The Blog

2021-

2021-05-22 b
NARRATIVE INTERRUPTUS (faculty support for Critical Race Theory indoctrination falters)

Cornell Hot Woke Mess – No Clear Mandate for Critical Race Theory Mandates Emerges From Faculty Senate Voting

The ball is in the court of President Martha Pollack, and possibly the Board of Trustees, whether to impose these destructive mandates on the university where not even the Faculty Senate could come to a clear, consistent, or overwhelming consensus.

There is bad news and good news coming out of the Cornell University Faculty Senate vote on Critical Race Theory mandates for faculty and students.

First, the bad news. The Faculty Senate nominally voted for some forms of Critical Race Theory mandates on faculty and students.

Second, the good news. The margins were surprisingly thin, there was suprisingly substantial opposition, and some of the six resolutions contradicted others, leaving a muddled mess that has to be viewed as a loss for proponents who must have expected overwhelming support.

The only thing that is clear is that there is no clear mandate from the Faculty Senate as the issue moves from the merely advisory Faculty Senate to the President of the University. If the President, and possibly the Board of Trustees, want to implement these anti-educational initiatives, they are going to have to own the issue, they cannot point to any clear, consistent, or overwhelming Faculty Senate consensus.

I No Longer Stand Alone In Opposing Mandates

I have been covering the attempt to turn the campus into compulsory activism since July 2020, and spoke out forcefully (and almost alone for months) as that directive moved into various forms of proposed training mandates on faculty and educational mandates on students. I’m not going to go over again the history and why these mandates would be anti-educational and damaging to campus free expression, see these prior posts:

• Cornell University takes a major step towards compulsory racial activism for faculty, students, and staff [July 16, 2020]

• Cornell Faculty Coalition Calls for Race-Based Hiring, Promotion, and Curriculum [September 9, 2020]

• Cornell Daily Sun Interviews Professor William Jacobson Re Critical Race Training Database [February 24, 2021]

• Higher Ed Approaches the Antiracism Training Abyss [March 19, 2021]

• Statement of Prof. William A. Jacobson Opposing Cornell Faculty Senate Proposed Critical Race Mandates [April 14, 2021]

• Faculty Fear At Cornell: “I worry every day I enter class that I will say something that a student will find offensive” [April 29, 2021]

• National Review: Cornell Professor Warns ‘Anti-Racism’ Training Mandate Will Exacerbate ‘Toxic’ Campus Environment [May 11, 2021]

To my pleasant surprise, substantial faculty opposition to mandates developed over time, so the original Working Group proposals were watered down by the Faculty Senate into resolutions which were not a full endorsement, but merely suggested that the proposals were “worthy of careful consideration” by the President of the university. That watering down was designed to get more senators to go along, effectively saying that voting “Yes” was not really an intention that these things be implemented, but only that they be considered. So the vote on the original onerous working group proposals was not what it originally seemed.

In addition, during the sometimes contentious senate debate four additional resolutions (two each for faculty and student mandates) were made. So a total of six resolutions (3 each for faculty and students) went to a vote. [Separately, a vote took place weeks ago for a new “Anti-Racism Center” and that passed the faculty senate overwhelmingly, 101-12-5.]

A Horse Designed By Committee

You can read all the resolutions, vote results, and comments submitted as part of the vote, here.

Confused yet? You should be. If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then what just happened is a camel that I don’t think anyone expected at the start of the process. (read more)

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