Comments on: Does the AAUP approve of FOIA-ing professors’ emails?

By: Hugo S. Cunningham

Hugo S. Cunningham — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 04:29:11 +0000

Thanks, Walter, for the link to academeblog, and a classic in moon-battiness.
Read the first comment under the pseudonym of– you guessed it– “freespeechlover”
He equates funding political opinions that he dislikes with CIA torture.

“I don’t know why we come here!”
“I guess we’ll never know!”
“It’s like some kind of torture
“To have to watch this show!”
–two chronic hecklers at The Muppet Show

“You don’t like the Goths?”
“No! Not with the persecution we have to put up with!”
“Persecution?”
“Religious persecution. We won’t stand for it forever.”
“I thought the Goths let everybody worship as they pleased.”
“That’s just it! We Orthodox are forced to stand around and watch Arians and Monophysites and Nestorians and Jews going about their business unmolested, as if they owned the country. If that isn’t persecution, I’d like to know what is!”
? Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp

By: Boblipton

Boblipton — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 15:22:18 +0000

There is a quote by Albert Shanker, asked about the interests of the children whom his union members taught: “When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” This quotation is listed as “disputed” by Wikipedia, but it rings true.

The issue of whether the AAUP should be on the side of any academic in any situation like this, or they should adopt a “balanced” attitude is a reasonable one on its face. Without unlimited resources, you need to pick your fights. However, that choice is a political one, and when that political decision is made, it’s just about impossible to make decisions based solely on matters of principle. Inevitably, extraneous issues will kick in. Do you like the guy? You’ll go further for him. Do his political opinions differ from yours? Not so much.

My reading in this case has largely been limited to its coverage on Overlawyered, but certainly the case surrounding this coverage indicates a political bias. Certainly, AAUP Kansas State President Ron Barrett might reasonably have kept his mouth shut instead of publicly worrying about the students’ ability to pay for their case against one of his union’s members.

Bob

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 13:34:37 +0000

Claims of donor influence and entanglement with outside political forces and interests arose in many of the earlier controversies, too, which did not keep the AAUP from warning against the dangers to academic freedom of letting adversaries launch fishing expeditions. Before a court can even rule on the relevance of the Kansas FOIA demands, the state AAUP president is scornfully denying in the press that the center’s director has legitimate academic freedom interests worthy of respect. Would the reaction be as dismissive if the attack were aimed at a center sponsored by an ideologically committed donor of the opposite coloration such as, say, the Ford Foundation? Would the AAUP send an outraged letter on behalf of a professor targeted for being active on the right the way it did when Prof. Cronon in Wisconsin was targeted for being active on the left? Saying that every situation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis doesn’t go far to answer these questions.

Here’s the AcademeBlog link: http://academeblog.org/2014/12/13/is-the-aaup-hypocritical-on-foia-requests/

By: John K. Wilson

John K. Wilson — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:18:28 +0000

As I note on AcademeBlog, there’s nothing inconsistent or hypocritical about the AAUP’s stand on FOIA requests: some are legitimate, some are not, and it has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Asking for information about whether donors are influencing the executive director of an administrative unit strikes me as very different from seeking out personal emails or targeting the opinions or research of a professor.

By: Is the AAUP Hypocritical on FOIA Requests? | The Academe Blog

Is the AAUP Hypocritical on FOIA Requests? | The Academe Blog — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:15:26 +0000

[…] Olson at Overlawyered (and reprinted at Minding the Campus) argues that the AAUP is hypocritical and left-wing in its […]

By: John Cunningham

John Cunningham — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 01:25:38 +0000

The AAUP position is completely consistent; it follows the teachings of their God, VI Lenin, who memorably wrote, “Kto, kogo?” [who, whom]. the target of the request determines their views. if it is a class enemy, let it rip, if it is a Party supporter, stand privacy rights. Easy to understand, no?

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 20:59:47 +0000

“screw you Republicans, you’re always wrong” is plenty consistent.

By: great unknown

great unknown — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:29:56 +0000

Fascism is a consistent position.