Here we see a perfect example of a deeply mediocre white man. His writing, which is frankly embarrassing, reveals that there's no possible way he has achieved his position by merit. It's understandable that he feels compelled to deny the existence of the very racism and sexism that makes it possible for him to hold this position for which he is so clearly unqualified.
He's a Christian who denys what Christ actually said and did. He's a constitutionalist who wants to compel prayer. He's the very model of a modern republican.
And now, as they so often do, he's going to ruin a good thing that other people built and then blame the thing for being broken. He will show no shame, no embarrassment, and will likely pay no consequences.
Sigh. This is, at best, a B paper in a high school English class about opinion writing taught by a mediocre teacher with low grading standards. It should not be mistaken for a well-researched, well-reasoned, or well-written piece of scholarship. (I suspect the author wouldn’t recognize such even if one chased him around a library and bit him on the ass.) Unfortunately, some people (honestly, more than I care to acknowledge at the moment) will mistake it for something more—something deeper—than it is: the unnecessarily-long-form version of musings-masquerading-as-deep-thoughts that are as shallow as a debate between button-pushing-dogs arguing in 30-second Insta reel about whether the backyard is for pee or water. (Serious question: How many words can you define while simultaneously demonstrating you have little to no understanding of those words or language or religion or history or sociology or critical analysis or critical reasoning—nevermind. Truly, it boggles the mind and is a feat that should only be attempted by the most naturally (or intentionally) obtuse.) Nevertheless, even dull blades can cut and shallow waters can drown, so I am not unaware that it is also a dangerous piece of writing in light of its author’s position and the social context in which he has written it. I have no doubt its release into the world will promote societal harm and inspire even greater declarations of ignorance and hubris and physical acts that result in the misfortune of many people. I believe in God, but I do not recognize the unflattering representations of God and the Christian faith that are expressly and/or implicitly presented in writings such as this. The God I serve is, among other things, love. I did not find or feel God in this piece. I found and felt hubris and smallness, a spirit of scarcity, mediocrity and a lack of rigor. My God has higher standards than what this piece achieves. Older folks folks say more simply, “God don’t like ugly.” Well, this piece is ugly.
Mr. Speir, I'm afraid you're looking for something that isn't actually present at New College. Some kind of "religion of wokeness" might exist at Harvard or at Emory, but it's simply not the way education takes place at New College.
The students often seem unusual because it's an unusual place. But part of the fiber of its existence is classical principles - students can follow any line of questioning and discover all of its implications for themselves.
The media likes talking about Derek Black and how he came there as the heir apparent of the white supremacist movement and then changed his mind about his prior beliefs. But it's important to point out that he felt comfortable going to New College in the first place, and in his own writing about his experience, points out that he was never in any danger of being expelled and never felt any academic pressure. Some students (not all) just pointed out that his arguments were wrong, and he examined that and came to agree. He was at home there, just as much as Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), or the numerous veterans, politicians, and members of the clergy who graduated from New College.
Please, before trying to change things, make sure you're not trying to fix whatain't broke or woke.
"One example of a dogmatic expression of wokeness is the assertion that America and its institutions are systemically racist and must be torn down."
You are looking through your telescope backwards. The effects of systemic racism are manifold and ongoing, having wasted countless lives. But to dismiss this understanding as dogmatic un-thought is basically to not think, but to label inaccurately a historical reality. Perhaps you would benefit from attending a performance of "Flyin' West" at the Westcoast Black Theater here in Sarasota. The tale of Nicodemus, Kansas, is part of our history; its fate is just one of countless effects of systemic racism.
Sarasota County and New College have far more education than you give them credit for. You'll discover this soon enough.
Oh dear. It’s scarier than I thought. This anti- intellectual is now going to create the paradigm for a made up word? And none of his thoughts are dogmatic or threatening to “ our way of life?” Is he for real? I mean he’s simply living in an alternate reality and unfortunately one similar to those created in 1930s Germany…
As a Christian and public school teacher, I might quibble with your definition of "woke" here. In my own practice, I work under the understanding that schools have historically failed to adequately serve poor and minority students and when I think about equity, what that has meant for me is asking questions about how we might do better about addressing those disparities. I lived by those beliefs by being underpaid in poorly funded schools for many years. Now my daughter attends New College and it looks like her education will be caught in the crosshairs of a political battle being waged by the governor.
Please, Sir, with all due respect, this is a deeply flawed piece.
Did Christ not compel you to love your neighbor as yourself?
Please, pray on your words. They drip with distain.
