One year ago, I attended a pre-football game tailgate party on the Saturday of my 40th reunion weekend in Evanston. Students at the party later complained about my words, and NU cancelled me without talking to me. I escalated to the President, the General Counsel, and the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees. Despite my 7,000+ volunteer hours and $7M+ in donations — NU has not apologized, has not rescinded my cancellation, and (I presume) continues to trample the free speech and due process rights of other Wildcats.
I was very fortunate to be in the audience for this speech by Bari Weiss in D.C. on November 10th: https://www.thefp.com/p/you-are-the-last-line-of-defense “There is no place like this country. And there is no second America to run to if this one fails. So let’s get up. Get up and fight for our future. This is the fight of—and for—our lives."
One of the most unsettling impacts of your story is considering the mindset of the student who complained. Is it someone like the neighborhood snitches of Communist countries eagerly looking for validation from the DEI bureaucracy? Or is it someone who gets self-validation from exercising power to "bring down the mighty" over someone elevated in respect and esteem? I suspect the latter instinct prevails; the academic world seems obsessed with power/oppressor dynamics. The result is destruction of everything in its wake.
Agreed, it's a mindset that has been cultivated. The author was not suitably deferent to a female student, she was irritated, realized that what he said wasn't "enough" to get him cancelled, so embellished her account. No downside for her even if someone recorded the whole conversation, and an upside of toppling a man in a senior position while collecting victimhood points in the eyes of others. Zero accountability and zero due process enables this.
How galling it must be to have one's considerable contributions to an institution negated by an act of Olympic standard offence taking. This is just one example of campus outrage being weaponised. I have been working on something and what I came across, quite unexpectedly, is how incidents on various campuses have been used as leverage. The result is that faculties are being terrorised into handing power to administrative departments. The primary means to do that is through systemic infantilisation.
We need to remove these Marxist parasites from our institutions before the nation is lost. As Lenin said, "the bourgeoisie will sell us the rope we hang them with." The whole Leftist agenda - cancellations, ballot stuffing, 'misinformation committees" - is designed to get them into permanent power, when they will then cancel boring things like elections. I mean, who needs them? The People have spoken and these outdated "MAGA Republicans" and "white supremacists" are the gravest danger to America, dontcha know....?
It is Whack-a-Mole, my friend, but in 1939 no one whacked the moles. I will do so until my (metaphorical) whacking shoulder gives out.
As George Gilder put it in The Israel Test, the fight over Israel IS the fight about Western Civilization versus Marxist totalitarianism. So you may think you are not blogging about Jew Hatred, but there is 100% correlation between the Leftist hordes who cancelled this big Northwestern donor and the Jew Haters.
Any tools used by the Marxist Left to achieve their aims are all focused on the same totalitarian objective. Why might I inquire, do you find a qualitative difference between the two, intellectually speaking? Both are abuses of the system of public trust and a distortion of free speech. Pray enlighten me, as you seem to think I require some remedial education in logic and rhetorical disputation. Please smooth out my ragged thinking. Is it smoothing as in tightening the intervals on a Riemann Surface or some other kind of smoothing I am in for?
Christopher: I agree with your concerns and critiques about the Marxist Left (== Woke). I haven't spent enough time on "ballot stuffing" to have an opinion about how much of that happens nor if it is inspired by Marxism. I do know that there is a long history of "ballot stuffing", and according to Robert Caro's books on LBJ, the Chicago Democratic Machine did a bit of that during the 1960 presidential election.
No worries, I was having a petulant reaction to @Gary implying I'm an idiot. I'm over it. He clearly has no idea what I am talking about, and my explanation to him may or may not clear up his misconception....
