This week on this blog:
- On Tuesday we had our first installment of "The Odd Lies of Joe Bast". Plenty more where those came from, but we'll try to space them out so nobody gets indigestion...
- Also on Tuesday, a current student recounted an extremely troubling conversation between her, another student, and Thomas Lindsay in his capacity as President. Thomas Lindsay has been successful, for the time being, in "persuading" the author to withdraw that post. Lindsay has offered no actual rebuttal of the students' account, despite being asked to provide one. If Mr Lindsay is reading this, he should consider himself invited to send a response directly to the address at the top of the page.
- On Wednesday, alum Byron Keys shared the community's initial response to Thomas Lindsay before he was hired, in "I signed up for Shimer College, not the Thomas Lindsay Reading Club." We hope to hear more from Byron on this and other topics in the future.
- On Thursday, we enjoyed an insightful letter from longtime Shimer supporter Erik Graff.
- Today, in my capacity as an irate Shimerian, I took issue with a Tribune article which has been high in the search results for "Shimer College" in recent months. A journalist alum took well-reasoned issue with my issues.
- By the time you read this, the "Week in Review" post will have been posted.
Elsewhere on the net:
- Many more Shimerians signed the petition demanding Tom Lindsay's immediate resignation. (Here's why.) The count now stands at 426, including hundreds of alumni, many parents, and approximately half of the current student body. If you haven't signed yet, please consider doing so. The petition isn't going to save Shimer all by itself, but it has an important role to play.
- Many more Shimerians also filled out the form pledging support during and/or after the crisis. (If you have filled out the form and haven't heard back from anyone, we apologize -- things have been just a bit hectic. Feel free to contact me directly, samueljhenderson@gmail.com.)
- Jacqueline Harris hosted an excellent 2-hour online radio show about Shimer events. (Click the link to listen.) The next show is scheduled for April 13th at 4 PM.
- On Shimer College Alumni Speak, we heard from Shimer alums Jason Blaesing (2000), Maria Sosa (1972), and Louis F. Linden (1969). We'd love to hear from you, too; email your reflections to shimerspeaksout@gmail.com.
- At shimerians.com, the problem with registration emails has been solved. (Probably.) If you already signed up but did not receive an email, you have been manually confirmed and can now log in freely. The site is still under construction, and any help in finishing the job would be appreciated.
Elsewhere off the net:
- At Shimer, reliable reports indicate that facilitators facilitated, students studied, staffers staffed, and administrators administered. We're not quite sure what the president did, but presumably he spent most of his time presiding ... over some place other than campus. If only Tom would extend his 6-day weekends by one more day, things would be so much simpler for everyone.
- The students who had an extremely disturbing conversation with a trustee two weeks ago were intimidated into remaining silent. (There seems to be a bit of a pattern here...) We can scarcely fault anyone for not wanting to be on the receiving end of a frivolous but well-funded libel suit, but it must be said that the external community is not currently getting the full story about the threat to the faculty.
- Neither the president nor his cronies on the Board made any effort at a meaningful demonstration of good faith. Guys, if you really aren't planning to gut the faculty and curriculum, why don't you just make a binding commitment to that effect? Sure would go a long way toward putting everyone's mind at ease...
1 comment :
Most helpful. Thank you for this.
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