Post: #1

Univ. of Michigan Cancels ‘American Sniper’ Screening: ‘Made Students Feel Unsafe’

Quote:University: ‘While our intent was to show a film, the impact of the content was harmful, and made students feel unsafe and unwelcome at our program’

A scheduled movie screening of “American Sniper” at the University of Michigan was abruptly cancelled Tuesday after nearly 300 students and others complained the film perpetuates “negative and misleading stereotypes” against Muslims.

“The movie American Sniper not only tolerates but promotes anti-Muslim … rhetoric and sympathizes with a mass killer,” according to an online letter circulated among the campus community via Google Docs that garnered the signatures.

The signers were mostly students, but also some staff, as well as the Muslim Students’ Association and the president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, a Palestinian solidarity group at UMich.

The online memo, titled a “collective letter from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Muslim students on campus,” accused the public university of “tolerating dangerous anti-Muslim and anti-MENA propaganda” by showing the movie, the highest grossing film of 2014.

Tolerating. Apparently, that's "Not OK" with students these days.

Quote:It follows U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who served four combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps commendation, according to his official Facebook page. But the protestors see him differently.

“Chris Kyle was a racist who took a disturbing stance on murdering Iraqi civilians,” the collective letter stated. “Middle Eastern characters in the film are not lent an ounce of humanity and watching this movie is provocative and unsafe to MENA and Muslim CollectiveLetter students who are too often reminded of how little the media and world values their lives. … The University of Michigan should not participate in further perpetuating these negative and misleading stereotypes.”

The film was set to be shown Friday on campus, but the letter – which asked for its cancellation – was successful.

“While our intent was to show a film, the impact of the content was harmful, and made students feel unsafe and unwelcomed at our program,” stated The Center for Campus Involvement, which oversees student activities and is run by university employees, as it announced its decision Tuesday on its various social media accounts, including Twitter and Facebook.

“We deeply regret causing harm to members of our community, and appreciate the thoughtful feedback provided to us by students and staff alike.”

University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed to The College Fix on Tuesday the movie was cancelled.

“The Center for Campus Involvement … did hear concerns from students,” Fitzgerald said, noting he did not have further details at the time.

The Center for Campus Involvement did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment, but its official Twitter account noted “Paddington Bear,” a PG-rated movie about a stuffed animal’s misadventures, will be shown instead of “American Sniper.”

Quote:“We have elected to pull the film from this week’s program and screen another movie in its place that we believe better creates the fun, engaging atmosphere we seek, without excluding valued members of our community,” the center stated.

But not all students agree with this decision.

“It would be nice to see the university … take a stand against outrageous claims of ‘student exclusion,'” University of Michigan sophomore Jason Weaver told The College Fix. “The film American Sniper in no way creates student exclusion any more than Saving Private Ryan. Both show American soldiers at war, the atrocities of war, and the costs of war, yet I’m sure Saving Private Ryan would not illicit the same response. Just because the enemy in American Sniper shares ethnicity with students on campus does not mean they are conflated as the enemy any more than a German student should be conflated with Nazism.”

“American Sniper” was set to be shown as part of the center’s “UMix Late Night” program, which brings movies, games, dances and other social events to the student body. The center is responsible for more than 300 co-curricular programs each year, including cultural and educational programs, films, art exhibits, UMix Late Night, athletic/spirit activities and various performance groups and concerts, its website states.

“We in the Center for Campus Involvement and the UMix Late Night program did not intend to exclude any students or communities on campus through showing this film,” the center’s announcement stated.

“… UMix should always be a safe space for students to engage, unwind, and create community with others, and we commit to listening to and learning from our community in the interest of fostering that environment. … We will take time to deeper understand and screen for content that can negatively stereotype a group.”

Post: #2

(04-09-2015 09:25 AM)Renzy Wrote:  Univ. of Michigan Cancels ‘American Sniper’ Screening: ‘Made Students Feel Unsafe’

University: ‘While our intent was to show a film, the impact of the content was harmful, and made students feel unsafe and unwelcome at our program’

A scheduled movie screening of “American Sniper” at the University of Michigan was abruptly cancelled Tuesday after nearly 300 students and others complained the film perpetuates “negative and misleading stereotypes” against Muslims.