Christopher Messina shared a lot of thoughts above. I "liked" the general tone of his comments, but I was not trying to endorse any specific aspect of his comments. Ballot stuffing aside, the key intellectuals (Marcuse, Davis, Freire, et. al.) behind identity politics/social justice/DEI/Wokeism have declared in writing that their aim is to destroy capitalism and democracy in America. Read Christopher Rufo's book for the gory details: https://benslivka.com/2023/08/18/americas-cultural-revolution/
Many of us who believe that they had made significant contributions to our institutions over the years were latterly attacked by students who demanded that we be cancelled. Most institutions went along with the students and cancelled the worthy. I was a rare fortunate one whose institution refused to comply, on the grounds that differences of opinion are not disciplinary offenses.
Mao exhorted the youth of China to reclaim the revolution. The students formed "Red Guards" and battled each other, held "struggle sessions" with adults (which could end in death), and fought against the "four Olds": old customs, cultures, habits, and ideas.
Thank you Philip Carl Salzman for your comments. Great to see how much thought and care you have put into writing up thoughtful criticisms and warnings about social justice/DEI/Wokeism going back to at least 2018. Thank you.
Ben, I am so sorry. Unfortunately, Northwestern's over-reaction is representative of universities all over the U.S. for the past 8 years. The DEI paradigm is that there are victims and perpetrators, oppressed and oppressors, colonized and colonizers. The black-and-white simplicity is followed by harsh cancellation forever of the "oppressor". It is a Stalin-like culture that "disappears" former friends and sends them to the gulag.
So true. In addition to Xi Van Fleet's new book, see also Christopher Rufo's new book https://benslivka.com/2023/08/18/americas-cultural-revolution/ that traces the history and growth of what we now call Wokeism. The "long march through the institutions" envisioned and planned by Marcuse, et. al. has succeeded.
Yes, NU is responsible. But the individual who sent you the first email is really responsible, and should face some just retribution. Too often individuals are let off the hook, and "the institution" takes the blame.
Yes, the institution stands concemned. But the initiator should feel the first heat -- maybe that will get these people to think twice before amplifying the complainer next time. therwise, mob always wins...
Brother, get on board. We are developing #TheList - a private sector "anti Jew" credit check if you will. Every single asshole who marches for Hamas or who silences moral voices will be identified, named, shamed and made unemployable.
If I were you, I would carefully scrutinize the MOUs governing your donations to see if any can be clawed back. You might also consider filing an as-public-as-possible lawsuit even if the MOUs do not look favorable to a clawback.
Guy's its not just the US, in Canada We are on par with you, possibly a little ahead of you,( bad choice of words) if I can use the word ahead.
At McGill they have even self weaponized this mindset against themselves. At the school newspaper , and student political bodies.
McGill was nailed with an out of court settlement of close to a million dollars? Why? The Student Union Body Accused one of its members of sexual assault/ rape , they suspended him, stripped him of all functions, .......... Without any proof,
Was publicly outed by the. McGill newspaper and its editors. Who were supposed to be under a Publication ban,On publishing names,all info Also many of the groups on campus , called for his removal from campus.Of course the womens groups and others expressed their disdain with this man,,had to have their voices heard. One man against the Machine.
But he fought back!
Hired a good lawyer took McGill to court with his accuser.. It took a while, but the accusers emails gave her way. She accused the man of sexual assault, so she could get his job, and use it as a platform to rise to higher levels in the world of Academia.
Now what does this story have to do with DEI you may ask.
These groups that came out and publicly tried to destroy this man, also state that DEI is part of their charter.
The same Newspapers and groups are calling for Pro Palestine marches in the streets, harassing Jews on Campus, on the streets , and when they say From The River To The Sea they mean No Jews in the river to the sea.
Now you think that would be it Right?
You think that McGill would have learned their lesson by now?
Think Again
Front page of Saturday Gazette
Student Leader Sues McGill
Says rivals made up false accusations.
This is what you have when the Politburo comes to Campus/ Town
And Concordia is even worse if thats even possible.
I'd like to finish by stating as a father of Three daughters, Five grandkids , Three granddaughters,that in no way shape or form , Am I implying, or stating that victims of Sexual Assault, Rape, should not have their claims or assaults believed.
