Monday, March 07, 2005

Ward Churchill Yes! Phil Mitchell No! Diversity (or it's lack) at CU

Denver Post writer David Harsanyi provides an invaluable service this morning by contrasting the fate of Ward Churchill and another, lesser known CU Professor, Phil Mitchell:

"Mitchell never refers to "actions" or "trigger fingers" and seldom calls anyone a Nazi.

Boring stuff.

As an alternative, Mitchell likes to employ facts in his history courses.

He teaches. He doesn't preach.

His reward? After more than 20 years, Mitchell may be out at CU."


Mitchell belongs to that hated sect, responsible for so many atrocities in the Middle East and around the world: Conservative Christianity?

Of course, as Harsanyi notes, this kind of "radical" agenda is not welcome at CU:

"...Mitchell had the audacity to use a book on liberal Protestantism in the late 19th century. So repulsed by the word "god" was one student, she complained, and the department chair fired him without a meeting, he said.

Was there a protest for academic freedom? Bullhorns? Power to the people?

Conceivably, if Mitchell would have used a less-offensive book - say the Churchill classic "Perversions of Justice" (Ward's hobby?) - he could have rallied the Kool-Aid brigade lickety split.

In time, Mitchell was reinstated but was never able to teach in the history department again."


Of course one thing we all know about conservatives of any stripe, they are racists right?

Mitchell taught at the Hallett Diversity Program for 24 straight semesters. That is, until he made the colossal error of actually presenting a (gasp!) diverse opinion, quoting respected conservative black intellectual Thomas Sowell in a discussion about affirmative action.

Sitting 5 feet from a pink triangle that read "Hate-Free Zone," the progressive head of the department berated Mitchell, calling him a racist.

"That would have come as a surprise to my black children," explains Mitchell, who has nine kids, as of last count, two of them adopted African-Americans.

There seems to be discrimination here, just not by the conservative.

And so the sad saga of CU slouches from silly to sinister. I wonder if it's a coincidence that this article didn't come from a Boulder paper.

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