To all the people associated with Lafayette College:
We are each of us suddenly confronted with one of the most important questions of our lives: what will the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States mean? We, the undersigned faculty members of the college, are deeply concerned that our country now faces an unprecedented threat, and that without organized collaboration and resistance this election may lead America toward the dawn of a dangerous and institutionalized form of reactionary authoritarianism.
The campaign alone has already mobilized and legitimized long-standing politics based on white supremacy, nativism and patriarchy, resulting in physical and verbal attacks against: people of color, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, the disabled, LGBTQ people, Jews and all women within and beyond these overlapping groups. In electing Donald Trump, citizens of our country now face a clear and present danger, as this movement will soon gain access to the full power of the federal government.
There remains the possibility that a Trump presidency will be radically different from the one promised in his campaign. We hope this is the case. Yet while we cannot know the future, we do know that we face an incredible asymmetry of risk. If this is a false dawn of fascism, organizing to educate ourselves and preparing to resist it can only lead to a more effective movement to advance democracy and human freedom. If it be a true dawn, we cannot afford to “wait and see.” We must be ready to resist before the promised mass round-ups, internment and expulsion of our Muslim and undocumented sisters and brothers begin—exponentially worsening what has already been, under the outgoing administration, the largest wave of deportations in American history. If we wait to act until police are ordered to violently end all protests and occupy our “inner cities” while the hard-fought gains for LGBTQ, women’s and workers’ rights are rolled back, it will be too late. One cannot face these grave threats alone and unprepared.
We believe that this election must motivate those of us committed to civil rights and social justice to find new ways to communicate, criticize, educate and, most significantly, build spaces for collective action. We pledge to create opportunities, such as teach-ins, to: discuss and evaluate how and why this election happened; analyze the meaning and gravity of the divided state of our campus and our nation; confront the history of racism and colonialism in the United States; study freedom struggles and train ourselves in strategies of resistance; and, perhaps most importantly, denounce and organize opposition to racism, misogyny, homophobia and xenophobia.
While we recognize that white supremacy has been an organizing principle of American life since the founding of the United States, we know that this, too, is true: the political traditions forged through resistance to and rejection of racism, patriarchy and capitalist exploitation are equally American. We stand in solidarity with those committed to freedom for all. We are dedicated to ensuring that Lafayette College actively denounces and rejects racism, bigotry, misogyny and any kind of discrimination, without hesitation.
We, the undersigned, will host an open meeting to discuss how and when and where organization should take place on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in Farinon. We invite you all to participate.
Signed,
Mary Armstrong, English and Women’s and Gender Studies
Hollis Ashby, Williams Center for the Arts
Susan Averett, Economics
Kylie Bailin, Library
Paul Barclay, Asian Studies and History
Susan Basow, Psychology
Steven Belletto, English
Ethan Berkove, Mathematics
William Bissell, Anthropology and Sociology
Robert Blunt, Religious Studies and Africana Studies
Deborah Byrd, English
Tamara Carley, Geology and Environmental Geosciences
Jessica Carr, Religious Studies
Benjamin Cohen, Engineering Studies
Patricia Donahue, English
Sidney Donnell, Spanish
Anna Edlund, Biology
Katalin Fabian, Government and Law
Bianca Falbo, English
Megan Fernandes, English
Ingrid Furniss, Art and Asian Studies
Nestor Gil, Art
Peter Gildenhuys, Philosophy
Tara Gilligan, Women’s and Gender Studies
Alessandro Giovannelli, Philosophy
Rachel Goshgarian, History
Katherine Groo, Film and Media Studies
David Hogenboom, Physics
Ben Jahre, Library
Mary Jo Lodge, Theater
Jennifer Kelly, Music
Chawne Kimber, Mathematics
Rebecca Kissane, Anthropology and Sociology
Tim Laquintano, English
Caroline Lee, Anthropology and Sociology
Christopher Lee, History
Ana Ramirez Luhrs, Library
Owen McLeod, Philosophy
Lawrence L. Malinconico, Jr., Geology and Environmental Geosciences
Meghan Masto, Philosophy
Joshua Miller, Government and Law
Sarah Morris, Library
Pam Murray, Library
Lauren Myers, Psychology
Michael Nees, Psychology
Julia Nicodemus, Engineering Studies
Charlotte Nunes, Library
Alix Ohlin, English and Film and Media Studies
Christopher Phillips, English
Rebekah Pite, History
Elaine Reynolds, Biology and Neuroscience
Juan Rojo, Spanish
Carrie Rohman, English
Robert Root, Mathematics
Deborah Rosen, History
Chris Ruebeck, Economics
Mónica Salas-Landa, Anthropology and Sociology
Diane Windham Shaw, Library
Scott Shelley, Physics
Joseph Shieber, Philosophy
Nandini Sikand, Film and Media Studies
Helena Silverstein, Government and Law
Karina Skvirsky, Art
Andy Smith, Film and Media Studies
Andrea Smith, Anthropology and Sociology
Joshua Smith, Mechanical Engineering
Julie Smith, Economics
Hannah Stewart-Gambino, Government and Law and International Affairs
Elaine Stromber, Library
Jenn Stroud Rossmann, Mechanical Engineering
David Sunderlin, Geology and Environmental Geosciences
Jennifer Talarico, Psychology
Lorenzo Traldi, Mathematics
Michelle Tomaszycki, Neuroscience and Psychology
Neha Vora, Anthropology and Sociology
Walter Wadiak, English
Angelika von Wahl, International Affairs
Susan Wenze, Psychology
Suzanne Westfall, English
Wendy Wilson-Fall, Africana Studies
Bonnie M. Winfield, Center for Community Engagement
Brent Utter, Mechanical Engineering
Lijuan Xu, Library
Li Yang, Foreign Languages and Literatures
Jeremy Zallen, History
Clayton D. Spangenebrg, '70 • Apr 28, 2017 at 5:04 pm
It is interesting to note that SOME of the faculty believe the non-election of Hillary Clinton presages DOOM for America. Apparently the result of this election is disturbing to some of the faculty. What is MORE disturbing is that rather than figure out what they can do – along with their students – is to decide to resist, rather than find something positive then can do for America. When you look at the results of the popular vote, between California and New York, Clinton received 4.9M more votes than Trump. With Trump receiving 2.0M more votes than Clinton in the remaining 48 states and the territories, Clinton still beat Trump by 2.9M votes. What bothers me MOST about this is: I DO NOT WANT those two states deciding who the president of the US will be. I WANT a NATION-WIDE vote to determine that. The basis of Clinton’s loss appears to be: 1 – the middle class and the blue-collar workers have decided that have been abandoned TOO LONG by Washington, and they revolted; 2 – the middle of the country has decided that are FED UP with the coastal, urban areas deciding THEY are better capable of electing a president. The bottom line is this: since we have no term limits for Congress, which is the determining factor in what happens in this country (power of the purse), we are “doomed” to continue NOT getting the government we want, REGARDLESS of which party is in the White House. This problem is compounded by the fact that we: 1 – do not have a viable third party; and, 2 – a moderate cannot be elected president (nor to Congress). Until THIS changes, we are “doomed” to repeat the past, over and over. If you want to make a difference, other than fomenting revolution, start to work to get BETTER candidates – neither Clinton NOR Trump were the BEST people to lead America.
confused_individual • Nov 21, 2016 at 11:58 am
Random notes:
• Would readers/commenters at analogous colleges in other countries display as much infantile aɞɞ-banditry?