I used that example of a real life situation, to show the very real danger, of this mindset, Idealogy , and quite frankly Evil
And don't forget , they are terrified at the notion of free speech, which you may have noticed in Europe, Muslim clerics seem to have taken full advantage of that situation. As have all the leftists in Universities.
But not while he was holding the purse-strings. I guess NU feels that they don't need his money. I wonder if they'll rename Slivka Hall? Perhaps (Meghan) Markle Hall?
I did not expect special treatment because of my many decades of service and many dollars of contributions. I only expected to be treated fairly. But a key pillar of Marxism is lack of fairness.
Indeed. Have you read about the history of Critical Theory and how that has led America to DEI? Rufo's book "America's Cultural Revolution" is a thorough exploration of how we got here. But this short post gives the gist: https://www.convergemedia.org/wokeism-the-new-religion-of-the-west/
No good deed goes unpunished. Sadly, this has become a common experience for volunteers working with professional societies as well as universities. Decades of good service are dismissed in a 2 line email on behalf of anonymous complainants with no regard for what actually occurred let alone due process. Frankly, such organizations should face immediate legal action directed at the organizational officers engaging in the conduct and at the student complainants. The general population has a right to know who these passive aggressive "fragile" victims are so that we can avoid offending them...by refusing to interact with them at all! Those who practice cancellation deserve to be cancelled.
I don't think a "cancel war" is the best approach. Rather, we need to teach young (and not so young) people to engage in civil discourse. Having the young turn against the old is precisely what Mao engineered during his "Cultural Revolution" in China 1966-1976. As Xi Van Fleet documents in her new book https://www.amazon.com/Maos-America-Survivors-Van-Fleet/dp/1546006303
I do not like the idea of a cancel war...but it those who engage in cancel culture are allowed to get away with such conduct without consequences, they have no incentive to change their behavior. As with nuclear weapons, mutually assured destruction is the best deterrent.
Cancellation of those who engage in such conduct is an appropriate punishment. As someone who has been cancelled I have absolutely no moral qualms with those who CONTINUE this discriminatory conduct having the same consequences imposed on them. In fact... a just punishment would be akin to the damages for fraud...where triple the damage done is enacted on the person committing the fraud.
I was very fortunate to be in the audience for this speech by Bari Weiss in D.C. on November 10th: https://www.thefp.com/p/you-are-the-last-line-of-defense “There is no place like this country. And there is no second America to run to if this one fails. So let’s get up. Get up and fight for our future. This is the fight of—and for—our lives."
One of the most unsettling impacts of your story is considering the mindset of the student who complained. Is it someone like the neighborhood snitches of Communist countries eagerly looking for validation from the DEI bureaucracy? Or is it someone who gets self-validation from exercising power to "bring down the mighty" over someone elevated in respect and esteem? I suspect the latter instinct prevails; the academic world seems obsessed with power/oppressor dynamics. The result is destruction of everything in its wake.
This is not new, Comrade. Get in line, before the Neighborhood Committee comes to reeducate your reactionary ass.
https://open.substack.com/pub/christophermessina/p/harvard-proves-the-need-to-purge?r=erlb4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Agreed, it's a mindset that has been cultivated. The author was not suitably deferent to a female student, she was irritated, realized that what he said wasn't "enough" to get him cancelled, so embellished her account. No downside for her even if someone recorded the whole conversation, and an upside of toppling a man in a senior position while collecting victimhood points in the eyes of others. Zero accountability and zero due process enables this.
How galling it must be to have one's considerable contributions to an institution negated by an act of Olympic standard offence taking. This is just one example of campus outrage being weaponised. I have been working on something and what I came across, quite unexpectedly, is how incidents on various campuses have been used as leverage. The result is that faculties are being terrorised into handing power to administrative departments. The primary means to do that is through systemic infantilisation.