Everyone of us is worthy of love. New College is an accepting loving place. Please speak with the students, the faculty, the community. You may be seeing this situation with jaded eyes.
When you say “our way of life”, you are clearly referring to YOUR way of life as a CIS white Christian male. You are certainly not speaking for me as a CIS white Jewish female.
Eddie should check in with his boss DeSantis on the meaning of 'woke,' since representatives of DeSantis defined it in open court, in a legal proceeding a couple months ago, as 'a “slang term for activism … progressive activism” and a general belief in systemic injustices in the country [and as] "someone who believes that there are systemic injustices in the criminal justice system and on that basis they can decline to fully enforce and uphold the law ... it would be the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."' source: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/574045-in-andrew-warren-suspension-trial-gov-desantis-officials-answer-what-does-woke-mean/
When you reply to sourced data with "uh, no". Zero references, no data, no evidence, that's not a debate, it's a Foxx news junkie in a post fact bubble.
How could New College grads go onto so much more accomplishments than DEI-free Hillsdale college grads if they have "fewer useful skills" ?
I thought you were interested debating facts and policy I welcomed that, but clearly no.You just say stuff that feels good for your fact free political viewpoint.
So, no more from me. But you might try all the research I provided as evidence.
Colleges are in a deeply competitive market for talent as the demographics are going against them. Many are closing and more will do so. New College is a place that attracts students accepted to Harvard, U of Chicago, Williams and others of that caliber. It is a place that sends a greater percentage of its students on to PhDs than any other public college. It is a gem. Those students will not apply to a Hillsdale Christian college, that is a very different set of students. That niche does not outperform in Fulbrights and PhDs. Changing policies to eliminate a President just hired in a national search, to fire highly rated faculty, to eliminate accountability for Title IX, to destroy the investment in diversity and inclusion -- this will destroy the unique jewel of New College, a school that punches well above its weight in academics. Responsible stewardship does not destroy the strategic competitive advantage of an institution.
You do realize that women's rest rooms are different from men's rest rooms, right? There is no way that you would notice anyone's junk in a woman's rest room. What actually do you think goes on in rest rooms anyway?????
Here we see a perfect example of a deeply mediocre white man. His writing, which is frankly embarrassing, reveals that there's no possible way he has achieved his position by merit. It's understandable that he feels compelled to deny the existence of the very racism and sexism that makes it possible for him to hold this position for which he is so clearly unqualified.
He's a Christian who denys what Christ actually said and did. He's a constitutionalist who wants to compel prayer. He's the very model of a modern republican.
And now, as they so often do, he's going to ruin a good thing that other people built and then blame the thing for being broken. He will show no shame, no embarrassment, and will likely pay no consequences.
Sigh. This is, at best, a B paper in a high school English class about opinion writing taught by a mediocre teacher with low grading standards. It should not be mistaken for a well-researched, well-reasoned, or well-written piece of scholarship. (I suspect the author wouldn’t recognize such even if one chased him around a library and bit him on the ass.) Unfortunately, some people (honestly, more than I care to acknowledge at the moment) will mistake it for something more—something deeper—than it is: the unnecessarily-long-form version of musings-masquerading-as-deep-thoughts that are as shallow as a debate between button-pushing-dogs arguing in 30-second Insta reel about whether the backyard is for pee or water. (Serious question: How many words can you define while simultaneously demonstrating you have little to no understanding of those words or language or religion or history or sociology or critical analysis or critical reasoning—nevermind. Truly, it boggles the mind and is a feat that should only be attempted by the most naturally (or intentionally) obtuse.) Nevertheless, even dull blades can cut and shallow waters can drown, so I am not unaware that it is also a dangerous piece of writing in light of its author’s position and the social context in which he has written it. I have no doubt its release into the world will promote societal harm and inspire even greater declarations of ignorance and hubris and physical acts that result in the misfortune of many people. I believe in God, but I do not recognize the unflattering representations of God and the Christian faith that are expressly and/or implicitly presented in writings such as this. The God I serve is, among other things, love. I did not find or feel God in this piece. I found and felt hubris and smallness, a spirit of scarcity, mediocrity and a lack of rigor. My God has higher standards than what this piece achieves. Older folks folks say more simply, “God don’t like ugly.” Well, this piece is ugly.
Mr. Speir, I'm afraid you're looking for something that isn't actually present at New College. Some kind of "religion of wokeness" might exist at Harvard or at Emory, but it's simply not the way education takes place at New College.