Such as
• — Categorizing others
AJ Madison . . . You lefties
Sloan Kettering . . mindless America-hating liberal drivel
Parent of nincompoop . . . liberal cesspool
Robert Blaze . . . “education” has come to mean left-wing intolerance
displays shallow thinking and at least one logical fallacy (generalizing from point data).
On this URL, all those broad-brush putdowns (so far) target “liberals” or “lefties.”
. . . Must be a coincident!
• Why STEM staff might not sign on.
• — Their work — more than that of others — depends on grant money for equipment and work-related expenses. Given the upcoming budgetary political uncertainties of such funding, caution might be strategic.
• — Their work depends less on reputational currency or active engagement with the college (or other) population than social scientists and humanities staff. Career success is incrementally more detached from class size. They can wait to see how things develop before committing to a public position. Perhaps that’s morally wimpy, or just intelligent contemplation. — see previous paragraph.
NB: I don’t claim special insight on where the enterprising researcher ends and the servile scientist begins.
• Funny (odd, not ha-ha) how the insights that current events bring to my mind come from folks like Bertolt Brecht, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, André Malraux, . . . people who phuque (according to UrbanDictionary 8 times as narsty as the word it disguises for the philter pfreaques) with state-level actors that use(d) torture on an administrative basis. [H/t Noam Chomsky.]
• — Must be another coincident. Bumper crop of them this fall. Maybe we’re falling extra hard this time.
Free sample, luckily “just” a review: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-elsner/solzhenitsyns-great-maste_b_620129.html.
Also, next time your transponder checks you in through a tollbooth, or you wave your card at the little pad to get in to work, remember Leon Theremin. and microwaves on the US Embassy in Moscow.
[Sorry, that touches the Russians twice — though Putin is our new BFF.]
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 7:01 pm
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
Abraham Lincoln
First Inaugural Address
Monday, March 4, 1861
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 21, 2016 at 9:55 am
Honest Abe has my vote for President 2020!
He never really got a chance to finish out his term and we need somebody like him now more than ever!
Stagaphile • Nov 19, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Who won the big game?
Robert Hoover • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:21 pm
Lehigh 45 – 21. And Lafayette season record 1 – 5 . Any wonder .
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:25 pm
Trump.
But the Democrats made slight gains in the House and Senate.
Robert Hoover • Nov 22, 2016 at 9:56 am
So “slight” they couldn’t be identified . Check the “map” Abe. Dems. are gone.
Honest Abe • Nov 23, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Dear Mr. Hoover,
Since we’re talking sports and politics, you’re reasoning would suggest that it doesn’t matter if the losing team gets on the scoreboard because the losing team doesn’t exist.
Good luck playing with yourself.
Gail McNally • Nov 19, 2016 at 11:08 am
I am sickened to read a letter from professors (or just whining liberal fakes ) from a once proud and “manly” university where the women of Centenary College (for women only back then) met, flirted with, and often married MEN of Lafayette! The school provided some of the best memories. Now I expect the male students to be dressed in toddlers outfits. Oh men of Lafayette, return to be the proud Princes you once were
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 10:53 pm
Yuck!
Oh, for the good ole days when gender, class, and racial segregation were romantic.
Concerned Taxpayer • Nov 19, 2016 at 8:08 am
Let’s all protest LAFAYETTE being a tax-exempt organization. Please pay your fair share if you want to live in our country.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 8:41 am
Dear Concerned Taxpayer,
Will we ever get a look at Trump’s tax returns?
Kevin • Nov 19, 2016 at 3:39 am
No, these faculty members are NOT “simply saying they will stand up for minorities and those who feel threatened”. They are themselves the aggressors, the bullies, maligning the president elect and his supporters with baseless accusations, under the pretense of being heroic defenders.
Those faculty members knowingly perticipating in this slander to further their leftist political agendas are shameful cowards. The ones unwittingly caught up in the confirmation bias of a politically correct group-think fest are an embarrassment to the tradition of higher learning.
I’ll happily scratch this college off the list.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 8:50 am
Dear Kevin,
Use these same criteria and keep on scratching. There won’t be any institutions of higher learning left on your list.
KG • Nov 18, 2016 at 7:45 pm
This letter is shockingly close minded and honestly pretty embarrassing to read as an alumni of this college. I think my safe space has been violated. Does this entitle me to a $200K degree refund?
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 11:05 pm
Hi, KG.
Yes, you’ll receive a partial refund after you ask the Registrar to revoke your degree. (No need to return your diploma. Just burn it.) Please update your résumé, and don’t forget to inform your employer, employees, clients, etc. of the change status.
The refund is only partial because it comes out of faculty’s bus fare, which Lafayette calls a salary.
John Cahill • Nov 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Unfortunately the various terms in the open letter show the far left bias and incorrect facts of the writer.
Let us start with the term democracy. We are not a democracy we are a republic. We are not a democratic republic, we are a republic! This simply leaves the writer with a very weak position when it comes to the basis of our freedoms and the knowledge to portray those rights and freedoms.
Let us look at other terms used in this letter. Collective action, colonialism, social justice, white supremacy, capitalist exploitation, and others support the values of socialism. We are not socialists and with the knowledge of our voters we will never achieve that result.
Sadly your open letter demeans those voting citizens for not agreeing with the elite you may represent. The citizens of this Country have spoken, give them a chance. After all, they have been correct in every Presidential election since they were given that right.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 8:55 am
Dear Mr. Cahill,
Lovely sentiment, but we’ve elected someone who says the system is broken. Based on his rhetoric and cabinet appointees, there is good reason for alarm.
Vincenzo • Nov 18, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Speaking of the ‘facade (wall) of internet anonymity,’ reveal yourself so that we can confirm your ‘6-figure art salary’. Or recede to your said safe zone in your parents basement.
Concerned reader • Nov 18, 2016 at 4:09 pm
And yet anonymous you remain. How fittingly hypocritical.
Celebrate what we have accomplished together and be open minded of what the future will bring. Some of us believe that the unborn have rights some don’t. Some want to be judged by their character not color, some don’t. Some don’t know how to balance a check book, some do. Some think all Republicans are racist, others know that the Confederacy, Segregation, KKK and opposition to civil rights were Democratic with a big D.
There is no place for faculty exerting their extreme political views on students. They should be activists on their own time and with their own dime.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Dear Concerned reader,
Please try to find some common ground. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, Independents, etc. have good reason to worry, Millions are very scared of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric.