I believe it was Sp5 who saw the movie in Egypt and the people there liked it.

This is just petty censorship.

Post: #3

They should have run a Saw marathon instead.

Post: #4

scUM living up to their name...

Post: #5

All better gents.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/09/uni...scheduled/

Quote:The University of Michigan said late Wednesday that it will show the film "American Sniper" as originally scheduled after a protest by students and staff caused the screening to be scrapped.

University Vice President for Student Life E. Royster Harper called the decision to cancel the Friday night showing a "mistake" in a statement.

"The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," Harper said. "The movie will be shown at the originally scheduled time and location."

Post: #6

Throughout the movie, most (all?) of Chris Kyle's friends are killed in Iraq. Kyle is later killed by a fellow veteran.

I'd love to see how a school would respond to a group of student veterans saying the film makes them feel "unsafe" because it depicts American soldiers being killed.

Post: #7

American Pussification at its finest.

"THIS OFFENDS ME !!"

Post: #8

(04-09-2015 09:59 AM)Blick Mang Wrote:  All better gents.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/09/uni...scheduled/

Quote:The University of Michigan said late Wednesday that it will show the film "American Sniper" as originally scheduled after a protest by students and staff caused the screening to be scrapped.

University Vice President for Student Life E. Royster Harper called the decision to cancel the Friday night showing a "mistake" in a statement.

"The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," Harper said. "The movie will be shown at the originally scheduled time and location."

She deserves a lot of credit. I did some googling and the lady seems like an honest liberal, which means the dishonest SJWs will probably target her.

Post: #9

(04-09-2015 09:43 AM)TheWastelander Wrote:  I believe it was Sp5 who saw the movie in Egypt and the people there liked it.

Yeah I saw it in Cairo, it played for a few weeks here. I saw it in an afternoon show, about 30 people in a 200 seat theater. Some people applauded at the end. When i left the theater, the mall was being evacuated because of a bomb threat, but it had nothing to do with that movie, just the post-coup problems.

Post: #10

Post: #11

This is absolutely par for the course in Ann Arbor. Growing up I thought feminists were the bra-burning cuntjobs of the 60s and 70s - a near myth or distant memory. It wasn't until my days at UMich that I found these SJWs actually existed. The city's smug, self-satisfied nature may be second or third only to San Francisco and Berkeley.

Post: #12

This is obviously very stupid, but let's look at in perspective.

Supply and demand is a concept we all accept.

Due to a general over-education of the population, universities are almost a given if you want to have a shot at a good job. (Because just starting your own job and hiring yourself is a concept that few people seem to contemplate these days).

Thus, universities have responded to this demand by designed and supplying programs and an environment that is attractive to as many people as possible, since they face competition from other institutions.

It's basically a given that we would reach this point in time where universities are not allowed to actually challenge anyone's thinking with anything but the most PC of viewpoints.

If you don't like this, work hard, earn money and then use some of that money to partner with men to create an alternative to the traditional university where men can come any actually be challenged in their thinking.

Such a university could be setup in an un-PC place, such as south-east Asia, where we would actually be permitted to let men think for themselves.

If we have enough of a network in 20 years with men among our ranks that are looking to hire red-pill men capable of real though, official accreditation would be a non-issue.

It's great to poke fun, but at some point we've said all that is to be said and it's time to either contribute to an alternative or focus our efforts elsewhere.

I'm serious about this. Within a few years, I plan to be sponsoring young men to come study in China for a year or two.

Even with a full housing and tuition scholarship, it'll only add up to $5000 a year per red-pill man. Of course, I'm not too interested in giving full scholarships, but I am interested in creating some online businesses where young men could pay their way through a couple years of Chinese study in a red-pill environment (communal housing), without illegally "working in the host country" (because the work is online).