The students often seem unusual because it's an unusual place. But part of the fiber of its existence is classical principles - students can follow any line of questioning and discover all of its implications for themselves.
The media likes talking about Derek Black and how he came there as the heir apparent of the white supremacist movement and then changed his mind about his prior beliefs. But it's important to point out that he felt comfortable going to New College in the first place, and in his own writing about his experience, points out that he was never in any danger of being expelled and never felt any academic pressure. Some students (not all) just pointed out that his arguments were wrong, and he examined that and came to agree. He was at home there, just as much as Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), or the numerous veterans, politicians, and members of the clergy who graduated from New College.
Please, before trying to change things, make sure you're not trying to fix whatain't broke or woke.
Respectfully,
Rev. Grant Balfour, D.D.,
Who doesn't want to wear the ribbon???
"One example of a dogmatic expression of wokeness is the assertion that America and its institutions are systemically racist and must be torn down."
You are looking through your telescope backwards. The effects of systemic racism are manifold and ongoing, having wasted countless lives. But to dismiss this understanding as dogmatic un-thought is basically to not think, but to label inaccurately a historical reality. Perhaps you would benefit from attending a performance of "Flyin' West" at the Westcoast Black Theater here in Sarasota. The tale of Nicodemus, Kansas, is part of our history; its fate is just one of countless effects of systemic racism.
Sarasota County and New College have far more education than you give them credit for. You'll discover this soon enough.
Oh dear. It’s scarier than I thought. This anti- intellectual is now going to create the paradigm for a made up word? And none of his thoughts are dogmatic or threatening to “ our way of life?” Is he for real? I mean he’s simply living in an alternate reality and unfortunately one similar to those created in 1930s Germany…
As a Christian and public school teacher, I might quibble with your definition of "woke" here. In my own practice, I work under the understanding that schools have historically failed to adequately serve poor and minority students and when I think about equity, what that has meant for me is asking questions about how we might do better about addressing those disparities. I lived by those beliefs by being underpaid in poorly funded schools for many years. Now my daughter attends New College and it looks like her education will be caught in the crosshairs of a political battle being waged by the governor.
Please, Sir, with all due respect, this is a deeply flawed piece.
Did Christ not compel you to love your neighbor as yourself?
Please, pray on your words. They drip with distain.
Everyone of us is worthy of love. New College is an accepting loving place. Please speak with the students, the faculty, the community. You may be seeing this situation with jaded eyes.
Open your heart.
When you say “our way of life”, you are clearly referring to YOUR way of life as a CIS white Christian male. You are certainly not speaking for me as a CIS white Jewish female.
Eddie should check in with his boss DeSantis on the meaning of 'woke,' since representatives of DeSantis defined it in open court, in a legal proceeding a couple months ago, as 'a “slang term for activism … progressive activism” and a general belief in systemic injustices in the country [and as] "someone who believes that there are systemic injustices in the criminal justice system and on that basis they can decline to fully enforce and uphold the law ... it would be the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."' source: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/574045-in-andrew-warren-suspension-trial-gov-desantis-officials-answer-what-does-woke-mean/
When you reply to sourced data with "uh, no". Zero references, no data, no evidence, that's not a debate, it's a Foxx news junkie in a post fact bubble.
How could New College grads go onto so much more accomplishments than DEI-free Hillsdale college grads if they have "fewer useful skills" ?
I thought you were interested debating facts and policy I welcomed that, but clearly no.You just say stuff that feels good for your fact free political viewpoint.
So, no more from me. But you might try all the research I provided as evidence.
If wokeness is a religion, then it’s protected by the Constitution—the same as your religion.
Colleges are in a deeply competitive market for talent as the demographics are going against them. Many are closing and more will do so. New College is a place that attracts students accepted to Harvard, U of Chicago, Williams and others of that caliber. It is a place that sends a greater percentage of its students on to PhDs than any other public college. It is a gem. Those students will not apply to a Hillsdale Christian college, that is a very different set of students. That niche does not outperform in Fulbrights and PhDs. Changing policies to eliminate a President just hired in a national search, to fire highly rated faculty, to eliminate accountability for Title IX, to destroy the investment in diversity and inclusion -- this will destroy the unique jewel of New College, a school that punches well above its weight in academics. Responsible stewardship does not destroy the strategic competitive advantage of an institution.
The basic definition of Woke: The belief that there are systemic injustices in American society, and there is a need to address them.
You do realize that women's rest rooms are different from men's rest rooms, right? There is no way that you would notice anyone's junk in a woman's rest room. What actually do you think goes on in rest rooms anyway?????