There is enough self-righteousness out there. So, please don’t be so dismissive of others, and please keep to the facts:
—The Republican Party sold out civil liberties and Reconstruction with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876.
—After Democrats (not Republicans) passed major civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s, Richard Nixon took advantage of discontent, implementing his “Southern strategy” in 1968.
—The Deep South flipped from one-party rule under Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats) to one-party under Southern Republicans.
—Donald Trump’s very bigoted campaign message resonated with Whites in the Rust Belt.
—While the KKK still hates Lincoln, members *love* Donald Trump.
Be worried. Be VERY worried.
Bel Biv Devoe • Nov 18, 2016 at 3:56 pm
The CS department faculty keeps a low profile
Concerned alum • Nov 18, 2016 at 3:47 pm
As a graduate of Lafayette the thing that sickens me are the inflammatory comments and replys to this letter. The faculty are simply stating that they will stand up for minorities and anyone feeling threatened. As a liberal arts college, with a core curriculum based in humanities, inclusion, unity and respect is paramount. For those commenting that a liberal arts major is pointless- you are clearly diluted. As an English and art major I stand with all of my fellow graduates, all of whom have jobs, earn a salary, and turned out just fine. I’m so glad that my 6 figure salary in manhattan, doing what I love, beat out a terrifying big bad retail job. Grow up, stop hiding behind the facade (wall) of internet anonymity, and recognize that while we may not all agree, everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. Those that cannot recognize it, and have written rude, degrading comments, are at the core of the bubbling inequity we are facing.
Just saying • Nov 18, 2016 at 4:53 pm
Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard with the exception of conservatives on the College campus. Imagine if this were an open letter from conservative students feeling threatened and wanting to have a meeting. These self-same faculty would move shut it down in short order and label it as “hate.” The College campus has become a cess pit of groupthink where one view and one view only is permitted. “Hate” is labeled as anything that a certain group hates hearing.
It is amazing to me when fascists call others fascist. What bothers you and these professors is not so much that Trump won but that he is even allowed to exist. As always, the tired old currency of intellectual bankrupty (racism, sexism or the ism of the moment) is trotted out to justify the argument that your and your point of view alone simply is what is.
Trollseidon Lord of the Trollcean • Nov 18, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Thank you for feeding the trolls. We were hungry.
Freja Ollegard • Nov 18, 2016 at 7:41 pm
@Concerned alum that is a very very impressive salary, and to be making that in NYC no less, bravo you go girl.
On to more pressing issues, we need…humanity needs you to spare some of that whale of a salary to help fund the Troll Trace project. Please help us stop the senseless abuse we see on these message boards. Let’s expose these villains together once and for all. Visit TrollTraceProject.org today, thank you.
DA • Nov 19, 2016 at 11:56 am
Your comment lost all its relevance when you had to result to bragging about your income which isn’t relevant to this topic at all. Yes, some people who take liberal arts majors make it big, but the vast majority end up busing tables. Good for you for making 6 figures! Statistically the STEM majors have a much bigger amount of students representing that tax bracket than your fellow cohorts.
Amused alum parent • Nov 19, 2016 at 3:55 pm
An English major? Seriously? Let’s see. “The thing(s) that sickens me ARE….” Deluded not diluted. “Graduate of Lafayette (comma)”, “replies not replys”, “liberal areas college (no comma) with…”, etc., etc.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:41 pm
Dear Amused alum parent,
Have your kids learned to love your nitpicking? What of Concerned alum’s MESSAGE?
Robert Hoover • Nov 22, 2016 at 12:27 am
“Concerned”, contrary to your observations, I can’t imagine or identify any Lafayette alumni or even student, who has become
“diluted” over the events of these past weeks. Please correct me if you will.
Lawson's Leopards • Nov 18, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Trump is going to pardon Fiji. Time to stop whining and watch your dates.
Jim Porter, Sr • Nov 18, 2016 at 2:46 pm
You know what? I prefer to listen to the wisdom of my grandparents and parents than the blather being slathered across our land into the hearts and minds of students by professors and instructors who apparently want to raise up a bunch of sissies.
My great-great-great grandmother survived both the Sand Creek Massacre and Custer’s cowardly, self-serving attack on Black Kettle’s camp at the Washita River. You know how she got from Colorado to the Washita? She did what she had to. She walked. All the way. She didn’t sit around and fret, as you all are doing. She was determine to save her family and her friends. I don’t recall her EVER establishing a student newspaper and weeping all over the pages. I’d love to know what she would have thought about people such as all of you.
My great-great grandfather was born in Mexico. He was an orphan. He heard there were people from the north–he didn’t know they were called Kiowas, apparently–who rode by his little town from time to time. The next time Kiowas rode through, he asked if he could go with them. The Kiowas gave him family and provision. Though not an ethnic Kiowa, he eventually became the Sun Dance Priest. He led the Kiowas spiritually through some of the toughest, meanest times the Kiowas ever faced. Many young and middle-aged men died while he was Sun Dance priest. He didn’t write cowardly blather in any newspaper. He faced the enemy and the times, and he advised the leaders on the survival of the Tribe. Not one word published in any student newspaper. Not one word that would bring fear into the people.
On the other side of my family, my great-great-uncle, the last Principal Chief of the Creeks (now often called the Muscogee Creeks) before Indian Territory became Oklahoma. There apparently was great expectation among the Indian Tribes that he would have been elected governor of the proposed all-Indian state, Sequoya, before the white men betrayed him and the other Indian leaders, scraping the tribes’ planning and efforts, and created Oklahoma. To this day, I watch the musical of Oklahoma (that’s O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a) with some realization that the movies and staged production, with some realization that they are a tribute to the lack of White Man’s character and integrity, and that in them, there is not one identifiable American Indian. (I don’t used the term Native America. Everyone born in America or in Oklahoma properties and property overseas, are Native Americans.) The betrayal that he and the other Indian people of now-Oklahoma, is not the only loss in his life. He warred on the side of the Confederacy as a logistics officer in the Creek Battalion. Again, after all his frustrated, even heartbreak to help better the lives of the Indian people, he pressed on, greatly beloved but not for his cowardly statements in student newspapers.
My family’s efforts on behalf the American nation go to this century. My son fought in the battles of Ramadi, and the Second Battle of Fallujah. One of the his proudest achievements was guarding the Iraqi citizens as they went to vote in the first-ever free elections in Iraq. My cousin was badly wounded in Fallujah, badly enough to end his career as a Marine. They stand as proud American citizens, not ready to be afraid in the face of difficult times, politically or militarily.
And, we will stand ready to defend America and ourselves despite the then-political climate, opposition, or optimism in American.
And, by gosh, we will do it despite the cowardly blather of America’s college professors writing in student newspapers, where they know that many of their students, turned socialistic and idiotic by their teachings, will support them.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:05 pm
I know what you’re saying.
