New Format

After discovering that I (Christian) am awful at writing without an opponent, Jackson has graciously agreed to write with me.  We will start posting on Monday, May 31st.  We will post three times a week: Mondays are devoted to politics (based on the previous week's news); Wednesdays will be book discussions; Fridays are philosophy.

The topics for next week are, on Monday: the Oil Spill; on Wednesday: "What's the Matter with Kansas"; on Friday: Aristotle & Love.

Take Back NYU Protest

So I didn't think my second blog post would be about a student protest happening here at NYU.  I just got word of this a few hours ago, but I guess it has been going on for about 30 hours now.  While I do have pictures that I just took, in the interim, I direct you to a live blog of the protest, a twitter, and picture of their topless protest (warning: nudity).

So basically a student group (Take Back NYU) (TBNYU) took over the 3rd floor of the Kimmel Center (the student union) @ 10 pm on February 18th, 2009.  They have been holed up there ever since, making demands for negotiation.  

I have two basic remarks, both of which, one of which I think I will expound on further, later. 

First, I dealt with some of these issues at the University of Chicago.  Students who pay $45,000+ feel that they are owed certain things, things like transparency and a say on what goes on at the school (hence a push for getting a seat on the Board of Trustees).  I agree with all of these goals, and I think universities are not fully cognizant of the benefits they could receive from getting students more involved like that.  I think it would create a tighter bond between university and student, which I believe would translate into more alumni giving.  However, taking over buildings, etc. burns bridges.  While I definitely defend these students right to protest (although nothing involving property destruction or trespassing, as seems to have occured here), and while I am sympathetic to (some of) these students' demands, they are simply clueless as to the intense negative effect this has on their actual agenda.  It's almost as if they feel that since they pay $45,000+ to go to college, and since they are in college, they should protest.  

Second, they claim that beyond things like transparency, they also support democracy, and I feel that they firmly believe they are promoting democracy in this protest.  Yet, to see how they act, to see the people on the street and to see their lack of long term thinking, I fear that either people do not understand how democracy properly functions, or if this is democracy, how we need to rethink democracy, for what I saw tonight was anarchism, not democracy.  

I will leave my discussion of democracy (as well as my photos), for a future (and soon coming post).  Good night from NYU, that hotbed of student protest.

Purpose

I have tried (and failed) at blogging before.  However, I am hoping that the third time is the charm.  I look at this blog as a journal entry of sorts.  It allows me to express random thoughts that occur to me and write them down for later consumption by either myself or others.  

The blog itself will be about all of those subjects which are not "polite" dinner conversation, and are thus the third rail of conversation topics.  Politics, theology, and the law will abound but will be joined by other subjects which catch my fancy at times (expect ethno-musicology already...).  

Enjoy.