Today's Columbia Spectator includes an excellent op-ed piece by anthropology professor Rosalind Morris. "When Fair Isn't Balanced" questions Spectator's decision to publish Paula Stern's "Greatest Victory, Even in Defeat" earlier this month.
Prof. Morris observes that publishing the Stern piece, which had previously been published in five other venues, violated Spectator's own policy that all submissions must be original material. She further criticizes the paper for its willingness to publish any submitted piece without skeptical examination of the facts or consideration of the argument. "'Opinion' is not an alibi for misrepresentation," she argues.
Prof. Morris's critique is well-founded. On the same day that Stern's vitriolic attack against El-Haj appeared, and in fact on the very same page of the print edition, the Spectator editorial board wrote, in "Protecting Professors", that the "University must reaffirm that while the marketplace of ideas may expose professors to criticism, the intrusion of non-academic pressure on the tenure process is unacceptable." Of course, this is an important point, but the Spectator editorial board could itself help reduce this "intrusion of non-academic pressure" by refraining from publishing politically-driven, biased diatribes masquerading as reasoned, respected opinion.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Prof. Morris Questions Spec's Submission Practices
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
SDS Regional Conference This Weekend
SDS is having its Northeastern convention this weekend in Philadelphia. Events include "Towards a Collective Liberation Vision" and "Hip Hop for Palestine" as well as tons of info on organizing, working with media, and building a movement. Columbia can expect to have a more militant, articulate, and feisty left once the SDSers get back to campus.
If you want to get involved with the convention, contact Beth Blum - binahmirah@gmail.com
Friday: Screening of "Finally Got the News" at NYU
FINALLY GOT THE NEWS is a forceful, unique documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, will respond to worker's problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.
When: Friday, November 30, 6:00 PM
Where: NYU Dept. of Sociology, Puck Bldg,
4th Floor 295 Lafayette St. NY, NY 10012
"Although most histories of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements give greater attention to [other groups]... the League [of Revolutionary Black Workers] was in many respects the most significant expression of black radical thought and activism in the 1960s. The League took the impetus for Black Power and translated it into a fighting program focusing on industrial workers."—Manning Marable, Director, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Professor of History, Columbia UniversityIf you want educate yourself about the League of Revolutionary Black Workers but can't attend the film, check out these books: Detroit, I Do Mind Dying: A Study in Urban Revolution and Class, Race, and Worker Insurgency. Read more!
Rally to Support the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela
One of the most exciting recent developments in international politics has been Hugo Chavez's outspoken challenge to the neo-liberal order and the Washington Consensus imposed on Latin America. Check out an
earlier post on el participante for details and discussion of these developments.
Attend the Rally with Lucha: Meet up at the Gates (116th and B'way) at 12:15
Saturday, Dec. 1st at 1pm
Venezuelan Consulate
7 East 51th Street
(between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue)
Take the E/V to 5th Ave or the 6 train to 51st St.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
More ICE Raids
As part of a massive round-up of undocumented workers, ostensibly targeting gang members and others involved in illegal activities, recent coverage has made it clear that these raids are more about intimidation and profiling than about stopping crimes.
The Times reports on a recent raid in Greenport, Long Island which has caused considerable controversy and community tension:Only one of the 11 men taken away that morning was suspected of a gang affiliation, according to the Southold Town police, who patrol Greenport and played the crucial role of identifying targets for the operation.
The 10 others, while accused of immigration violations, were not gang associates and had no criminal records.
Instead, they were known as good workers and family men. When they suddenly vanished into the far-flung immigration detention system, six of their employers hired lawyers to try to find and free them. Some went further, like Dan and Tina Finne, who agreed to take care of the 3-year-old American-born daughter of a Guatemalan carpenter who was swept up in the raid, if her mother was detained, too.
“This is un-American,” said Ms. Finne, 41, a Greenport native, echoing other citizens who condemned the home raids in public meetings and letters to The Suffolk Times, a weekly newspaper. “We need to do something about immigration, but not this.”
Friday, November 23, 2007
Today is Buy Nothing Day
The anarcho-environmental folks at ad-busters have been putting this together for quite a few years now. Even the New York Times has noticed this year. While the frenzied celebration of capitalist consumerism is certainly disgusting, what are the limits of this form of mobilizing people's opposition to the social costs of capitalism? Is "anti-consumption" a viable message for the left to embrace? While there is much merit in these subversive and slick campaigns, it seems important to think about the limits of such activities at the same time that we support them in their work.