As a kid, every day I walked 4 miles uphill to school in the morning, and I walked 5 miles uphill back home in the evening.
Sad alum • Nov 18, 2016 at 2:33 pm
So sad to see that my alma matter is part of the snowflake movement that has been plaguing college campuses across the country. Way to prepare students for the real world, a place where they will have to deal with differing opinions and not always get it there way. This is pathetic.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 9:10 am
Dear Sad alum,
Snowflakes are also against climate change… Oh, wait! They don’t stand a snowball’s chance in Trump’s real world hell.
Robert Hoover • Nov 18, 2016 at 1:27 pm
As an Alumni (1956). I am even more comfortable with my decision to never send a dime to the “faux” so called “institution” that was once
a real College. So pathetic. R. Hoover
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:17 pm
Mr. Hoover,
Agreed! Let’s send our money to a *real* college like Trump University.
(Thought I’d make a joke about “Hooverville,” but Trump U grads are finally moving out of their shantytown now that Donald agreed to a big cash settlement.)
Extremely aggravated parent • Nov 18, 2016 at 1:22 pm
As a parent who is paying you a ton of money, I do not appreciate you winding up my child or any other child. Enough is enough. Move on already.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 9:13 am
Dear Extremely aggravated parent,
What does your wound up child think of legalizing marijuana?
greg • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:47 pm
Sounds like a lot of BS to me. Maybe you all should wear big diaper pins to show just what big crybabies you are.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 9:13 am
Dear Greg,
Sounds kinky!
Antiobamunist • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Since the Premise of this Letter sounds like something a writer of The Onion would come up with, I would like to question the quality of Education that the Students of this so called College receive for the outrageous Tuition Costs their hard working Parents and Taxpayers pay for.
Looks like draining the swamp should extend outside of Washington D.C. and on to today’s College Campuses.
Apparently a quality Education takes a back seat to hate and discontent amongst an obviously overpaid Faculty with too much time on their hands.
Nothing but Clueless Wonders teaching Clueless Children to carry the torch of Braindead Liberalism into their Adulthood
Higher Education Institutions have evolved into dens of Leftist ignorance and propaganda, fueled by close minded Elitist’s like the ones who outed themselves by affixing their Signatures to this blather.
Time to retreat to your Safe Spaces to contemplate how you can continue to poison the minds of the Snowflakes under a Trump Administration.
If may, allow me to paraphrase the 2009 comments made by the current POTUS, we won, you lost, get over it.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:28 pm
Dear Antiobamunist,
Your name says it all.
R16 • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Unfortunately this is the world of academia. Well-meaning people who unfortunately can’t think for themselves. Trump is not rounding up Americans. He’s rounding up illegal Americans. If you want to protect the lives of illegal immigrants then you want to assist the lives of those criminally residing here. Trump never said he would throw out American Muslims. He never said anything negative about LGBTQ+ rights. However, the media said he did, and you believed them.
As an alumnus of Lafayette I’m extremely embarrassed, along with the bulk of the rest of the people here, that these professors are the voice of our school. Lafayette is a strong STEM school, and there is a very tiny minority of STEM professors that signed this list. I graduated with a STEM degree very recently and only know one of the professors on this list. To those professors who refused to sign and are reading this – we are with you. Higher ed is predominantly liberal, and they complain in the faculty rooms together about everything – pretending to argue both sides when they’re just sound-boarding what the media is saying off each other. Wake up. DEFCON is at its lowest level of concern. Russia and Syria want to repair our relationships. Australia and New Zealand have lauded Trump on his support in the recent earthquake in New Zealand. Canada wants to work with the US to fix NAFTA. Apple is thinking of bringing jobs back to the USA. Ford decided not to leave Kentucky after the election. The DOW made a history shattering high the day after the election.
If you can’t see the good of this election, while Trump isn’t even yet in office, then you’re being lied to by the media. If you think Trump is anti-Muslim, you’ve been lied to by the media. He’s anti illegal immigration. If you think Trump is anti-LGBT you’ve been lied to by the media. If you think Trump is anti-Mexican, again, he’s anti illegal immigrant. He’s not deporting American citizens, nor has he ever claimed to. The whining put on by this group of faculty members does not represent the ideologies of the Lafayette community at large be it current faculty,or alumni.
In the end, the fact that so many soft science professors signed this just shows to me that their views are being taught in the classroom. I’m glad the majors that bring students to the school and give it its acclaim aren’t well represented in this embarrassing letter.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:24 pm
Dear R16,
Please try to find some common ground. Yes, the media at large did everyone a disservice. However, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, Independents, etc. have good reason to worry. Millions are very scared of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric and worried about his record. Both (words and deeds) are on him, not the media.
There is enough self-righteousness out there. So, please don’t be so dismissive of others, and please keep to the facts.
mikeb • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:40 pm
It is truly a fantasy world of imagined oppression which these faculty and staff occupy. And, sadly, many of their deceived students.
A Trump election, compared to the continued alternative of Progressive ideology’s occupancy of the federal executive branch, is the best thing that could have happened to all citizen Americans of good will.
Students will do themselves a favor by rejecting the Big Lies advocated by these nutty tower dwellers.
Calm down and get back to class. Preferably in something other than victim-identity fields.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Hello, mikeb.
It’s not enough to have control of the White House, two houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court. It’s time to take over English departments (because that’s where the real center of power is located). This way we can *protect* those poor deceived students (because they simply can’t think for themselves).
John Mayer • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:39 pm
make sure u let everyone know about this letter when they tour the college, that’ll knock down your applicant pool by about 50%
Guido Sarduchi • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:30 pm
Liberalism is a Mental Disorder. These students and professors need to study Dr. Michael Savage and they will Learn. Trump is the best thing that could have happened to this country. Tens of millions out of the work force and on food stamps and another ten trillion in debt says it all. Time for an adult business man to show how to get an economy and country going.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:01 pm
Dear Father Guido,
I hear that Dwayne Johnson is going to play the lead in the upcoming Doc Savage movie.
Who should play Donald Trump in the inevitable biopic?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/who-should-play-donald-trump-in-the-inevitable-biopic-a7122996.html
bc3b • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:12 pm
College professors (especially the liberal arts type) live in a fantasy world. They teach 9-15 hours a week for 30 weeks a year. They live in an echo chamber where 95% of their peers hold the same values and beliefs they do.
It’s not like that in the real world, kids. There are competitive pressures and if your company doesn’t do well. there are consequences in the form of benefits reductions and job cuts. Your boss often doesn’t care if he/she offends you. Not everyone thinks the same way you do. There are deadlines, high expectations and demands and no safe zones. Businesses are looking to do more with less.
If you’re a liberal arts major, find a practical major or prepare for a career in retail.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-college-professors-work-hard-enough/2012/02/15/gIQAn058VS_story.html?utm_term=.4a393e670f8d
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:23 pm
What the ‘liberal’ in ‘liberal arts’ actually means:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/02/what-the-liberal-in-liberal-arts-actually-means/
ARTS, SCIENCES, EDUCATION: They all liberate, are liberating, are LIBERAL.