It is of existential importance to Western Civilization that we purge these Marxists from our universities.
https://open.substack.com/pub/christophermessina/p/harvard-proves-the-need-to-purge?r=erlb4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Agree with you both. Much change is needed at all of our institutions that have been overrun by DEI.
i will link to this post in my next academic scandal roundup 👍
Thank you. I look forward to reading your next roundup.
You may want to add this: https://open.substack.com/pub/christophermessina/p/harvard-proves-the-need-to-purge?r=erlb4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
We need to remove these Marxist parasites from our institutions before the nation is lost. As Lenin said, "the bourgeoisie will sell us the rope we hang them with." The whole Leftist agenda - cancellations, ballot stuffing, 'misinformation committees" - is designed to get them into permanent power, when they will then cancel boring things like elections. I mean, who needs them? The People have spoken and these outdated "MAGA Republicans" and "white supremacists" are the gravest danger to America, dontcha know....?
I have a policy against blogging about Israel/Hamas :)
among other reasons, there are about 500 different academic scandals involving this topic and I wouldn't be able to catalogue them all
It is Whack-a-Mole, my friend, but in 1939 no one whacked the moles. I will do so until my (metaphorical) whacking shoulder gives out.
As George Gilder put it in The Israel Test, the fight over Israel IS the fight about Western Civilization versus Marxist totalitarianism. So you may think you are not blogging about Jew Hatred, but there is 100% correlation between the Leftist hordes who cancelled this big Northwestern donor and the Jew Haters.
You are blogging about them already.
Ben, did you read this before “liking” it? If so, you have slipped down a few notches. Lumping ballot stuffing with canceling is not intellectually
Any tools used by the Marxist Left to achieve their aims are all focused on the same totalitarian objective. Why might I inquire, do you find a qualitative difference between the two, intellectually speaking? Both are abuses of the system of public trust and a distortion of free speech. Pray enlighten me, as you seem to think I require some remedial education in logic and rhetorical disputation. Please smooth out my ragged thinking. Is it smoothing as in tightening the intervals on a Riemann Surface or some other kind of smoothing I am in for?
Christopher: I agree with your concerns and critiques about the Marxist Left (== Woke). I haven't spent enough time on "ballot stuffing" to have an opinion about how much of that happens nor if it is inspired by Marxism. I do know that there is a long history of "ballot stuffing", and according to Robert Caro's books on LBJ, the Chicago Democratic Machine did a bit of that during the 1960 presidential election.
No worries, I was having a petulant reaction to @Gary implying I'm an idiot. I'm over it. He clearly has no idea what I am talking about, and my explanation to him may or may not clear up his misconception....
To finish: is not sound reasoning. You seem above that ragged thinking.
Christopher Messina shared a lot of thoughts above. I "liked" the general tone of his comments, but I was not trying to endorse any specific aspect of his comments. Ballot stuffing aside, the key intellectuals (Marcuse, Davis, Freire, et. al.) behind identity politics/social justice/DEI/Wokeism have declared in writing that their aim is to destroy capitalism and democracy in America. Read Christopher Rufo's book for the gory details: https://benslivka.com/2023/08/18/americas-cultural-revolution/
Thanks for the reply. I agree in almost all respects with your long article and absolutely support your speaking out!
This is consistent with my experience as a NU grad and also would love to see this changed.
Many of us who believe that they had made significant contributions to our institutions over the years were latterly attacked by students who demanded that we be cancelled. Most institutions went along with the students and cancelled the worthy. I was a rare fortunate one whose institution refused to comply, on the grounds that differences of opinion are not disciplinary offenses.
Mao exhorted the youth of China to reclaim the revolution. The students formed "Red Guards" and battled each other, held "struggle sessions" with adults (which could end in death), and fought against the "four Olds": old customs, cultures, habits, and ideas.
