Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., has hired six students whose jobs as "dialogue facilitators" will involve intervening in conversations among students in dining halls and common rooms to encourage discussion of such social justice issues as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability and social class.Because at universities, letting students discuss things among themselves is no longer the good idea it was once thought to be. It's not about inculcating independant analysis anymore - the 'hive mind' is what's required...
She gave the example of a conversation about a gay character on television as a good example of such a moment.If you say so, sweetie...
"It is all about creating opportunities to dialogue and reflect on issues of social identity," Ms. Girgrah said. "This is not about preaching. It's not about advice giving. It's about hearing where students are at."
And just where are they going to find people willing to do this?
Like dons, who serve as student authorities in residence, the six facilitators will receive full room and board and a stipend for the full-year commitment, and will receive regular training.Ah. People who have already been through the thought-mill, and emerged from it with the right, umm, 'attitude'....
Ms. Girgrah said they represent a broad spectrum of social identities and are all upper-year or graduate students who live in university residences...
Paid thought police. In a university.
More and more of this sort of thing is becoming prevalent in universities. Almost entirely due to a new layer of management that has been slipped into the system, none of which have PhDs, that of course live in warm, carpeted offices with the latest computers and pot plants. All of whom are more or less completely useless for any kind of teaching or research, but are *wonderful* for sending out emails and arranging diversity and equality training. They tend to live in a section with a shiny bullshytt name like "Enterprise Communciations" or some such.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, they make our lives as researchers as difficult as they can, with 'top-down initiatives' and 'compulsory training' that has absolutely nothing to do with our actual jobs. Not content with fucking up public sector administration, and infesting large corporations, they are now going after one of the last bastions of achievement and excellence. I feel like a man drowning in ants.
Dear God in heaven. Have to see what Steyn makes of this.
ReplyDelete"Informers", they used to be called, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here's a public sector institution where, apparently, lessons weren't learned from last time:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7738912.stm
Will they have the gall to claim that "lessons will be learned" this time?
Aaaargh. What the fuck? WTF? WTF?
ReplyDeleteThe whole fucking Western world seems to be going mad simultaneously. Who is driving this crap?
Christ, what next? Junior anti-sex league?
ReplyDeleteIf they throw in a two minute daily hate session they should have the full set! Ingsoc exported to Canada.
ReplyDeleteTTFN
Michael
"All of whom are more or less completely useless for any kind of teaching or research, but are *wonderful* for sending out emails and arranging diversity and equality training."
ReplyDeleteAh. Parasites.
"If they throw in a two minute daily hate session they should have the full set!"
I wouldn't be at all surprise to see that make it's way in...
"Will they have the gall to claim that "lessons will be learned" this time?"
ReplyDeleteHmm, let's see: "Mr Claydon, who was undergoing psychiatric assessment..." and "A hospital spokeswoman said it appeared the pair may have had outside help in escaping. "
Lesson: Don't assume that people who need 'psychiatric assessment' don't also have friends able to spring them from prison.
There are two possible outcomes.
ReplyDeleteEither all graduates will have the same left-leaning liberal mindset, or they will all be able to spot those with a left-leaning liberal mindset and tell then to get lost within three seconds flat.
God forbid that any university should be infected with that 'independent thinking' nonsense. That would mean they might come up with innovative ideas, and that would never do.
ReplyDeleteI remember the new administrators, they were taking control just as I left. Now, the college has a computer system you can't copy anything from. Dumb terminals put in place by dumb people. It sounds like great security - but if you know anything about scientists you'd know security is irrelevant. No scientist will reveal a single digit of his or her data until it's time to publish. It doesn't need extra layers of guards. All that's happened is that the scientists now can't take work home so the pace of progress is cut by half.
I'm so glad I went independent. They can't get at me now.
This is EXACTLY the same as the Soviet/Chinese system, but THERE they are/were called "agitators". The purpose, to create discussion on the policys of the party among the workers.
ReplyDeleteIt seems strange to me that the more "liberal" the world is supossed to be becoming, the more and more it seems to be taking Stalin and Mao as it's training manual.
Von Brandenburg-Preussen.