Ken Sherman • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:08 pm
So sorry for you all. I am sending you a crate of emotional support porcupines.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Oh! They sound cute but a tad illegal. Ever hear of animal rights or the SPCA?
Disgusted Alum • Nov 21, 2016 at 10:54 am
Wow, Abe, A LOT of things are “illegal” in your world! So far we have porcupines and considering the educational background of a job applicant on your “illegal” list and I’m only halfway through the comments (spoiler alert: both are “legal” here in reality). Looking forward to seeing what else makes your list!
Honest Abe • Nov 23, 2016 at 3:09 pm
Dear Disgusted,
Ethics (and jokes) aren’t much of a priority in your dog-eat-dog world, are they? Animal abuse does, in fact, transgress state laws, and sending anyone a crate (single) of porcupines (plural) sounds cruel to the packages live contents (and to its recipients).
http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/AnimalCrueltyLaws.pdf
econjack • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:06 pm
You people have grown up with being told how special you are, and have a wall full of Participation Trophies to prove it. Why is it when you lose an election through a process that has centuries of history behind it, you still insist on getting your way because you are so special. Four years from now you’ll learn just how much those Participation Trophies really mean, unless you are like so many other recent graduates still living in their parent’s basement.
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:49 pm
For your enjoyment:
http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/111315-RickMcKee2.jpg
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Yes, it’s a privilege to go to college. And, yes, there a lot of people (high school dropouts and college grads) living in their parents’ basements. (This is where Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have similar messages.)
However, Econjack, you’re not going to get young people on your side by belittling them on their enlightened stance on civil rights. (This is where Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have vastly divergent messages.)
D. Alano • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Exactly one US President in history built and operated race-based concentration camps in this country, and he’s still revered by leftists as a giant of the Democratic Party. Fear the Democrats – defenders of slavery, Jim Crow, internment, socialism and every other evil this country has dabbled in.
Trump is not rounding up anybody, you silly drama queens.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Are Jesus’ teachings about love and goodwill toward fellow man proof that He taught socialist principles?
Robert Blaze • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:04 pm
I guess colleges are now purveyors of emotional cripples and social misfits instead of diverse opinions and experiences – how sad that “education” has come to mean left-wing intolerance and being oh-so-scared of the Boogeyman.
Your institution is stealing from those who pay for an education. Be ashamed – very ashamed that your staff has zero coping skills with disappointment except for inciting others to do your dirty work for you.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:00 pm
What would Jesus say, Mr. Blaze?
oatka • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Suck it up, snowflakes.
Those of us on the other side were bummed out when your empty suit won in 2008, based on skin color alone. We didn’t riot in the streets, vandalize property, call for assassination of the New Guy, or Brown Shirt those who didn’t agree with us.
When you rubbed our noses in it in 2012, we didn’t hold “grief therapy sessions” with Play-Doh and coloring books, “therapy dogs”, “safety pins”, Cry-Ins”, or other moronic Drama Queen performances.
We didn’t do anything but grit our teeth and promise, like the old Dodgers fans, “Wait ‘till next time”.
Now, One of Ours beat out the designated loser, Jeb Bush, plus 19 other Establishment hacks (for the most part), and won the nomination. Then during the Main Event, he exposed the Media for the political presstitutes they had become and flummoxed all the self-appointed elites and their bogus polls.
What the devil did your people ever accomplish? And you carry on like those bawling econuts on YouTube, sobbing and wailing over dead trees? Please.
As I said in the beginning, “Suck it up, snowflakes”. Wait until you see what the Real World has waiting for you.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 5:55 pm
Oatka, don’t be a SORE WINNER, and don’t live in a dream world. I’m no fan of the Clintons, Gore, or Obama, but there’s plenty of evidence (past and present) of reactionary right-wing riots, vandalism, physical threats and scapegoating:
A Black Church Burned in the Name of Trump
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/a-black-church-burned-in-the-name-of-trump/506246/
‘Make America White Again’: Hate speech and crimes post-election
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/us/post-election-hate-crimes-and-fears-trnd/
Golafayette1991 • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:59 am
MONSTER ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Parent of nincompoop • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:58 am
I told my kid she could go to any college to which she could get admitted and we would foot the bill. She chose Lafayette and we pay the bill. Seeing this simpering, hand wringing, whining letter signed by “adults” offends my Southern redneck sensibilities.
This is the liberal cesspool I knew Lafayette would be – but somehow hoped it wouldn’t. Kid better be able to parlay this quarter-million dollar experience into something worthwhile but given the “campus leadership” I doubt it.
Disgusted Alum • Nov 18, 2016 at 8:08 pm
I am currently hiring for several positions in my company, and based on what I have seen going on at the college it pains me to say that I have made the decision that I absolutely will not consider candidates who are recent Lafayette graduates. The reason is that the jobs I am filling require critical thinking and analytical skills, and the ability to defend recommendations, arguments, and positions. All I have seen lately based on social media and the student newspaper is hostility toward and dismissal of opposing views on pretty much anything, and a deeply disrespectful tone of students toward alums who express concerns or opinions. I need employees who are able to consider all facets of a deal and weigh the merits of them all objectively. I also need employees who are able to receive constructive criticism without staging a walkout or requiring time in a safe space. Finally, I need employees who have learned what their degree says that they know – that’s difficult to do with the professors spending all their time on temper tantrums and walkouts. I wish you and your daughter the best in her struggles to obtain an education at Lafayette. It used to be a great place.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 6:16 pm
Dear Disgusted Alum,
It’s discriminatory to exclude job applicants based on where they attended college. But good luck trying to hire graduates of Trump University.
Trump University-related lawsuits settled for $25 million
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/18/trump-university-related-lawsuits-settled-for-25-million.html
Disgusted Alum • Nov 21, 2016 at 10:50 am
Honest Abe,
Um, that’s 100% FALSE (unless you consider a recent Lafayette degree a disability):
https://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/practices/index.cfm?renderforprint=1
Honest Abe • Nov 23, 2016 at 10:36 am
Dear Disgusted,
I didn’t mean to imply it was actionable. It’s unethical, spiteful, mean-spirited… But you’re completely within your legal rights to be just the way you are. As the Donald would say, SAD!!
Honest Abe • Nov 23, 2016 at 3:47 pm
That said, Disgusted Alum,
If you were to reveal your identity or the name of your company, I suspect that any past, present or future applicants for positions at your firm who also happen to be graduates of Lafayette C *and* a member of a historically disenfranchised group would have grounds to file suit against you and/or your firm based on your words (November 18, 2016 at 8:08 pm).
The open letter, which you denounced, is in line with the principles of the EEOC (whose link you kindly provided): “It is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person’s race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.”
My guess is that you won’t be on the front lines if called on to protect these laws when threatened.