Thank you Philip Carl Salzman for your comments. Great to see how much thought and care you have put into writing up thoughtful criticisms and warnings about social justice/DEI/Wokeism going back to at least 2018. Thank you.
Ben, I am so sorry. Unfortunately, Northwestern's over-reaction is representative of universities all over the U.S. for the past 8 years. The DEI paradigm is that there are victims and perpetrators, oppressed and oppressors, colonized and colonizers. The black-and-white simplicity is followed by harsh cancellation forever of the "oppressor". It is a Stalin-like culture that "disappears" former friends and sends them to the gulag.
So true. In addition to Xi Van Fleet's new book, see also Christopher Rufo's new book https://benslivka.com/2023/08/18/americas-cultural-revolution/ that traces the history and growth of what we now call Wokeism. The "long march through the institutions" envisioned and planned by Marcuse, et. al. has succeeded.
The lack of due process by NU is unacceptable.
Alexander they don't want Due Process!
Yes, NU is responsible. But the individual who sent you the first email is really responsible, and should face some just retribution. Too often individuals are let off the hook, and "the institution" takes the blame.
Did you read what he wrote? The entire institution closed ranks around the accuser and tossed a devoted alumnus to the curb.
Yes, the institution stands concemned. But the initiator should feel the first heat -- maybe that will get these people to think twice before amplifying the complainer next time. therwise, mob always wins...
Brother, get on board. We are developing #TheList - a private sector "anti Jew" credit check if you will. Every single asshole who marches for Hamas or who silences moral voices will be identified, named, shamed and made unemployable.
Wondering whether Mr. Slivka spoke out against any of this kind of stuff before it happened to him.
I did speak out. I was really worried when "microaggressions", "trigger warnings", and "safe spaces" came to NU. I tried to get other trustees and the administration to have a discussion about whether NU should embrace these ideas. No interest. Even worse, then-President Schapiro (a practicing Jew) endorsed these ideas very publicly: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-to-create-inclusive-campus-communities-first-create-safe-places/2016/01/15/069f3a66-bb94-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html
If I were you, I would carefully scrutinize the MOUs governing your donations to see if any can be clawed back. You might also consider filing an as-public-as-possible lawsuit even if the MOUs do not look favorable to a clawback.
Thank you for your suggestion. I explored that avenue months ago with several legal heavyweights. ;-)
My thoughts exactly
Speaking out is what gets you in trouble.
Yep 100%
And ostracized, and harrased, ....
Guy's its not just the US, in Canada We are on par with you, possibly a little ahead of you,( bad choice of words) if I can use the word ahead.
At McGill they have even self weaponized this mindset against themselves. At the school newspaper , and student political bodies.
McGill was nailed with an out of court settlement of close to a million dollars? Why? The Student Union Body Accused one of its members of sexual assault/ rape , they suspended him, stripped him of all functions, .......... Without any proof,
Was publicly outed by the. McGill newspaper and its editors. Who were supposed to be under a Publication ban,On publishing names,all info Also many of the groups on campus , called for his removal from campus.Of course the womens groups and others expressed their disdain with this man,,had to have their voices heard. One man against the Machine.
But he fought back!
Hired a good lawyer took McGill to court with his accuser.. It took a while, but the accusers emails gave her way. She accused the man of sexual assault, so she could get his job, and use it as a platform to rise to higher levels in the world of Academia.
Now what does this story have to do with DEI you may ask.
These groups that came out and publicly tried to destroy this man, also state that DEI is part of their charter.
The same Newspapers and groups are calling for Pro Palestine marches in the streets, harassing Jews on Campus, on the streets , and when they say From The River To The Sea they mean No Jews in the river to the sea.
Now you think that would be it Right?
You think that McGill would have learned their lesson by now?
Think Again
Front page of Saturday Gazette
Student Leader Sues McGill
Says rivals made up false accusations.
This is what you have when the Politburo comes to Campus/ Town
And Concordia is even worse if thats even possible.
