The University of California at Santa Barbara (“UCSB”) is one of the elite public universities in the United States. It is often described as one of America’s “Public Ivy” universities, recognizing its important contributions to research and academic excellence. Among its many degree programs, it offers various degrees in feminist studies. One of the UCSB star faculty in feminist studies, Mireille Miller-Young, an associate professor, teaches courses involving black cultural studies, pornography, and sex work.
Last March, two teen-age sisters and pro-life activists, Thrin and Joan Short, were in the “free speech zone” at UCSB (I suppose that in California, First Amendment free speech rights are limited in public forums. Who knew?) The Short sisters were exercising their freedom of speech and displayed photographs of the aftermath of abortion on posters to engage students in discussion about abortion and the alternatives to abortion.
Professor Miller-Young was walking past the young women, and became deeply incensed at the pro-life literature and photos. She forcibly took their posters, and later assaulted the sisters. You can watch a video of the incident here. Afterwards, police were called, and Professor Miller-Young told police that she found the prof-life literature and graphic photos “disturbing” because she teaches reproduction rights. (One could think that she would welcome, as an esteemed and learned professor, an opportunity to challenge the thinking of two teen girls. But I digress.) Following the police investigation, Professor Miller-Young was charged with multiple offenses. After trial in July, she was convicted of grand theft, vandalism, and battery, which are non-trivial offenses. In August, as Professor Miller-Young sat in the front row dabbing her eyes, Judge Brian Hill handed down his lenient sentence: 108 hours of community service to be performed in conflict-resolution workshops (no, I am not making this up), ten hours of anger management classes, restitution of $493 to the Short sisters, and three years of probation. No response was received for requests for comments by Mere Comments to UCSB Chancellor Henry Tang and Professor Miller-Young.
In our society, one can disagree vehemently with pro-life activists, but even at UCSB, disagreeing doesn’t give anyone, particularly one in a power position as a university professor, the right to steal the young women’s property, and then to attack them when they tried to get it back. Of course, one can expect that Professor Miller-Young will soon receive a promotion to full professor, and an invitation to the Obama White House for being another “victim” in the evil, pro-life war on women reproductive health rights by people of faith. Why are pro-death advocates afraid of two teen girls and depictions of the aftermath of abortion? Kudos to the Short sisters for reminding us about the horrific effects of abortion in a society where the institutions of influence hate any notion of protecting the unborn.
Wish she could have been fined $13,000 like the Giffords of New York…..oh but their punishment was for offending lesbians instead of committing crimes again pro-life teens. So their punishment must be more severe in obama’s Amerika.
Equal protection under the law no longer exists, if it ever did. We would be miles ahead if we stopped expecting it. Know the consequences of any witness we might make and prepare to accept those consequences without questioning the legitimacy of the government. It does not matter much whether Obama or some other secularist of either party is in power. Our political system virtually demands that successful candidates for high office are secularists at heart. Those of faith will not be treated fairly. Expecting ‘fairness’ is just another symptom of egalitarian nonsense. God is not ‘fair’ giving mercy to all. Secularists are not ‘fair’ giving condemnation to any who challenge their ideology.
Gandhi touched the heart of the British in India by gracefully accepting the consequences of British law even while he denied its morality. The Brits still had a modicum of Christian conscience though.
