PrintDecember 29, 2006
The Loco in loco parentis
As it becomes clear that the Duke case is on the rocks and Nifong with it, Red State turns its attention to the Duke Board of Visitors, which to date has been silent on the outrageous behavior of the school's president and the 88 faculty (many untenured) who behaved unethically toward the defendants and helped create the witch hunt atmosphere in which they found themselves.And notes that in the present state of affairs only university trustees are capable--however unwilling--of exercising adult supervision :
Unfortunately, several factors have inveighed against any mucking of the Augean Stable of faddish stupidity that pollutes the campus of most American universities. The climate on any of these campuses would instantly become about 30˚ Centigrade cooler if the student body not in favor of hanging wealthy, privileged lacrosse players from the goal posts of the rugby pitch were to raise their voices athwart the trendy Left-McCarthyism of politically correct gender politics.The faculties and administrators of most major universities have gone from in loco parentis to just plain loco. There is no longer any sheriff in town. Authority figures who enforce just and even-handed law are badly out of intellectual vogue. No one flies over the campus cuckoo nest, because the inmates now administer the asylum.The alumni associations seem not care. It's worse than that. They are economically invested in making sure the petty details all get swept under the rug. The name on the diploma these alumni received contributes to their economic marketability. This name has a price in terms of graduate salaries that moves up and down based on the academic reputation of the university in question[/quote]