While selling sex, objectifying women, and spreading commodity fetishism, MTV has rejected advertising about Buy Nothing Day. Send an email to the execs.
Check out these links:
- BND on Wikipedia.org
- BND in News
- International BND Website
- Japan BND Website
- UK BND Website
- BND Facebook Group
- BND YouTube Playlist
- BND Flickr Group
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Community Meeting on Expansion
There will be a meeting of the Education Committee of the Local Development Corporation for West Harlem this evening.
5 PM in the Pentecostal Church on 125th and Old Broadway (between Bway and Amsterdam).
Monday, November 19, 2007
NYPD Kill Another Man in Brooklyn
Early on Saturday, 18 November, NYPD officers from Brooklyn's 75th precinct shot and killed David Kostovski, 29, as they tried to arrest him. The police officers fired two series of shots at the deceased, who was allegedly mentally ill. They first shot at him after he refused to put down the broken bottle in his hand, which they thought was a knife, and lunged out at them as they attempted arrest, "momentarily halting him." But when Mr. Kostovski raised his non-bottle-wielding arm, they pumped a second round of bullets into him, killing him.
In total, 12 shot were fired, which almost seems reasonable in comparison to the 20 shots fired less than a week before when Brooklyn NYPD officers shot and killed a black man wielding a hairbrush during an attempted arrest. This time the officers did not even believe that their "suspect" had a gun.
"These cops got to stop this," Brooklyn resident Shirley Smith says in a Times interview. "They’re shooting people like crazy."
Her sentiments cannot be echoed strongly enough.
Monday, 20 November: Sundaes on Mondays
Join ROOTEd for a discussion on class priviledge and of course, ice cream.
IRC, 9 pm.
Sponsored by Respecting Ourselves and Others Through Education (ROOTEd).
Sunday, November 18, 2007
POSTPONED - POSTPONED: Monday 19 November: Columbia Solidarity Day Of Silence
[Sometime next week????] students supporting reform in the core curriculum, administrative support, ethnic studies, and Manhattanville expansion will be silent as a form of personal protest to the lack of response by the administration. In addition to this personal act of support, come to the silent demonstration on Low Steps at 11:00 am. Wear black as a sign of solidarity.
To participate in the day of silence, come to the Steps at 11am on Monday, and refrain from conversation until noon on Tuesday, 20 November.
Sponsored by Columbia Solidarity.
Tuesday, 20 November: Latinas & Body Image
Come engage in an activity to help us come up with an image of the "ideal latina" and discuss what it means to look "latina".
Does your family ever tell you what you should look like?
What is "just right"?
Do you tell your girlfriend that she is eating too much?
Join las Hermanas of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/ Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. as we discuss these issues and more.
Lerner, Board Room 502, 6:45 pm.
Sponsored by Latinas Promoviedo Comunidad / Lambda Pi Chi
The Labor Movement
Labor Notes reports on growing rank and file discontent with recent concessions made by the the UAW leadership.
Writers:
Large-scale actions will resume on Tuesday, November 20th at Sony Plaza, 56th and Madison from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Call Or Write These Media Executives And Tell Them:
Give The Writers A Fair Share Of The Billions Your Company Makes From The Content They Create. I Want My Favorite Shows Back Soon!
| Anne Sweeney | President,
| The Walt Disney Company, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-4581
| 818-560-1000
|
| Kevin Reilly | President, | Fox Broadcasting, 10201 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606
| 310-369-1000 |
| Bruce Rosenblum | President, | Warner Bros. Studios, 3400 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91505
| 818-954-6000 |
| Philippe Dauman | President/CEO, | 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036-5794
| 212-258-6000 |
| Leslie Moonves | President/CEO, | CBS, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019-6101
| 212-975-4545 |
| Jeff Zucker | President/CEO, | NBC Universal, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608-1002 | 212-664-4444 |
Check www.strikepoints.com and www.unitedhollywood.com for the latest action steps and information.
The writers of your favorite movies and TV shows need your help! In addition to calling the companies above, add your name to the growing list of supporters and be ready to answer the call when action is needed.
Check out why you should support the workers who create television: