowning white males could vote at the dawn of our Constitution.

[Eidolon Faer]

Fascinating.

Not one of you bothered to say that "threatening him with deportation just because he disagreed with the professor, if true, would be wrong". Instead you flood-troll in the best Europa-Tribes fashion.

You will note, he was not graded on the paper. If his essay was poorly written or logically indefensible, a poor grade would have resulted and that would be the end of it.

Absolutely fascinating. I chose the perfect name for this thread.

[Ddrak]

Eid,

Do you really believe that he was threatened with deportation over an essay? Of course it's wrong to do that, but the chance it was done for the reasons described by this kid are fantastically remote.

What's just as interesting is your propogation of an obviously embellished story designed to attack the credibility of a professor that you know absolutely nothing about. Not *that* is something I certainly consider wrong. Of course, I take it you consider it just fine.

Isn't it better for a professor to discuss a paper with a poor student rather than failing them outright? Because we DON'T KNOW what was in the paper, it's entirely possible he wanted to hash out some of the student's views because polsci is hardly a completely objective subject.

Overall, if the title of the topic would be much better put as "Eid posts libelous material to prop his dead horse political agenda, once again".

Dd

[writher]

I would like to see a piece of paper or something written showing the assignment was exactly as he stated and also the student's written report.

Until then I would have to suspend judgement either way.

[Klast Brell]

I found the essay.

Unfortunately, barring miracles of research and investigation, we are never going to see:
The Dye and Zeigler source text Or a transcript of the actual conversation the student and the professor had.

So all we have to go on is that this is another “Students for Academic Freedom” editorial

I brought up this group in another thread. I also have to wonder how much of this text is true, given that the “throwing babies out of incubators” story has been proven to be fabricated.

OK a little research turns up the following. http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.o ... 121004.htm

Note that student claims “The final exam consisted solely of one required essay” Yet the source material labels the essay question “3.” So there is a good chance that that is another lie. Reading the essay shows that the student acknowledged the question then went on to write on a totally different topic. While it may be a stirring and patriotic piece of writing it does not answer the question.

[Ddrak]

Haha - that essay is a joke. Professor should have just flunked the kid outright but was probably worried that doing so may end up losing him the scholarship and deporting him.

I wouldn't even call it "stirring".

Dd

[Mozmonar]

I'd deport him for that awful essay.

It is through the efforts of America’s great leaders like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Delano Roosevelt, John F.
Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, current President Bush and most importantly the American troops who risked their lives for the freedom of America and the freedom of others that this country is so great and prosperous.

Is Frederick any relation to Franklin D. Roosevelt?

[Relbeek Einre]

heh. That essay is a joke.

Great leaders like US Grant? He's generally considered to be the worst President we ever had. (Well, unless you're a rabidly partisan Republican, in which case the worst President we ever had was Bill Clinton.) But that's just a nitpick.

The essay, as has already been noted, didn't address the question. It was pseudo-patriotic tripe about the modern era, and not a historical analysis of the Constitution.

There was bias in the question (should that question be real), but it was essentially factual. The Constitution upon its founding DID exclude the majority of the people living there from participating in the great experiment in democracy. We've come a long way since then, and we have much to be proud of. While, as the author contends, it may have been very progressive for its time, the essay's response had almost nothing to do with the question.

Frankly, I worry about the guy's sanity if he can't even stay focused on the question.

[Ddrak]

I was quaintly amused by "... the constitution of the United States was a progressive document for its time compared to the aristocratic monarchies of Western Europe (excluding Britain)." He continues to note how apparently all of Western Europe was worried by it, presumably except Britain.

Last I looked, most of Western Europe was pretty much in support or completely apathetic of the US at the time and the Brits were kinda worried enough to the point of being involved in this small altercation called the "American Revolution".

Sorry for posting again, but just reading that essay answer makes me laugh. I truly feel sorry for professors that have to deal with idiots like this one.

"CRITICALLY analyse" is the new pseudonym for "completely ignore".

Dd

[Aabe]

Great leaders like US Grant? He's generally considered to be the worst President we ever had. (Well, unless you're a rabidly partisan Republican, in which case the worst President we ever had was Bill Clinton.) But that's just a nitpick.
.

To be fair, I have heard many dems say that Bush is the worst ever.

[Relbeek Einre]

Touche', Aabe. It's a fair cop. Honestly, I don't know enough about Grant to make that determination myself, and Bush's got four more years, so the jury's still out.

I wonder if any rabid liberal-hater on the board is going to defend that laughable piece of tripe impersonating an essay and insist that it's still "political correctness" against this poor noble Arab immigrant who believes in the American dream, or if they're all going to be smart enough to swallow their collective pride and, well, not.