It is now common for faculty to include diversity statements with their syllabus. Indeed, such statements are encouraged at most schools. However, a statement by a human development and family science assistant professor at Virginia Tech University has triggered a debate over academic freedom and free speech. Crystal Lynn Duncan Lane reportedly added a “Who I Am” section to her syllabus that has drawn criticism on sites like Campus Reform and from some of her students over an apology for being white and middle class. While Lane states that dealing with her own latent racism is “work [that] terrifies me,” her statement has outraged others who felt that it was itself racist against white students and colleagues. As will come as little surprise to regulars on this site, I believe this is protected speech by Lane. The question for me is whether the university would tolerate a statement denying such inherent racism from a professor. That is the true test of free speech and academic freedom.“I am a Caucasian cisgender female and first-generation college student from Appalachia who is of Scottish, British, and Norwegian heritage. I am married to a cisgender male, and we are middle class. While I did not ‘ask’ for the many privileges in my life: I have benefitted from them and will continue to benefit from them whether I like it or not.” At the end of her statement, Duncan Lane apologizes to students for the “inexcusable horrors within our shared history.”
The site Campus Reform further quotes Lane as saying
“This is injustice. I am and will continue to work on a daily basis to be antiracist and confront the innate racism within myself that is the reality and history of white people. I want to be better: Every day. I will transform: Every day. This work terrifies me: Every day. I invite my white students to join me on this journey. And to my students of color: I apologize for the inexcusable horrors within our shared history.”
The statement is reminiscent of other such declarations discussed earlier on this site. Last year, we discussed the controversy over the acting Northwestern Law Dean declaring publicly to “I am James Speta and I am a racist.” He was followed by Emily Mullin, executive director of major gifts, who announced, “I am a racist and a gatekeeper of white supremacy. I will work to be better.” Other faculty have been more accusatory of others like the Brandeis dean who declared “all whites are racist.”
Such statements reflect deep-seated political and social views from faculty. Those views may be deeply insulting for students or other faculty. However, I believe that they are still protected speech and reflect intellectual views protected under academic freedom.
The concern that I have is the inconsistent treatment of such controversies where conservative or contrarian faculty are given little accommodation, including a recent case at St. Joseph’s University. A conservative North Carolina professor faced calls for termination over controversial tweets and was pushed to retire. Dr. Mike Adams, a professor of sociology and criminology, had long been a lightning rod of controversy. In 2014, we discussed his prevailing in a lawsuit that alleged discrimination due to his conservative views. He was then targeted again after an inflammatory tweet calling North Carolina a “slave state.” That led to his being pressured to resign with a settlement. He then committed suicide just days before his last day as a professor.
Professor Lane is expressing her views of racism, including her own bias or privilege. Students can decide whether they wish to take her class in light of such views and whether they suggest a countervailing bias. I see nothing in the statement that suggests that Professor Lane would be biased against white students. These statements are tied to how academics view systemic racism and the bias that comes from personal privilege. Those statements should be protected — as should countervailing statements — from faculty.
Systemic racism? If an organization grants a privilege to one race not granted to another that is a systemic racism according to her definition. If she is truly concerned about system racism then she needs to advocate for the elimination of race-based entry quotas in our universities. If she supports such quotas then she needs to resign.
I agree, and specifically she needs to condemn racial discrimination against Asians in college admissions.
Karen – she could begin with condemning the bias against those folks from Appalachia and from the south,in general, which I think she would know something about.
I do wish these self confessors would articulate what they do , think that makes them racist – if it simply is because they are “white”, nothing else, then it is like “original sin” ( religious term) something you cannot change short of not existing.
Karen,
There are quotas limiting Jews as well Asians at elite schools. Too many white Christians get into these schools on athletic scholarships or the privilege of being a legacy- not on academic merit sadly to say.
On that point I cannot argue. Admissions should be based upon academic achievement and nothing else.
For the most part, I agree, with one caveat. College sports is part of the country’s culture. Elite universities simply couldn’t field a team in most sports because it’s unusual to excel in academics and sports. They each require too much time to generally be able to shine in both, although there are exceptions to the rule. They could, however, cream less academically challenging schools in chess competitions.
I wouldn’t necessarily do away with athletic scholarships that have a lower academic threshold, as long as that threshold is still rigorous. After all, these athletes still have to academically survive and earn a degree.
Let’s do away with racial and religious discrimination, as well as legacy admissions. You earn your way in, or you don’t.
In addition, universities clearly need oversight. We cannot trust them to police themselves, as USC et al made painfully clear. The elites do so love their special privileges.
