The University Of Austin

[ZiprHead]

Seen elsewhere:

Bari Weiss, Niall Ferguson, Heather Heying, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Peter Boghossian, Kathleen Stock, and others are setting up a new university in Austin, Texas in opposition to what they see as the woke liberal establishments of presumably every other university (they call them “legacy universities”.


Currently they are seeking donations and publicity and have roped in some big names to boost their signal on social media such as Steven Pinker and Jonathon Haidt and Andrew Sullivan and many more people that you often hear complaining about the Wokesters.

They will have a summer course on “forbidden ideas”!

But is this project likely to succeed? Is it being set up with the best intentions?

Personally, I think some involved may have good intentions but others are probably just going to get their snouts in the trough as quickly as possible and this whole thing will fall apart in recrimination. The problem with setting yourself up as “teaching the controversy” is that there are always going to be some who are more controversial than others. Notably none of the so-called “caliper crew” seem to be involved - those famous for exploring race and IQ but does that mean that the university itself may end up being not as fearless as it claims? Will theirs be demands for way more controversy?

So is this the next Trump University? Will it be confused with actual university - the University of Texas, Austin? Would you pay good money to go there? Would you donate to this institution? Would you be happy for your kids to go there thinking they will get the best education?

Donate your money while you can. Get in on the ground floor of this fantastic opportunity.

 

[Metaphor]

What, precisely, is your problem with this? That someone, somewhere, is starting something that accords with their values?

 

[ZiprHead]

Grifters gotta grift.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Patooka]

What, precisely, is your problem with this? That someone, somewhere, is starting something that accords with their values?

Well, I think it's downright Orwellian to call oneself a University when it clearly isn't one. And here I was thinking precise useage of nouns was really important to you.

 

[thebeave]

You know a forum has totally lost its way when its founding principles (free inquiry, free expression of ideas, skepticism and secular humanism) and thought leaders are mocked and ridiculed in favor of a twisted, degenerate and dangerous ideology.

 

[ZiprHead]

You know a forum has totally lost its way when its founding principles (free inquiry, free expression of ideas, skepticism and secular humanism) and thought leaders are mocked and ridiculed in favor of a twisted, degenerate and dangerous ideology.

Drama queen much?

 

[Metaphor]

What, precisely, is your problem with this? That someone, somewhere, is starting something that accords with their values?

Well, I think it's downright Orwellian to call oneself a University when it clearly isn't one. And here I was thinking precise useage of nouns was really important to you.

Ah, so the objection is merely the (clearly, aspirational) title, and not the values themselves? I'm glad to know you do not object to people starting something that is in accordance with their values, even when you oppose those values.

 

[ZiprHead]

I'm opposed to grifters.

 

[Patooka]

Ah, so the objection is merely the (clearly, aspirational) title, and not the values themselves? I'm glad to know you do not object to people starting something that is in accordance with their values, even when you oppose those values.

They shouldn't be calling it a university, especially when it clearly isn't one. Doing so is Orwellian and authoritarian.

 

[Metaphor]

Ah, so the objection is merely the (clearly, aspirational) title, and not the values themselves? I'm glad to know you do not object to people starting something that is in accordance with their values, even when you oppose those values.

They shouldn't be calling it a university, especially when it clearly isn't one. Doing so is Orwellian and authoritarian.

Authoritarian?

"Orwellian" language isn't just any inaccurate language. It is language that is designed to limit heterodox thought, by eliminating words and changing meanings. I do not believe that an aspirational name is 'Orwellian'. As to whether they can legally call themselves a university without offering degree programs, I have no idea about the law in Texas or the US on that matter.

 

[Patooka]

Nope. Words have specific meanings. You can't change them willy nilly. For example, there is a word that comes to mind calling something a university under false pretenses ("aspirational" or not) whilst asking for monetary gain.

Fraud. Fraud is the word you are looking for.

 

[Jarhyn]

Good luck getting accreditation...

 

[Metaphor]

Nope. Words have specific meanings. You can't change them willy nilly. For example, there is a word that comes to mind calling something a university under false pretenses ("aspirational" or not) whilst asking for monetary gain.

Fraud. Fraud is the word you are looking for.

If the enterprise is fraudulent, that will come out in the fullness of time. For example, if they enroll students with the promise of offering accredited degrees and they cannot do so, then they will have committed fraud.

 

[Metaphor]

Nope. Words have specific meanings. You can't change them willy nilly. For example, there is a word that comes to mind calling something a university under false pretenses ("aspirational" or not) whilst asking for monetary gain.

Fraud. Fraud is the word you are looking for.

No. I challenged both your characterisation of 'authoritarian' (how?) and 'Orwellian'. You defended neither.

 

[Trausti]

I'm opposed to grifters.

Yeah, me too.

‘Financially hobbled for life’: The elite master’s degrees that don’t pay off

Recent film program graduates of Columbia University who took out federal student loans had a median debt of $181,000.


Yet two years after earning their master’s degrees, half of the borrowers were making less than $30,000 a year.

The Columbia program offers the most extreme example of how elite universities in recent years have awarded thousands of master’s degrees that don’t provide graduates enough early career earnings to begin paying down their federal student loans, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Education Department data.

 

[zorq]

I don't actually see anything wrong with the enterprise as presented. They seem fairly upfront about the fact that they aren't dispensing degrees. "Degrees" are kind of an arbitrary and made up concept anyway. Should SAT prep tutor schools be shut down because they don't give out SAT certification and aren't actually affiliated with SAT? Should the local baking and pastry school be shuttered because they aren't certified by an international culinary institution? People pay for information, guidance, and general education all the time.

Elvis Presley doesn't need to teach a single class at, or even acknowledge the existence of the "King's School of Impersonation" and that institution still isn't committing fraud.

 

[LoAmmo]

It's funny how quickly Metaphor's panties get twisted when a man "clearly aspirationally" self-identifies as a woman, yet a non-degree-confirming entity identifying as a university is all good. If anything, a post-surgery trans woman has gone a LOT farther down the road to being a woman than this transparent money-grabbing fake "university" has to being an actual accredited university.

 

[Patooka]

It's funny how quickly Metaphor's panties get twisted when a man "clearly aspirationally" self-identifies as a woman, yet a non-degree-confirming entity identifying as a university is all good. If anything, a post-surgery trans woman has gone a LOT farther down the road to being a woman than this transparent money-grabbing fake "university" has to being an actual accredited university.

You're not paying attention. One is authoritarian and Orwellian. The other is aspirational. Fuck if I know what the difference is though.

 

[thebeave]

Why is everyone all of a sudden demanding a precise word meaning for "university" in this thread, but in other active threads we are being lectured about how language is squishy and constantly evolving, re: men, women, male, female, he, she....