Honest Abe • Nov 21, 2016 at 9:24 am
Dear Parent of Nincompoop,
Little wonder Nincompoop (as you call her) left home and tried something different. BTW, the open letter doesn’t offend my Southern redneck sensibilities in the least. So, I don’t know what to suggest other than a time machine or Liberty U. Even Ole Miss has diversity initiatives these days.
Rational thinker • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:55 am
“dawn of fascism”. This comment seems severe as we still very much have (1) Constitutional controls on altering the government (2) Multiple political parties that openly and vehemently debate issues.
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Agreed.
And btw – Fascism? The ignorance displayed be these “educators” is appalling.
If they are worried about fascism they should be warning their students about the dangers of radical Islam – the true fascists.
Don’t believe it? Take a look at the Wiki (and then tell us how DJT is such a danger): Relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:32 pm
Hmm… How about state terrorism?
Police killed more than 100 unarmed black people in 2015
http://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed/
Fatal shootings by police are up in the first six months of 2016, Post analysis finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fatal-shootings-by-police-surpass-2015s-rate/2016/07/07/81b708f2-3d42-11e6-84e8-1580c7db5275_story.html
Carl Hopkinson • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:54 am
It is apparent that the undersigned belong not in front of a classroom where they can expound ad libitum on their mass delusions re Trump
and American political ideology and warp our intellectually defenseless children but in the back rooms of an insane asylum where they can do relatively little harm.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Thanks, Senator McCarthy. This is a great appeal to “the better angels of our nature.”
It’s not enough to have control of the White House, two houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court. It’s time to take over English departments because that’s where the real center of power is located.
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:50 am
Buck up buttercups…
Concerned reader • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:49 am
It almost reads as Satire but sadly is true. I hope our hard earned tuition money does not pay for this event.
The fact that this is a collective of faculty and presented in that way is embarrassing to the campus, alumni and higher education. They should form a club like the rest of us and not speak for all faculty and the greater college community.
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Agreed.
Long gone is the generation that left the “old world” to face the uncertainties & challenges of the new. Today’s generation faces so little actual hardship, so little actual racism, so little actual privation.
Long gone are the pioneers who headed out across a vast continent in covered wagons.
Almost gone is our greatest generation. Those who fought Nazism (which in modern times is known as ‘radical Islam’), and then communism. We are lucky that we are separated from the rest of the world by two large oceans – having a benign neighbor to the north, and a poorly armed 2nd world neighbor to the south…
No, any opposition the current generation faces results in the need to fly to a safe space – oftentimes their parents basement. The world is not a safe place. If the current generation does not buck-up and develop some spine, well, I fear for the future…
Morgan McGuinness • Nov 18, 2016 at 1:03 pm
I agree that history is incredibly important and the generations of the past fought more difficult fights, and that we’ve advanced so that certain challenges (thankfully) don’t exist, and we no longer need covered wagons (in the US at least). This is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s called development and progress. But social progress isn’t made and will never be made if we say “Hey, those past generations had it worse, so we should stop whining about our civil injustices.”. Those pioneers and past generations didn’t look at the generations before them who struggled even harder and decided it would be spineless to want to fight for a better or more just society.
You’re right, the world is not a safe place. Just because it’s safer than it was yesterday (due to the same type of progress we’re trying to make now), you’re saying we should accept what we have and not continue working on it? I mean, you could say by the same argument that women who were previously murdered by their communities for adultery are spineless to protest being beaten by their husbands? Cavemen had a really rough time, so why develop medicine, technology, or law?
I don’t like to risk assuming anything, but I can’t imagine this was written by anyone considered a minority or underrepresented in this country, because I can’t imagine one of those people accepting injustice done against them. If we want to be like the valiant past generations that you mention, then we’ll continue working to make sure our society progresses as they did, no matter how “little” of a hardship some white males of our country looking from the outside assume is faced by those speaking out.
Stagophile • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:46 am
Frankly I think it’s time to remove the President/Dean of Lafayette. Why is she not supporting this noble effort? Why is her signature here along with all of these other fearless academics?
Wokeman • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:55 am
Yeah! Why is our President so tolerate of competing political views?!
Believer in Fairy Tales • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:01 pm
Good to hear that the faculty plans to have “teach-ins” Sounds very productive.
They also plan to explore how and why this election happened. – Allow me to save you the time, it happened because it was mandated by the constitution every 4 years and because he won the electoral college.
Can’t wait to see how effective the faculty is in changing the world. Can’t help but think they pander to like-minded individuals who echo their own preconceived notions.
In other news, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are real.
bc3b • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:50 pm
The faculty will probably demand overtime pay for the teach-in because it’s above and beyond the 9-15 hours they spend in the classroom every week.
Anon • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:13 pm
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/18/110-college-presidents-issue-letter-trump-urging-him-speak-out-against-harassment#.WC7xi4Fa4-s.twitter
Disgruntled Alumnus • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:38 am
Lafayette use to chug beers and monster energies. Now? We huddle and cry.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Beats vomiting in a toilet bowl.
Sloan Kettering • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:35 am
Used to blaze it up every day with Johnny Hopkins before I skipped all these professor’s classes. Glad I didn’t waste my time listening to their mindless America-hating liberal drivel when I coulda been playing guitar hero and eating Doritos. These people are part of the problem.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Agreed. Your college degree was never about attending class and learning anything. Your diploma is a white stamp of approval to continue watching Will Ferrell movies and doing whatever you please.
Report: Higher Education Creates ‘White Racial Privilege’
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/07/31/report-higher-education-creates-white-racial-privilege
Tish • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:32 am
Proud of you Lafayette. Proud of you.
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:29 am
Okay, Trump won.
So, how will he govern?
How’s this for starters:
President-elect Donald J. Trump has offered Jeff Sessions the post of attorney general, according to officials close to the transition.
Mr. Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 because of racially charged comments.
Seems like this Faculty Letter is spot-on. I fully support it.
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:53 am
Tell us please – how do you feel about Justice Thomas?
Your response will tell us everything we need to know about how the left feels about racial minorities…
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Justice Thomas is not the issue here.
The issue here is having one’s civil rights aborted based upon race, creed, sexual orientation, etc.
Trump appears to be giving the AG helm to someone who obviously shows no belief in those rights for ALL people.
Also, not left or right. An independent. It means I am open to both sides of an argument. Can you do that?
JonV • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Sessions like Justice Thomas, was subject to scrutiny because of the testimony of ONE person.
Did Sessions do & say what the individual (Thomas Figures) said he did? We’ll never know. But I would argue that one alleged incident (hearsay from 30 years ago) is insufficient to create the case you’re making against his nomination.
Is that a sufficiently independent response for you?
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 20, 2016 at 8:00 pm
See independent data below. Please check your facts.
True, Thomas had one person testifying against him. Lo and behold, he was approved by the Senate Judicial Committee! Sounds like not enough evidence to warrant dismissal of the appointment.