I'd like to finish by stating as a father of Three daughters, Five grandkids , Three granddaughters,that in no way shape or form , Am I implying, or stating that victims of Sexual Assault, Rape, should not have their claims or assaults believed.
I used that example of a real life situation, to show the very real danger, of this mindset, Idealogy , and quite frankly Evil
DEFUND NORTHWESTERN!
Scary stuff. Right out of China's Cultural Revolution in ca. 1968. Thank you for sharing.
Yes Ben!
That is what the West has devolved to.
And don't forget , they are terrified at the notion of free speech, which you may have noticed in Europe, Muslim clerics seem to have taken full advantage of that situation. As have all the leftists in Universities.
But not while he was holding the purse-strings. I guess NU feels that they don't need his money. I wonder if they'll rename Slivka Hall? Perhaps (Meghan) Markle Hall?
I did not expect special treatment because of my many decades of service and many dollars of contributions. I only expected to be treated fairly. But a key pillar of Marxism is lack of fairness.
...or a redefinition of fairness. You definitely received "special" treatment.
One of the key tactics of "Critical Theory" is changing the accepted meaning of words. Right out of Orwell's "1984".
They needed to make an opening for an "ally". You were purged plain and simple. Do not go away quietly.
Ben.
Your problem is you just don't understand.
Your words are violence.
You are the patriarchy.
You are an oppressor.
Words are violence.
And most importantly....
It depends on the context.
😎🏴☠️
Indeed. Have you read about the history of Critical Theory and how that has led America to DEI? Rufo's book "America's Cultural Revolution" is a thorough exploration of how we got here. But this short post gives the gist: https://www.convergemedia.org/wokeism-the-new-religion-of-the-west/
No good deed goes unpunished. Sadly, this has become a common experience for volunteers working with professional societies as well as universities. Decades of good service are dismissed in a 2 line email on behalf of anonymous complainants with no regard for what actually occurred let alone due process. Frankly, such organizations should face immediate legal action directed at the organizational officers engaging in the conduct and at the student complainants. The general population has a right to know who these passive aggressive "fragile" victims are so that we can avoid offending them...by refusing to interact with them at all! Those who practice cancellation deserve to be cancelled.
I don't think a "cancel war" is the best approach. Rather, we need to teach young (and not so young) people to engage in civil discourse. Having the young turn against the old is precisely what Mao engineered during his "Cultural Revolution" in China 1966-1976. As Xi Van Fleet documents in her new book https://www.amazon.com/Maos-America-Survivors-Van-Fleet/dp/1546006303
I do not like the idea of a cancel war...but it those who engage in cancel culture are allowed to get away with such conduct without consequences, they have no incentive to change their behavior. As with nuclear weapons, mutually assured destruction is the best deterrent.
We agree that the cancellers need consequences, but the punishment should fit the crime. We don't need M.A.D. ;-) https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/model-speech-policies-college-campuses is an excellent guide for universities.
Cancellation of those who engage in such conduct is an appropriate punishment. As someone who has been cancelled I have absolutely no moral qualms with those who CONTINUE this discriminatory conduct having the same consequences imposed on them. In fact... a just punishment would be akin to the damages for fraud...where triple the damage done is enacted on the person committing the fraud.
Alex
It's also being used right now in Russia, openly, to silence anyone and to Show loyalty to the Motherland? For lack of a better word.
Come join The (True) Resistance to the Marxists who have insinuated themselves into our universities.
https://open.substack.com/pub/christophermessina/p/harvard-proves-the-need-to-purge?r=erlb4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
DEI is a result of a dangerous Marxist philosophy that has conquered our institutions. https://twitter.com/XVanFleet just published "Mao's America: A Survivor’s Warning", drawing the parallels between her first-hand experiences of the "Cultural Revolution" in China (1966-1976) and America today: https://www.amazon.com/Maos-America-Survivors-Van-Fleet/dp/1546006303