I could see worst ways to pay your way through a couple years of school than doing skill building work while learning the ins-and-outs of profit focused blogging or something of that nature. All I have to do is figure out a way for the program participants to do $500 worth of work a month and they'll be able to cover all their housing tuition themselves.

PM me if this is a conversation you'd like to be a part of.

Post: #13

(04-09-2015 11:59 AM)TheWastelander Wrote:  I did some googling and the lady seems like an honest liberal

She was an honest liberal. Now she's a Right-Wing, Fundamentalist Christian Shitlord with Internalised Misogyny.

'Paddington Bear' is too perfect a punch line. College girls have come a long way from being able to stealthily finger fuck them in the back row as 'Prospero's Books' played.

Post: #14

(04-09-2015 09:59 AM)Blick Mang Wrote:  All better gents.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/09/uni...scheduled/

Quote:The University of Michigan said late Wednesday that it will show the film "American Sniper" as originally scheduled after a protest by students and staff caused the screening to be scrapped.

University Vice President for Student Life E. Royster Harper called the decision to cancel the Friday night showing a "mistake" in a statement.

"The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," Harper said. "The movie will be shown at the originally scheduled time and location."

But what about Paddington??!! Two can play the protest game!

Post: #15

I went to a state university. Not as big as UMich, but pretty big. I was involved in student government and entertainment programming. Films, speakers, music acts. This was a long time ago, in the Reagan years.

We students ran the show - and we were very independent. We managed our own budgets. We did a lot of "controversial" stuff like inviting Timothy Leary and other dissidents to speak. We showed avant-garde films and soft-core porn (e.g. The Cheerleaders) in the film theater. We heard grumblings from Bible beaters and feminists but nobody interfered.

We interacted with one staff member of the university - the Dean of Student Affairs. The conversations were about budgets, not content. She let us run the show.

The student government structure came out of the student activism of the late 60s and early 70s, when students demanded control over "fees" assessed for student services and entertainment.

When looking at this controversy, I checked the website of the organization which originally stopped the showing of American Sniper, The Center for Campus Involvement.

http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/staff-listing

I was shocked by the size of that staff. It appears that self-governing student bodies are a thing of the past, at least at UMich. Is this because the administrations have grabbed power back over the years, or because students are apathetic and just want to be coddled and entertained like children?

EDIT: I guess this could be called an aspect of "nanny statism."

It's also a reason why tuitions have gone up so much - bloated full-time staffs on good salaries doing what volunteer or minimum-wage students used to do.

Post: #16

(04-10-2015 04:56 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  I went to a state university. Not as big as UMich, but pretty big. I was involved in student government and entertainment programming. Films, speakers, music acts. This was a long time ago, in the Reagan years.

We students ran the show - and we were very independent. We managed our own budgets. We did a lot of "controversial" stuff like inviting Timothy Leary and other dissidents to speak. We showed avant-garde films and soft-core porn (e.g. The Cheerleaders) in the film theater. We heard grumblings from Bible beaters and feminists but nobody interfered.

We interacted with one staff member of the university - the Dean of Student Affairs. The conversations were about budgets, not content. She let us run the show.

The student government structure came out of the student activism of the late 60s and early 70s, when students demanded control over "fees" assessed for student services and entertainment.

When looking at this controversy, I checked the website of the organization which originally stopped the showing of American Sniper, The Center for Campus Involvement.

http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/staff-listing

I was shocked by the size of that staff. It appears that self-governing student bodies are a thing of the past, at least at UMich. Is this because the administrations have grabbed power back over the years, or because students are apathetic and just want to be coddled and entertained like children?

EDIT: I guess this could be called an aspect of "nanny statism."

It's also a reason why tuitions have gone up so much - bloated full-time staffs on good salaries doing what volunteer or minimum-wage students used to do.

I was shocked by the size of that staff. It appears that self-governing student bodies are a thing of the past, at least at UMich. Is this because the administrations have grabbed power back over the years, or because students are apathetic and just want to be coddled and entertained like children?

Back when you were in college, 18-year-olds were considered men and women. Now they're considered boys and girls.

Back then, mom and dad dropped you off at college, then went back home thinking they were done with the parenting gig. Today, mom and dad keep tabs on their college kids, know the professors, and see their jobs as continuing on and on.

Back then, 18-year-olds drank legally and they showed porn films on campus for fun. Now, both those things are banned.

So it stands to reason that administrators have to act more like mommy and daddy now. The kids are now longer pre-adults, but big children. They're not so much control freaks as they are responding to cultural changes. My guess is that parental pressure and the threats of lawsuits force them into getting involved.

I'm a few years younger than you and all of this would have been unthinkable, even in my era. The thought of my parents even knowing who one of my professors was is comic. The thought of a mainstream film being banned was unheard of. They weren't even banning the porn films shown in the dorms during "Octoberfest Week." Now I hear parents are in touch with profs like they're middle school teachers.. and as such, administrators have been drafted in to do babysitting duty.

Since I worked for the college newspaper, a lot of my friends were some of the most leftist, Marxist radicals you can imagine. But the difference between then and now is that when they protested, they did so to "raise awareness," not to ban anything. They saw banning as oppressive, un-American, and a tactic of the closed minded and conservative. Today leftists are the ones who want things banned. Shows what's become of the so-called left.

Post: #17

Quote:Back then, mom and dad dropped you off at college, then went back home thinking they were done with the parenting gig. Today, mom and dad keep tabs on their college kids, know the professors, and see their jobs as continuing on and on.

I was awfully shocked when I started university at 19 and was told that in some cases, if things went poorly enough with a student, their parents would be told to come pick them up.

I thought that this was hilarious, because if I'd screwed up, my parents would not have been picking me up....I would have been taking a bus home on my own dime.

This was in 2005.

Post: #18

One end of a phone call that transpired in 2005:

"Hello... Mr. and Mrs. Suits?

...This is your sons's Chinese professor, how are you?

...Doing well also, thank you. I just wanted to discuss your son's behavior in class...

...Oh no, he's learning the language just fine. It's just that the other day, he asked me how to ask a Chinese girl where the local pet store is and how to transition that to an 'insta-date.' Some of the other students came up to me after class and told me that that made them uncomfortable, that it reinforced sexual and racial power structures and the legacy of the sexualization of Asian women and simultaneously made Women of Color feel excluded and undesired. They said that they expected class to be a safe space, but now they feel triggered and microaggressed. Would you two be able to come in next week for a Parent-Professor Conference, and we can discuss a Progress Plan for your son? I'm available Tuesdays and Wednesdays..."

Post: #19

(04-10-2015 06:10 AM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  

(04-10-2015 04:56 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  I went to a state university. Not as big as UMich, but pretty big. I was involved in student government and entertainment programming. Films, speakers, music acts. This was a long time ago, in the Reagan years.

We students ran the show - and we were very independent. We managed our own budgets. We did a lot of "controversial" stuff like inviting Timothy Leary and other dissidents to speak. We showed avant-garde films and soft-core porn (e.g. The Cheerleaders) in the film theater. We heard grumblings from Bible beaters and feminists but nobody interfered.

We interacted with one staff member of the university - the Dean of Student Affairs. The conversations were about budgets, not content. She let us run the show.

The student government structure came out of the student activism of the late 60s and early 70s, when students demanded control over "fees" assessed for student services and entertainment.

When looking at this controversy, I checked the website of the organization which originally stopped the showing of American Sniper, The Center for Campus Involvement.

http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/staff-listing

I was shocked by the size of that staff. It appears that self-governing student bodies are a thing of the past, at least at UMich. Is this because the administrations have grabbed power back over the years, or because students are apathetic and just want to be coddled and entertained like children?

EDIT: I guess this could be called an aspect of "nanny statism."

It's also a reason why tuitions have gone up so much - bloated full-time staffs on good salaries doing what volunteer or minimum-wage students used to do.

I was shocked by the size of that staff. It appears that self-governing student bodies are a thing of the past, at least at UMich. Is this because the administrations have grabbed power back over the years, or because students are apathetic and just want to be coddled and entertained like children?

Back when you were in college, 18-year-olds were considered men and women. Now they're considered boys and girls.

