Conservatives criticize UNC-Chapel Hill reading program again
RALEIGH – Conservatives students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are criticizing the Summer Reading Program again. The surprise is that this year, the program’s selection, made for the first time with an open selections process, was expected to avoid the sort of criticism previous selections endured.
The Contradictions of Donald Lazere
Donald Lazere writes in the July 2 Chronicle Review that “the only way for you to find out who is telling the truth is to become a scholar, tracing the authenticity of these claims back to primary sources.” This he demonstrates by inventing an absurd claim, then arguing that his conservative opponents won’t admit that claim because it exposes their true agenda — which is “to unleash the most ignorant forces of the right in hounding liberal academics to death.”
On Senator Kerry’s Higher Education Proposals
Now that we can stop talking about Senator John Kerry as the “presumptive” Democratic nominee, it is worthwhile to take a look at the proposals he has put forth regarding higher education.
Scholars take heart: Good colleges classes can still be found
RALEIGH – It’s nearly August, and university classes will begin soon. Meanwhile, both within and without the halls, those who love academe are voicing concerns over the content of those courses. It’s fluff, it’s biased, it should have been taught in high school, it shouldn’t be taught at all, it certainly shouldn’t be taught by other students, the same stuff is on public-access TV, it’s being taught only so the professor can have a set of “research assistants” helping him with his book, well if it’s going to be taught, how about grading the students on what they’ve learned, &c. It’s enough to make true scholars despair.
Why there’s a VCR in your English literature classroom
RALEIGH – I write a monthly column for Carolina Journal entitled “Course of the Month,” which is a Golden Fleece Award for courses in North Carolina universities that feature “overt political content, rabid infatuation with pop culture or sexuality, [or] abject silliness.”
Chronicle Rant “A Real Doozy”
The Chronicle of Higher Education often publishes articles with which I take exception, but the July 2 issue contained a real doozy – a rant entitled “The Contradictions of Cultural Conservatism in the Assault on American Colleges” by Donald Lazere, an English professor at Cal State-San Luis Obispo.
Troubled Barber-Scotia loses accreditation
CONCORD – It’s been a troubling few months for officials at Barber-Scotia College.
General Assembly Considers Bills Affecting UNC System
CHAPEL HILL – Proposed legislation affecting the University of North Carolina system captured headlines throughout the 2004 short session. Most centered on the $340 million bond package that included some projects that had not even been approved by the UNC Board of Governors. There were other bills, however, concerning higher education that either passed or were dropped in anticipation for greater discussion next year.
Criminal background checks considered after UNC-Wilmington killings
WILMINGTON – In the span of a month, two killings have shocked the college community at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, leading to questions regarding the UNC system’s admission policies as well as campus security.
Arrest Warrants Dim College Hopes, Dreams
While his peers hang out in public places laughing and joking and preparing for their college careers, Rageman holes up at friends’ houses peering nervously out of basement windows. He doesn’t have time to think about college. He fears he’s more likely to be thrown in the poke. “I worked hard in school,” Rageman said. “So what if I knocked over a few convenience stores graduation night?”