Sessions had two people testify against him. Then the Judicial Committee decided that there was enough validity in the testimony to deny him the Federal Judge Appointment, only the 2nd time in 50 years. I would think that this would be some kind of data point to consider.
Nevertheless, Trump can name anybody for AG position. Are you going to select a guy like this as AG when there are dozens of other worthy and less controversial candidates.
Presidential words and choices matter. They send signals to the whole constituency. My independent analysis: Trump could have made a better choice. Simple as that.
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 20, 2016 at 11:23 am
One other thought.
As I said, Trump won
And Trump could have easily built his winning coalition around the economically displaced (bad trade deals), avoiding the use of identity politics to divide the country based upon race, creed, etc. Yet, he has maintained his choice to divide and shows absolutely no hint of apologizing for its use. No other President-Elect in the last 50 years has purposely gone out of their way to divide people in this manner. Despite the checks and balances in government, this represents a major humanistic step backwards and the evidence is in the days old empowerment of hate groups.
Do you all support registering a particular group? Maybe eventually rounding them up for internment camp, since they obviously can’t be trusted not to walk in your front door and blow your house to smithereens.
Should we start signing up all whites into a database as they obviously all support a Neo-Nazi agenda. Think about it.
This is not a question for the left or right.
This is a moral question. And a question worth discussing in an academic setting.
A Proud Alumnus • Nov 20, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Let’s go to the tapes:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/17/politics/jeff-sessions-racism-allegations/
Two people testified. Not one…..
PhilG • Nov 18, 2016 at 2:52 pm
Some of these comments reinforce what Trump has unleashed. He has made racism, sexism, antisemitism and xenophobia socially acceptable. Adherents have crawled out from under the rocks to concur with his views. When at Lafayette, we, and many other colleges went out on strike to protest the Vietnam war. We weren’t trying to “get out of class.” Our actions contributed to hastening that war’s end. Just as I hope ongoing, unrelenting protests will change the direction of this country for the better.
PAWriter • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:27 am
The degree to which civil liberties are under attack cannot be overstated. Some students are feeling threatened and unsafe. That’s what’s embarrassing and sad.
John Mayer • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:32 pm
they don’t feel unsafe bc of the fact that ISIS has gotten out of control in the last 8 years and this administration can’t stop them? BOO HOO
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 7:48 pm
Mr. Mayer,
You’re very much missing the point and intentionally throwing salt on the wound.
People have good reason to be wary of those holding the reins of power in the US. To be sure, ISIS is worrisome, but the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court have much more influence over the lives of Americans.
BTW, who was in office on 9/11? And who was in office when Al-Qaeda’s ringleader was killed?
Be the adult here and try to help *everyone* feel safe.
Mister Stu • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:13 am
Fred Trump went to Lehigh. People forget that
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 6:05 pm
Please, let’s not hold this against Lehigh.
Tonald Drump • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:00 am
This is SAD!!
Devil's Advocate • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:53 am
This is an extremely embarrassing letter. Not only are there issues brought up here that are fundamentally untrue, but the hypocrisy of acting as if the other candidate would have done any good for our country is unfathomable. The worries brought up here are easily refutable if even an ounce of personal research is conducted. It looks as though our STEM professors haven’t given in to the brainwashing of the main stream media, as most have the common sense to stay as far away from this letter as possible. Supposedly the same cannot be said for those involved in our more irrelevant majors.
If a conservative wrote this letter in 2008 or 2012 it wouldn’t have been published and that individual would have been ostracized. I guess in soft sciences the echo chamber is exponentially louder, but it’s time to grow up and stop complaining about the election. You all acted enraged when Trump said he might not accept the outcomes of the election, and now that he’s won the left has gone up in arms. The hypocrisy is appalling. I’m embarrassed for all the professors who agreed to sign this.
Wokeman • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:01 am
Please refrain from comments like this. I’ve designated this comment section as my safe space.
Pevil's Schmadvocate • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:31 am
Go back to your safe space lol
Morgan McGuinness • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:00 pm
I can’t seem to find where in this letter the authors support the idea that Clinton (I’m assuming she is the candidate you’re referring to) or any of the other candidates would do better for our country. So in that, I agree that the hypocrisy in this letter is “unfathomable” because it likely doesn’t exist.
I also find your theory interesting that STEM professors haven’t signed this as a result of the “relevancy” of their fields. If I were to make a theory based on the authors’ academic backgrounds, I would suppose that those with a better knowledge of politics, law, social engineering and psychology, economics, international relations, and history, all of which have probably had the most remarkable influence on this election and voters’ opinions, would theoretically have a better grasp of the issues at hand.
I’m not saying STEM fields are any more or less relevant than these (and for the record, I studied and work in the “hard” sciences). I’m just saying I wouldn’t want to be the girl that stands up at a UN conference, or any other gathering of highly influential decision-makers, and calls these fields “irrelevant”, especially if my experience with them is limited to a few required courses at Lafayette.
bc3b • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:21 pm
Most of the faculty is from the liberal arts area. Enough said.
John Mayer • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:28 pm
exactly!!
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 11:04 am
Good point. More STEM faculty should speak up given Mr. Trump’s lack of interest in research and the scientific community:
“Here’s some advice for you, President Trump, from scientists”
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/here-s-some-advice-you-president-trump-scientists
Mike Wuzniek • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:42 am
When I tried out for the school football team in 1968, if you got hurt we rubbed dirt on it! It’s time to toughen up and stop pandering to the needs of whiny persons. Cur non!
George MacArthur Dusker • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:22 am
It’s true! Mike and I used to rub dirt in eachother’s mouths too.
Morgan McGuinness • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:33 am
It doesn’t appear that this letter is advocating for a Clinton or even a democratic presidency (“pandering to the needs of whiny persons”), but rather it’s saying that if Trump decides to act radically by deporting Muslims, rolling back LGBTQ rights, or a number of other things, they’d like to be prepared to act in defense. In fact, it’s actually fairly open-minded to the possibility of a Trump presidency not becoming cause for alarm. I wouldn’t consider citizens organizing to defend basic civil rights and protect the social progress we’ve made as a country as whiny or needlessly pandering to the needs of others, and I think you probably wouldn’t either.
Escaped Eastonian • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:03 pm
I think if everyone simply took a breath, then went back and objectively investigated what President-elect Trump said about these subjects before breathlessly invoking Godwin’s Law and believing everything said in the decidedly slanted media. Honestly, the Clinton campaign would have made these claims about anyone they ran against, so frankly, I think you all can save the hysterics. All of the very same claims were made about Reagan, and he turned out to be one of the very best presidents in American history. These faculty members are only making themselves look embarrassingly silly. This is one school I know I can scratch off the college search for our kids.