Back then, mom and dad dropped you off at college, then went back home thinking they were done with the parenting gig. Today, mom and dad keep tabs on their college kids, know the professors, and see their jobs as continuing on and on.

Back then, 18-year-olds drank legally and they showed porn films on campus for fun. Now, both those things are banned.

So it stands to reason that administrators have to act more like mommy and daddy now. The kids are now longer pre-adults, but big children. They're not so much control freaks as they are responding to cultural changes. My guess is that parental pressure and the threats of lawsuits force them into getting involved.

I'm a few years younger than you and all of this would have been unthinkable, even in my era. The thought of my parents even knowing who one of my professors was is comic. The thought of a mainstream film being banned was unheard of. They weren't even banning the porn films shown in the dorms during "Octoberfest Week." Now I hear parents are in touch with profs like they're middle school teachers.. and as such, administrators have been drafted in to do babysitting duty.

Since I worked for the college newspaper, a lot of my friends were some of the most leftist, Marxist radicals you can imagine. But the difference between then and now is that when they protested, they did so to "raise awareness," not to ban anything. They saw banning as oppressive, un-American, and a tactic of the closed minded and conservative. Today leftists are the ones who want things banned. Shows what's become of the so-called left.

Back when you were in college, the Boomer generation hadn't yet figured out it could create a lot of useless make-work jobs in academic administration subsidized by student loan disbursements. Those people need to do something to justify their existence and budget.

Post: #20

(04-10-2015 06:10 AM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  I'm a few years younger than you and all of this would have been unthinkable, even in my era. The thought of my parents even knowing who one of my professors was is comic. The thought of a mainstream film being banned was unheard of. They weren't even banning the porn films shown in the dorms during "Octoberfest Week." Now I hear parents are in touch with profs like they're middle school teachers.. and as such, administrators have been drafted in to do babysitting duty.

Since I worked for the college newspaper, a lot of my friends were some of the most leftist, Marxist radicals you can imagine. But the difference between then and now is that when they protested, they did so to "raise awareness," not to ban anything. They saw banning as oppressive, un-American, and a tactic of the closed minded and conservative. Today leftists are the ones who want things banned. Shows what's become of the so-called left.

It goes to show you what happens when an insurgent political force becomes the new entrenched power. They seek to expand their own control and influence over everything to cement a new status quo. This is, of course, nothing new under the sun. Things are the same as they ever were.

Only now there will be no "grassroots" opposition to take back the colleges because it is culturally unacceptable. Where would it come from? The left? The right? Would the militarized police and the administrations that rely on them even allow it to happen? I doubt it.

The solution seems to be what Suits suggested: opening up alternative colleges OR just not going at all and maybe bringing back apprenticeships. I'm not sure.

Post: #21

It seems like a daunting task, but opening up an "alternative" higher-learning institution that celebrates and practices the tradition of the true University would be amazing. A haven for true scholars and seekers of knowledge and truth no matter how uncomfortable and "un-PC".

To be honest, I think it might actually work considering the middle-class West has a soft-spot for grassroots-style endeavors and alternative avenues of experience. Maybe an "old-school school" would be hip and whatnot. Could even kickstart it - have a donation points that can equate to discounted/free tuition and whatnot. Get certain campuses/dormitories named after real big donors etc.

Post: #22

(04-09-2015 08:45 PM)Suits Wrote:  PM me if this is a conversation you'd like to be a part of.

If only you were based in Russia.

I'd be on the next plane.

G

Post: #23

(04-10-2015 11:30 AM)TheWastelander Wrote:  

(04-10-2015 06:10 AM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  I'm a few years younger than you and all of this would have been unthinkable, even in my era. The thought of my parents even knowing who one of my professors was is comic. The thought of a mainstream film being banned was unheard of. They weren't even banning the porn films shown in the dorms during "Octoberfest Week." Now I hear parents are in touch with profs like they're middle school teachers.. and as such, administrators have been drafted in to do babysitting duty.