Karen S says:
“I wouldn’t necessarily do away with athletic scholarships that have a lower academic threshold, as long as that threshold is still rigorous.”
So you are in favor of affirmative action! For athletes who can’t meet the academic threshold unless it is lowered for them! Rigorous, indeed!
I can hardly believed what you have said. Perhaps, I misunderstood you. You want to rephrase that?
Jeff:
Only a meritocracy is fair. Quotas limiting any race or religion, or giving special preference to any immutable characteristics, are wrong.
What does “too many white Christians get into these schools on athletic scholarships” even mean? First, have you taken a look at actual recipients of athletics scholarships? Perhaps watched a basketball or football game recently? There is no such thing as “too many” of any race, and there certainly aren’t a disproportionate number of white people getting athletic scholarships. OK, you can count the literal pay to play scam at USC. But bona fide athletic scholarships? No. That’s based on athletic talent.
I do not support legacy boosts in admissions. It should be a strict meritocracy.
In my own major, the overwhelming majority were Asian. I was a minority in my major. I don’t think “too many” Asians got in. I think they earned their spot. If you want to outcompete a subculture that values scholarship to the point that parents exert enough pressure to turn coal into a diamond, then you’d better teach your child to work hard. Really hard.
Karen says:
“I do not support legacy boosts in admissions. It should be a strict meritocracy.”
At least you acknowledge there is such a thing as “privilege” albeit you disagree with it in collegiate admissions.
You say:
“If you want to outcompete a subculture that values scholarship to the point that parents exert enough pressure to turn coal into a diamond, then you’d better teach your child to work hard. Really hard.”
It’s a pity that Trump prefers low-information voters and Trumpists revile the college educated as “elitists.”
So she invites an open dialog on her racism and privilege. I couldn’t find her syllabus, so I’m curious: how has she specifically benefitted from being a white, cisgender female? She sounds as though she’s admitting to having achieved whatever she has achieved by fraud. If she truly believed what she’s saying, she would resign her position, disavow her credentials and refund whatever fraudulent compensation she’s received. At the least, the university should fire her. Does academic freedom mean you should not be fired for admitting to be a racist? Does this mean an unrepentant racist should not be fired?
Olly says:
“At the least, the university should fire her.”
More Trumpist Cancel Culture. I suggest you re-read what Turley stated:
“I see nothing in the statement that suggests that Professor Lane would be biased against white students.”
I warned you that Turley was no Trumpist, but you laughed. See?
Oh, I’m still laughing at you. See? 🤣
Laughter softens down the temper; so laugh away! You’ll be a more congenial man with any luck.
“I see nothing in the statement that suggests that Professor Lane would be biased against white students.”
Seriously?!
“You, Mr./Mrs. white student, don’t deserve that “A” because of your ‘privileges’. (“And you, Mr./Mrs. black student, do deserve an “A” because of your lack of ‘privileges’.”)
If you do not think that there are real-world consequences of those noxious ideas, then you haven’t been paying attention. (See the Duke Lacrosse hoax, et al.)
No kidding. So everyday, she goes into her classroom and she sees white students of privilege and non-white students of disadvantage. She freely admits that she invites her white students on this journey and apologizes to her students of color. Do her white students feel they are in a position to decline her invitation? Do her white students feel comfortable having been targeted as racists? Will her students of color feel free to challenge her racist views?
Sadomasochism, protection racket, or diversity [dogma] (e.g. racism, sexism), inequity, and exclusion.
BLM. YLM. BLM. WLM.
BLM is beyond little midgets YLM is you learn mother talk. BLM means brown litter mother’s. WLM wine leaves master.
I am white and apologize for the while inferiority complex lunatics that roam Academia, Government, UN, WEF, NGO, Foundations, Jusiciary and Oligarch companies. They are unemployable in the real world or without regulatory protection and degrade not only themselves but other races with their abject cowardice and stupidity. They are pathetic losers who can’t stand on their own two feet. They are freaks, who can only lear idiotic theories like CT and regress human progress. We have pulled their white card and they never more speak for white people. The same people who have created more civil elevation for all people than all other combined. throughout history.
We will now turn our attention to the real criminals, uni-party, the “network”, Bush, Clintons, Gore, Obama, Rice, Biden, Harris, Pelosi, China-stein, Roberts, all the paper pushing generals, euro-trash in the UN, EU and WEF, the freaks in the NGO, K-12 educator, academia, fake science, and the pervs in the CIA, FBI, IRS, NDA, CDC, FDA, DOJ, Homeland Security, FED, ARPANET (google), Amazon (Incutel), Lifelog (Facebook) and Microsoft. You are welcome in advance.