MC Toroian • Nov 19, 2016 at 12:30 am
Totally agree with you! So ashamed to see some of my professors signed this letter – people who taught me how to think! I guess they are too busy watching CNN and reading the corrupt mainstream newspapers to know the true facts of what our president elect has said on these subjects. I’m deeply disturbed by what this current collegiate generation is being taught as far as how democracy works. Two parties – not one in this country. Suck it up! I cried when Bill Clinton got elected when I was in college – no one wrote a letter like this. Suggest these professors gets together and do a study on when and how their elitist Democratic Party decided that poor, hardworking people who make up 90 percent of the geographic land mass of this nation don’t have votes that are worth the same value as those of us on the coastlines. Shame on you all. Go into the middle of a ghetto with your students and teach them what it’s like to be poor. Teach them what it is like to need to apply for section 8 housing and food stamps. No, instead you teach them with this letter how to whine and you teach them to forget we are a three branch government. And you teach them that our citizens (outside of the coastlines) are too dumb to vote. Sorry it does not work that way. And if I had a kid in a school right now and saw this letter posted for my kid to read, I would demand a refund. As far as I am concerned this letter goes well beyond the line of what is expected of a college professor. You are all elitists. I am ashamed that my alma mater, born out of patriotism of the Marquis de Lafayette, would allow such anti – American rhetoric be taught.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Dear MC “Hammer” Toroian,
Your words sound like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black: “You are all elitists. I am ashamed that my alma mater, born out of patriotism of the Marquis de Lafayette, would allow such anti – American rhetoric be taught.”
Besides, don’t true patriots eat freedom fries instead of French fries?
IamWithHer • Nov 20, 2016 at 9:57 am
I am glad you are keeping your children away from this fine school. Reagan, a great president? Hum, A delusional opinion from a delusional individual who voted for a delusional candidate. Sadly, this is what we are witnessing in America right now. Everyone seems to believe what they want to believe. Trump denies statements he himself made on TV, and people don’t have an issue with that? He just lost a lawsuit for fraud to American people, and his brainwashed followers don’t have a problem with that? He is requesting security clearance for his children, who have no business in this, and people don’t have a problem with this? Trump is demanding an apology for someone who respectfully pleaded for the VP to lead a country for all groups inclusive, while he insulted more than half of the country and has not offered a sincere apology. WE the people have the right to protest, we have the right to stand up and tell Trump WE the people WILL NOT tolerate racism and abuse.
AJ Madison • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:18 pm
“to defend basic civil rights and protect the social progress”
You lefties don’t get to define the terms of what constitutes basic civil rights and “social progress”. Getting rid of illegal immigrants who illegally cross our border or overstay a visa, often steal SS numbers to get a job, take jobs which would otherwise go to a US Citizen or LEGAL immigrant is both protecting civil rights and social progress.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 11:11 am
Rubbing dirt on concussions is how Nixon got elected in ’68.
DJ Santo • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:39 am
An organized cry in during the Lafayette-Lehigh football game is currently being organized for alum unable to express themselves in the corporate world. Follow my twitter for more.
Lucas Simpson • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:36 am
Remember, I am an Anthropolgy & Sociology major AND I WILL DRAG YOU
stella • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:01 pm
What kind of job can you get as an Anthro-Sociology major? Professional protester? Will that pay for your school loans?
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 5:52 pm
Dear Stella, Here’s hoping you get your groove back.
• Pres. Ronald Reagan and Rev. Martin Luther King studied sociology.
• Prince Charles of England, Glen Close, and Tracy Chapman studied anthropology.
Student • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:33 am
We all transfer to UPenn! The Alma Mater of our KING! LORD TRUMP!
Judd Gibb • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:28 am
Trump would have been in Zete!
Eric Rutherford Class of '65 • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:22 am
Ooo Booo Hooo. Trumpty Dumpty won, now get over it!
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 12:07 pm
Hey, Mr. Rutherford! Any relation to President Rutherford B. Hayes? He lost the popular vote in 1876, won the electoral college, and went on to “compromise” on civil rights.
Just keepin’ it real.
James Rackover • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:22 am
Hope to see everyone out there supporting Lafayette on Saturday. Go pards! Chop the mountain hawks!
Wokeman • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:54 am
Why can’t both teams win?
Uncle Sam • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:52 am
Someone has to lose? Don’t tell the faculty!!!
bc3b • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Whichever team loses will be taken to a safe space where the players, coaches, managers, etc. will be awarded participation trophies.
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 6:48 pm
They can. Sometimes one wins the Electoral College, and the other wins the popular vote.
Presidents Winning Without Popular Vote
http://www.factcheck.org/2008/03/presidents-winning-without-popular-vote/
Student • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:19 am
The wall just got 10 feet higher
Wokeman • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:16 am
Makes u think (thinking face emoji)
Lehigh Student • Nov 18, 2016 at 9:56 am
The opposition is becoming soft. We are winning.
student • Nov 18, 2016 at 9:43 am
Who let Rojo sign? Hes not even a real professor!
Danny Woodhead - RB • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:31 am
Oh real cool man!!! Let me guess you’re one of the Trump NAZI SYMPATHIZERS!!!!
Honest Abe • Nov 19, 2016 at 11:32 am
Are you a real student? Your imaginary friends, family and professors have real doubts.
“Moone Boy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6bzxkl_8eQ
Johnny Poophead • Nov 18, 2016 at 9:29 am
GET BACK TO CLASS YOU DAMN KIDS
John Wilkerson • Nov 18, 2016 at 10:41 am
Mr. Poophead,
As a former student at Lafayette, I would like to wildly disagree with you assertion that these students are protesting, petitioning, etc merely to get out of class. In turn, they deeply care about their community and I find it encouraging and inspiring! Go Lafayette!
Johnny Poophead • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:02 am
Don’t you dare tell me what to do. This Poophead fought in two wars, was shot 3 times, trekked miles in nothing but my bare feet. I will not stand down Wilkerson!
Jimmy Gould • Nov 22, 2016 at 10:58 am
It would be a lot easier to respect a comment if it was attached to a real name… not hiding behind Johnny poophead.
John Mayer • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:27 pm
can’t u do it on your own time? and not on class time? have some respect for your education and the fact that probably your parents are paying a fortune for it
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 7:38 pm
Mr. Mayer,
Please refer to the message from “Sloan Kettering” to find out what many students do on their own time.
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 4:17 pm
Mr. Wilkerson,
Thanks for your support, and don’t take Mr. Poophead’s words to heart. This veteran didn’t receive (or isn’t currently receiving) the support and care he needed (or currently needs).
Uncle Sam • Nov 18, 2016 at 11:51 am
The US Constitution means nothing to the lunatic left unless it fits their agenda, meaning furthers their own power. Maybe some play dough and chicken noodle soup would make these damned fools feel better?
Honest Abe • Nov 20, 2016 at 4:11 pm
— Play-Doh is not an ingredient in chicken noodle soup. (That said, I can understand the confusion. My bubbe can’t prepare matzoh ball soup like she used to.)
— The open letter is a defense of the US Constitution.
— Therefore, rather than contempt, maybe some words of encouragement are in order. Surely you can find common ground?