Saw this post over at The Corner and it got me thinking about all the time I used to spend at the library.
Should shelf space be given to literary classics or should famous novels, not really in circulation be “bumped” for trendier/current reads?
Personally I see a a place on the shelves for works like: For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sound and the Fury, The Glass Menagerie, The Aneid among others.
(Don’t they assign these as reading in school? I read a few of them as part of my English courses) .
Furthermore, many of the non-fiction books which sit/sat on the shelf provided me with countless hours of education and entertainment (caveat: I’m a bookworm).
Granted, with the advances of the internet, the process of doing research is now different from the way I originally learned. No longer do kids necessarily begin their research by sitting with stacks of 3×5″ note cards navigating their way through books.
While the current bestsellers may make for a good read, down the road, do they really deserve to displace books that may be more valuable to local students (of all ages)?
Jimmy Carter turns down an offer to debate Alan Dershowitz at Brandeis.
Good for the alma matter (Brandeis) for offering the oppertunity for such a forum to be held. It’s a shame that Carter doesn’t want to debate and defend his arguments.
More to say about this story (including more praise for the University) in coming posts.
I can only begin to imagine how mad this is going to make the noisy far-far-far-far left segment of the Brandeis community. (*Pausing to laugh*)
SFSU might defund college Republicans for stepping on Hamas, Hezbollah flags
Were SFSU stupid enough to attempt to defund the CRs for their antics, the opposite of the desired effect may take place.
Word would probably spread across the internet about this and then eventually hit hte likes of Free Republic and the Talk-Radio circuit. In doing so, the not only do the SFSU CRs get free publicity, they’d also get a lot of sympathy. This sympathy would in turn lead to multiple donations from outsiders, to support the club…and the money that’s raised could dwarf what they were getting allocated by the school.
Do these stories just keep writing themselves?
NYDN: Wild sex 101–S&M clubs, nude parties, porn, X-rated romps rule at Columbia
Not going to show this one to the parents…
Strange yet intriguing from a historical perspective:
Toilet tied to tale of Dead Sea Scrolls
Some investigative work by members of the Columbis Spectator appear to have traced down the man seen kicking an anti-Minuteman protester during the melee.
The likely suspect is Kevin Hahulski, “a 26-year-old welder from Queens”.
Mr. Hahulski was previously quoted in a CBS article saying that he was a “Union construction worker”
Now this begs the question–does this guy also work as one of the fabled “union thugs”?
Related story:
Minutemen Intend to File Suit
Kesher Talk has the latest Columbia hijinks covered in full.
Last year when Columbia gave the stage (albeit via video) to Libyan Dictator (and loon) Mohammar Gaddafi were segments of the public invited?
(Totally unrelated question–if he’s the head of a country, why hasn’t Gaddafi promoted himself above the rank of Col?)
Also at Columbia: A “safe space” forum on last week’s melee. One of the complaints was that the Minutemen didn’t want a debate on the issue (not like there was chance for a debate).
My good source at Columbia, in the meanwhile, is enjoying all the hoopla–simply by laughing it all off, and going about life.
The group of of student hooligans who interrupted the speech at Columbia last week, decided to hold a little “press conference” at the University Monday.
Not suprisingly, there was no coordinated attack on the press conferencees free speech rights or abilities.
Funny, how it’s okay for them to spout off their (inane-imho) ideas, but not for others to.
You’ve likely heard about the melee that erupted in Morningside Heights (where Columbia is) last night.
Needless to say, Columbia doesn’t quite guarantee free speech–just look at the club hockey team that was suspended two weeks ago for using the word “pussy” on a flyer.
This is also the same school, whose (now outgoing) Dean of International Affairs invited Iranian PM Ahmadinejad to speak on the campus. (while the same students who caused the aformentioned melee probably would’ve been cheering on the Iranian nutcase)
Also in the CU Spectator today
There’s a reason this school is nicknamed Beir Zeit on the Hudson
Opinion: Reflecting on Resistance
Here’s some key quotes:
of the al-Aqsa Intifada was not the irrational response of overly sensitive Muslims-it was the logical outcome of years of oppression, false promises, and international indifference. It was a legitimate liberation movement. I mention this history because I believe that recent events compel us to reflect honestly on the nature and legitimacy of armed resistance. It is time we recognize the right to resist…
…
Nevertheless, the progress of the war made it clear to me that it was necessary to openly support Hezbollah’s resistance to Israeli aggression….
towards actively and vocally supporting the resistance in the Middle East.
There you have it folks–open calls to support terrorism and the murder of innocent Jews….
Fortunately, there are some members of the Left at Columbia who have their head on straight…Questioning the Anti-War Coalition (worth reading)
More on the story from yesterday on the suspension of Columbia’s club hockey team for flyers containing the word “pussy” which some found “distasteful”
From the campus paper:
Captain Cites Inconsistency in Decision
Opinion: Overboard with the political correctness
Opinion: CU Hockey Suspension is Unfair Decision
And late to this post, comes news that FIRE has taken sides in this case:
Advocacy Group Requests Overturn of Hockey Suspension
This was in the Sister’s away message earlier today:
Bring Back Columbia Hockey
As some of you may know there was a small campus controversy over the phrase “Stop being a pussy” [link to flyer] featured on a recent flyer made by the Columbia Men’s Club Ice Hockey Team to recruit new players. The student government complained to the athletic department and the Spec ran an article about it. As of right now, we are being told by the athletic department that we will have to cancel the first half of our season as punishment, removing us from eligibility in the league we play in and crippling the program that we have built up over the past few years. The following is a list of the reasons the heads of the athletic department gave as justification for this punishment:
We did not follow protocol by receiving approval for the flyers before posting them:
To our knowledge, none of the club sports teams were ever aware of a need to approve flyers by the athletic department or have ever received it in the past
Here’s the article in the Columbia Spectator
It sounds like a play on words has upset some hypersensitive college students (The school mascot is a lion-a cat-hence the term “pussy”).
One wonders if say a feminist group of campus decided to use the word “pussy” on a poster, would they get in an equal amount of trouble with the university’s administration?
My guess: probably not. Alas, the double standard of PCism in college.
Dorm decor drives sales
Girls are much worse when it comes to spending on dorm decor than guys (as if it wasn’t obvious).
(h/t Fark)
AP
Push for simpler spelling persists
Granted, I suk at speling but this strikes me as a bad idea
Word is that the ex-Taliban spokesman has not been admitted to the degree granting program at Yale.
Good. He got what he deserved. He shouldn’t have been in New Haven in the first place.
Speaking of which, why doens’t ICE revisit its decidion to grant Hashemi a visa to this country?
(Via Powerline)
No teacher for Taliban Man
Though that University to the North is still stuck with Juan Cole. Sucks for them.