I might disagree on one point. Turley states that, “Such statements reflect deep-seated political and social views from faculty” — well, call me a cynic, but I don’t think these statements reflect any such depth of thought or analysis. They seem more like CYA statements to protect faculty, who are desperately clinging to jobs, from coming under attack by the voracious race police. After all, what’s a few self-demeaning statements on a syllabus compared to the trauma of being publicly shamed and forced to resign for a slip of the tongue. The syllabus has long been seen as a “contract” between teacher and students, so inserting a disclaimer such as Lane’s could go a long way to blunting the edge of the more aggressive race hounds in the class.
Apologizing for being is mental illness, nothing else. This psychotic self-flagellation, driven by race-hustlers and pseudo-intellectuals, needs to stop. Otherwise, we’re heading toward something extremely ugly.
Any professor or administrator who declares they are a racist should be fired. I would not want a racist teaching my child, especially not in an environment where staff find it impossible to leave their personal opinions at the door. Since many white students are going home to declare to their parents that they, too, are racist, then clearly this ideology is catching on.
Do you want your child to be racist? Then don’t send them to these schools.
Employees affect the reputation and profits of a company. For instance, if you’re a carpet installer, and your employee writes a letter to the editor at the local paper that he believes that everyone should steal everything that he can, and will do so in your employ, your company would go out of business.
Karen said:
“Do you want your child to be racist? Then don’t send them to these schools.”
***
Too late! Now it is said if you are white you come out of the womb racist. Screw ’em. They want racism they may just get it. People who I knew used to bow to this crap have had big changes of attitude. They are sick of it.
Karen says:
“Any professor or administrator who declares they are a racist should be fired.”
Trumpist Cancel Culture (TCC). Turley disapproves. It’s called free speech- get it through your head.
Is there some kind of self-selection process going on in academia, because it seems to be attracting the mentally weak, the intellectually challenged and the verbally obnoxious. People like Lane see academia as a way to atone for their sin of being born white, but they stop short of giving up their privileges – which Lane could easily do by resigning, and thereby freeing her mind of this torturous angst. But maybe not – since “racism” is forever (like taxes and herpes) she’d probably have to find another way to carry out her self-annihilation.
Let me get this straight. Someone from Appalachia is apologizing for the unfairness of being the first generation in her family to go to college and be middle class?
Karen, great point!
If you are white you are not allowed to say you aren’t racist so screw ’em.
I enjoy reading struggle session confessions. I would like to see more
Say this prayer when you wake, when you sin, and when you retire for bed. Use of a cat-of-nine-tails flogger might be beneficial in your case.
DEUS meus, ex toto corde poenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.
O MY God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
@monumentcolorado, well said. We all have our issues and if she chooses to make hers public in this fashion, that’s fine with me As long as her invitation to “…my white students to join me on this journey.” remains an invitation and not a requirement, I think the students can judge for themselves the pros and cons of taking her course.
Since when can someone admit to being racist and not be at least admonished? This sounds a little insane to me and I would think that the university would be looking into her mental acuity.
Professor, if all whites are racist and all Blacks aren’t then you are saying that there is a difference in people due to racial DNA. It would seem that you are coming close to being a true racist and not just a posing, virtue signaling phony. If whites and blacks are different with ONLY whites having the racist gene, then we as a diverse society have a bit of a problem. Are there other things that make whites and blacks different? Are Asians different? Latino people? Lady quit your job, go back home and hide your insanity.
1. If she or any teachers admits to being a White racist fire them immediately.
2. If she or any teachers teach this prejudice White privilege mumbo jumbo against White Americans fire them immediately.
If these teachers feel so strongly that they have attained position in life based on their color give 50% of their income to whatever race they feel they’ve taken advantage.
She could always give away her money and offer to resign if VA Tech hires a POC to replace her.
Since she has done neither, this is just “look at me” performance. (Sound of person vomiting)
I took a peak into our future last night: The Obsolete Man, The Twilight Zone. Yes, it has come to this.
Sprec frei or forever hold your piece.
Sprich frei.
Today I will be casting my vote to recall woke but incompetent Gavin Newsom and elect the black “white supremacist” but intellectually honest Larry Elder. I love my white privilege.
Question is: “Do students want to be “taught” by someone with such deep rooted psychological problems?
Universities are for teaching young people, not the place for disturbed professors to work out their issues.
Respect a person who recognizes his issues. But don’t impose those issues on others.
Especially others who pay for a fully competent teacher.