Since I worked for the college newspaper, a lot of my friends were some of the most leftist, Marxist radicals you can imagine. But the difference between then and now is that when they protested, they did so to "raise awareness," not to ban anything. They saw banning as oppressive, un-American, and a tactic of the closed minded and conservative. Today leftists are the ones who want things banned. Shows what's become of the so-called left.

It goes to show you what happens when an insurgent political force becomes the new entrenched power. They seek to expand their own control and influence over everything to cement a new status quo. This is, of course, nothing new under the sun. Things are the same as they ever were.

Only now there will be no "grassroots" opposition to take back the colleges because it is culturally unacceptable. Where would it come from? The left? The right? Would the militarized police and the administrations that rely on them even allow it to happen? I doubt it.

The solution seems to be what Suits suggested: opening up alternative colleges OR just not going at all and maybe bringing back apprenticeships. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure either, but how can any parent pay upwards of $200,000 per child to send them to private or out-of-state university in the US? Who really has that kind of money these days?

All to send their kids to get indoctrinated into a SJW/far left bizarro culture (or to let their daughters whore it up and sons booze it up half the time).

How crazy is that and at what point do you separate yourself from the (clueless) herd and just say "sorry not doing it"?

But they still do it - and leverage themselves to the hilt to do so these days.

Post: #24

(04-10-2015 06:15 PM)Akula Wrote:  

(04-10-2015 11:30 AM)TheWastelander Wrote:  

(04-10-2015 06:10 AM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  I'm a few years younger than you and all of this would have been unthinkable, even in my era. The thought of my parents even knowing who one of my professors was is comic. The thought of a mainstream film being banned was unheard of. They weren't even banning the porn films shown in the dorms during "Octoberfest Week." Now I hear parents are in touch with profs like they're middle school teachers.. and as such, administrators have been drafted in to do babysitting duty.

Since I worked for the college newspaper, a lot of my friends were some of the most leftist, Marxist radicals you can imagine. But the difference between then and now is that when they protested, they did so to "raise awareness," not to ban anything. They saw banning as oppressive, un-American, and a tactic of the closed minded and conservative. Today leftists are the ones who want things banned. Shows what's become of the so-called left.

It goes to show you what happens when an insurgent political force becomes the new entrenched power. They seek to expand their own control and influence over everything to cement a new status quo. This is, of course, nothing new under the sun. Things are the same as they ever were.

Only now there will be no "grassroots" opposition to take back the colleges because it is culturally unacceptable. Where would it come from? The left? The right? Would the militarized police and the administrations that rely on them even allow it to happen? I doubt it.

The solution seems to be what Suits suggested: opening up alternative colleges OR just not going at all and maybe bringing back apprenticeships. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure either, but how can any parent pay upwards of $200,000 per child to send them to private or out-of-state university in the US? Who really has that kind of money these days?

All to send their kids to get indoctrinated into a SJW/far left bizarro culture (or to let their daughters whore it up and sons booze it up half the time).

How crazy is that and at what point do you separate yourself from the (clueless) herd and just say "sorry not doing it"?

But they still do it - and leverage themselves to the hilt to do so these days.

Ask Roosh - I believe he grew up in Montgomery county, which has a truckload of the type of families for which 200k is nothing for college as they spent double that for private school from k-12 at places like sidwell or st. albans.

Plus at the very elite of privates (like Harvard or Princeton), they are extremely generous with aid. If your parents make under 100 or 150k a year, you go for free.

Post: #25

(04-10-2015 02:25 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  It seems like a daunting task, but opening up an "alternative" higher-learning institution that celebrates and practices the tradition of the true University would be amazing. A haven for true scholars and seekers of knowledge and truth no matter how uncomfortable and "un-PC".

To be honest, I think it might actually work considering the middle-class West has a soft-spot for grassroots-style endeavors and alternative avenues of experience. Maybe an "old-school school" would be hip and whatnot. Could even kickstart it - have a donation points that can equate to discounted/free tuition and whatnot. Get certain campuses/dormitories named after real big donors etc.

There's already some efforts in progress. Not quite what you have in mind but their hearts seem to be in the right place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsdale_College