Read the blog; watched the clip. Wow. Where does one begin with questions? If Obama invited the professor to the (our) White House, would he ask God to bless her, as he did with Planned Parenthood? What exactly are feminist studies and studies of pornograpy and “sex work”? What does one do with such a degree, other than teach or perhaps work for the Obama administration? Who would want to send their college-age children to universities to subject them to such dribble? Who would pay, or allow their children to incur debt, to wallow in this stuff? Will my tax dollars someday pay to forgive the debt incurred by students who so wallow? Why didn’t the university fire this woman or is it somehow okay to steal and assault on campus in the name of the greater progressive good? If the tables were somehow turned (difficult to imagine), would the university have fired the instructor, or torpedoed her tenure? Would reverend Al have appeared on campus to work up the crowds, and Ms. Wasserman-Schultz to screech about the “war on women”? Would the attorney general have launched an investigation? Would the major media have somber discussions about the hate crimes of the “religious right”? What is a “free speech zone” on a university campus anyway? Doesn’t the whole notion of a “university” have something to do with a broad platform of ideas, a place to meet and discuss? Instead of stealing and pushing, why didn’t the professor employ the Socratic method to engage the sisters in an examination of their convictions? Would she even know about the Socratic method? Was she perhaps, bottom line, just so darn upset because the photographs devastate the “pro-choice” pablum of a woman’s “rights” to her own body, of formless insensate lumps of dividing cells? Why didn’t she dab her eyes when she saw the murdered baby? The world is becoming a Bosch painting.
Susan, you ask about the value of a degree in feminist studies. I saw this article today that might answer your question:
As noted in a prior Capitol Report post, the New York Fed estimates the economic value of college degree at around $300,000 over the course of the average graduate’s career. But that doesn’t mean college is a good investment for everyone. The New York Fed’s Jaison Abel and Richard Deitz have crunched more data. The annual wage for the 25th percentile of those with a bachelor’s degree, and that number sits closer to that of those with only a high school diploma, at below $30,000 per year. That means one in four college grads are making about the same, or less, than the average high school graduate worker — all the while racking up student-loan debt. “In fact, once the costs of attending college are considered, it is likely that earning a bachelor’s degree would not have been a good investment for many in the lowest 25% of college graduate wage earners,” the report says. The authors point out though there is no way to be sure that those in the 25th percentile wouldn’t have earned even less had they not gone to college. Still, they note, “this pattern strongly suggests that the economic benefit of a college education is relatively small for at least a quarter of those graduating with a bachelor’s degree.” So, the economic benefit might not be much for 25% of the typical college grad, but it might be closer to 90 percent for the average feminist studies major. After all, what business would ever think to even interview someone who has feminist studies degree on their resume, even from somewhere as a prestigious as UCSB.
Susan, I think we might have some information about the value of a feminist studies degree. I saw this article today: As noted in a prior Capitol Report post, the New York Fed estimates the economic value of college degree at around $300,000 over the course of the average graduate’s career. But that doesn’t mean college is a good investment for everyone. The New York Fed’s Jaison Abel and Richard Deitz have crunched more data. The annual wage for the 25th percentile of those with a bachelor’s degree, and that number sits closer to that of those with only a high school diploma, at below $30,000 per year. That means one in four college grads are making about the same, or less, than the average high school graduate worker — all the while racking up student-loan debt. “In fact, once the costs of attending college are considered, it is likely that earning a bachelor’s degree would not have been a good investment for many in the lowest 25% of college graduate wage earners,” the report says. The authors point out though there is no way to be sure that those in the 25th percentile wouldn’t have earned even less had they not gone to college. Still, they note, “this pattern strongly suggests that the economic benefit of a college education is relatively small for at least a quarter of those graduating with a bachelor’s degree.” So there you have it; if the economic value of a bachelor degree is not there for 25 percent of college grads, I would think that it might be 90 percent of those in feminist studies. Having interviewed people over the course of my career, I wouldn’t even consider calling someone in to interview if they majored in “feminist studies.” Retail or call center work might be more suitable options. Or union or community organizing.
I’ve truly mastered a lot of inroptamt matters through your personal post. I might like to state that could be a problem in which you can make application for a financial loan and not have to have a co-signer like a Govt Pupil Aid Loan. Still for anyone who is getting that college loan through the typical collector you then have to be manufactured ready to use a co-signer willing to allow you to. Lenders can certainly bottom their own personal choice over a several parts however the most significant will probably be your credit history. There are many loan companies that will in addition examine your work background consider determined by that playing with virtually all conditions it will count on your personal report.
THX that’s a great anrwes!