Thursday, February 13, 2003
They scream for a good reason--and it indicates progress!!!
I enjoyed King's observations and comments regarding Miss Medians concern that the SCSU Association of Scholars is posting announcements on the SCSU announcement list. Somewhere in their book "The Shadow University", Kors and Silverglate made the astute observation that one method by which the thought police exert control over a campus is via the control of the symbolic and communication environment. By monopolizing bulletin boards, lamp posts, rallies, etc., they effectively exert an informal form of control over campus communication.
However, when I was fighting my battles with the thought police at "Whats-a-matta-U," things started to change, largely due to the new tools of protest and communication. Yes----the internet and computers. If I can put a historical spin on this thread, when the APSY department was under attack, for the first time in years, more and more faculty started coming out of the walls to make comments on the faculty listserv. And then, for the first time ever, a special web page (Shadow University on the Mississippi) was born that gave those fighting for free speech and high academic standards a place to post material. I recall with great delight the responses from the thought police. They couldn't believe it!!! And now, we have this wonderful blog run largely by King (kudos to King----do you ever sleep?).
It is my belief that over the past 10 years, the effective use of email, listservs, and web/blog pages by those fighting for the principles articulated by NAS have stolen much of the symbolic and communication environment from the thought police. For some reason, they seem incapable of using the same tools to organize and are left with the protest methods of the past. So---Miss Median is upset, not only because Jack is making such a presentation, but because this information is now made public to all. They no longer control the communication and symbolic environment on the SCSU campus, and have lost the race to control it via the technology of today-----and it drives them nuts. Kudos to all who have won this one little, yet important battle. It is an indicator of progress in the long war against neo-McCarthyism and political correctness run amok at SCSU.
Kevin
However, when I was fighting my battles with the thought police at "Whats-a-matta-U," things started to change, largely due to the new tools of protest and communication. Yes----the internet and computers. If I can put a historical spin on this thread, when the APSY department was under attack, for the first time in years, more and more faculty started coming out of the walls to make comments on the faculty listserv. And then, for the first time ever, a special web page (Shadow University on the Mississippi) was born that gave those fighting for free speech and high academic standards a place to post material. I recall with great delight the responses from the thought police. They couldn't believe it!!! And now, we have this wonderful blog run largely by King (kudos to King----do you ever sleep?).
It is my belief that over the past 10 years, the effective use of email, listservs, and web/blog pages by those fighting for the principles articulated by NAS have stolen much of the symbolic and communication environment from the thought police. For some reason, they seem incapable of using the same tools to organize and are left with the protest methods of the past. So---Miss Median is upset, not only because Jack is making such a presentation, but because this information is now made public to all. They no longer control the communication and symbolic environment on the SCSU campus, and have lost the race to control it via the technology of today-----and it drives them nuts. Kudos to all who have won this one little, yet important battle. It is an indicator of progress in the long war against neo-McCarthyism and political correctness run amok at SCSU.
Kevin
