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Thursday, 1 May 2008
Prof sues students for criticising her

From Roger Kimball (emphasis added): 

Yes, really: Priya Venkatesan, who taught writing this year at Dartmouth College, sent around several emails to former students threatening to sue them under Title VII, the “anti-discrimination” portion of the 1964 Civil Rights act. “Dartlog,” the weblog of the invaluable Dartmouth Review, published the text of her email, which is a classic in the annals of politically correctness fatuousness.

Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:56:35 -0400 (EDT) From: Priya.Venkatesan@Dartmouth.EDU To: “WRIT.005.17.18-WI08″:;, Priya.Venkatesan@Dartmouth.EDU

Subject: WRIT.005.17.18-WI08: Possible lawsuit

Dear former class members of Science, Technology and Society: I tried to send an email through my server but got undelivered messages. I regret to inform you that I am pursuing a lawsuit in which I am accusing some of you (whom shall go unmentioned in this email) of violating Title VII of anti-federal [SIC] discrimination laws. The feeling that I am getting from the outside world is that Dartmouth is considered a bigoted place, so this may not be news and I may be successful in this lawsuit. I am also writing a book detailing my experiences as your instructor, which will “name names” so to speak. I have all of your evaluations and these will be reproduced in the book.

Have a nice day.

Priya

No thanks - I have other plans.

Whom? Whom shall go unmentioned? And this "professor" taught "writing"? Between you and I, her hypercorrection suggests she is not someone whom can be trusted. Kimball gives a sample of her "writing":

In many ways, social constructivism has been reframed as postmodernism, since both movements question the scientific realm’s theory of truth — that is, that scientific facts mirror an external reality which does indeed exist. However, this reframing is unnecessary, since clear distinctions exist between social constructivism and postmodernism. Through my experience in the laboratory, I have found that postmodernism offers a constructive critique of science in ways that social constructivism cannot, due to postmodernism’s emphasis on openly addressing the presupposed moral aims of science. In other words...

No other words, please. No other words whichsoever.

Posted on 6:46 AM by Mary Jackson
Comments
5 May 2008
Send an emailHugh Fitzgerald
between you and me...

5 May 2008
Tina Trent
Academia am toast. However, it isn't funny. How many careers have been destroyed or aborted by academicians who share Venkatesan's ideology? Students, exhausted by relentless accusations from teachers like this one, wisely lapse into silence. Professors who question the status quo render themselves unemployable. What remains? Those bullied into acquiescence and the bullies themselves, armed to the teeth with anti-bullying pamphlets.

5 May 2008
Mary Jackson

between you and me....

Duh.