This Week in Pictures: Williams College Edition

 

Guest Column by Zachary R. Wood '18: Bill Clinton Ever Sickens

WASHINGTON, DC - Two weeks ago, I decided to commence research for a large writing project on ex-president Bill Clinton. My first task: Review some thirty or so articles in popular press about Bill Clinton’s flaws and mistakes.

After that, I talked to three political scientists at my alma mater, Williams College, about his administrative hallmarks and leadership failures. 

In Ms. Broaddrick’s words, Clinton inveighed after raping her: “Don’t worry I’m sterile. I had mumps when I was a boy. You better get some ice on that (her bleeding upper lip).” Bill, she explained to me, is a man callous with no conscience.

I paused before responding.

Since my conversation with Ms. Broaddrick, I have read another dozen articles about Bill Clinton’s shame and infidelity in The Washington Post, New York Times, The Atlantic, and Boston Globe. Tomorrow I should revisit books by David Maraniss and John D. Gartner that explore Bill Clinton’s difficult upbringing in Hope, Arkansas. I might also peruse some books that parse his muck and sexual repulse for Hillary Clinton. For example, The Case Against Hillary Clinton by Peggy Noonan.

My writing on Mr. Clinton may take as its starting place an interesting story I heard from a former colleague at a dinner party about how Bill Clinton found himself emailing Hillary’s campaign staff with concerns — because Mrs. Clinton did not want to hear from Bill herself. As my friend explained, he emailed Robby Mook about Hillary’s deficits and received no response.

This article for ABC leads me to believe that Bill Clinton was heavily blamed for defeating his wife in 2008, so Hillary tended to ignore pudge of his ego.

Bill’s ego is gaseous and gooey. Imagine a rich spinach dip with jalapeño, cheese, cream, onion, tomato, and green chilies. A blob of fatty acid screaming excess and high cholesterol. Mr. Clinton, as one political scientist told me, was a soft populist with talent who never matured as mama’s boy.

I look forward to more.

Zachary R. Wood is an assistant curator at TED, as well as a former columnist and assistant opinion editor at The Guardian, a former Robert L. Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal, and a class of 2018 graduate of Williams College. He is the author of Uncensored (Random House, 2019). 

The Wisdom of Phoebe Cohen: Intellectual Debate Too Damn White

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Our dear friends at Powerline have noticed a jaw-dropping comment from

Phoebe A. Cohen, professor of geosciences and department chair at Williams College. She commented in a New York Times article on the Dorian Abbot controversy at MIT with a bizarre, racially charged comment, as follows:

“This idea of intellectual debate and rigor as the pinnacle of intellectualism comes from a world in which white men dominated.”

Williams Liberty certainly agrees with Powerline's suggestion that "...if you are a Williams College alum, cancel any further donations to the place. It is clearly lost."

As you may know, Williams Liberty stands in awe of Jerry Coyne, emeritus professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago. “I thought scientists would not get on board with the denial-of-free-speech movement,” he said in the NYT article, “I was absolutely wrong, 100 percent so.” Elsewhere, Coyne writes: "What? Intellectual debate and rigor are signs of toxic male white supremacy? What an outrageously stupid statement!"

Over at Leiter Reports, Brian Leiter expressed his amazement at Dr. Cohen's comments: "Professor Cohen, in addition to being a threat to the scholarly enterprise, is also completely ignorant about the history of academic freedom and of universities."

Careful Williams Liberty readers may recall that Phoebe was one of the authors of creepy, obsequious email guidelines for Williams College students. The guidelines provided directions on how to email one's snowflake professors in a manner that protects their sensitive feels about their jobs, importance, and worth to society. 

As you may know, Dorian Abbot, 40, is a University of Chicago geophysics professor who the Massachusetts Institute of Technology canceled on because of his opposition to certain aspects of affirmative action. According to Abbot, 

"I was uncomfortable with the variety of, sort of, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that to me, appeared to be discriminating against certain groups of people. And I felt that didn't treat them as individuals worthy of dignity and respect. And to me, that has to be the fundamental of any moral system that we're implementing," he said.

"And what I mean by that is I was uncomfortable with ideologies that discourage discourse. Because when you can't speak with the other side, the only recourse is violence," Abbot added.

According to a New York Times article, Dr. Abbot, was shocked by the cancellation. “I truly did not know what to say,” he said. “We’re not going to do the best science we can if we are constrained ideologically.” 

Apparently, this is the sort of unacceptable wrong think which upsets Dr. Cohen. The NYT writes: 

Phoebe A. Cohen is a geosciences professor and department chair at Williams College and one of many who expressed anger on Twitter at M.I.T.’s decision to invite Dr. Abbot to speak, given that he has spoken against affirmative action in the past.

Dr. Cohen agreed that Dr. Abbot’s views reflect a broad current in American society. Ideally, she said, a university should not invite speakers who do not share its values on diversity and affirmative action. Nor was she enamored of M.I.T.’s offer to let him speak at a later date to the M.I.T. professors. “Honestly, I don’t know that I agree with that choice,” she said. “To me, the professional consequences are extremely minimal.”

What, she was asked, of the effect on academic debate? Should the academy serve as a bastion of unfettered speech?

“This idea of intellectual debate and rigor as the pinnacle of intellectualism comes from a world in which white men dominated,” she replied.

Over at the NBC News website, Phoebe was caught sharing her callous attitude toward free speech. They shared the following about her: 

But equating the cancellation of a school’s public lecture to censorship oversimplifies the matter, said Phoebe Cohen, a paleontologist and associate professor of geosciences at Williams College. She said concerns over whether such actions curtail free speech on campuses are overblown.

“It becomes this battle cry of free speech and academic freedom, but he has academic freedom,” Cohen said of Abbot. “He is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, and he has, but that doesn’t mean that he’s free from consequences.”

And while universities should uphold academic freedoms, Cohen said, institutions also have a responsibility to consider the communities their students and faculties are a part of.

“It comes down to who is being harmed,” she said. “Universities don’t have a responsibility to platform people who are harming others.”

The story appears to be gathering some national attention. It has, for example, already been covered by the folks at The American Conservative, Why Evolution is True, MCE Zone, Reason, and Leiter Reports, among others. 

NOTE: Phoebe Cohen has blocked Williams Liberty from viewing her tweets. If you are so inclined please take a screenshot of them and email them to info.williamsliberty@gmail.com. 

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist and a former Williams College professor. He is an occasional contributor at American Thinker, Breitbart, Front Page, PJMedia and WND.

 

This Week in Pictures: Williams College Edition

 

Predatory Wasps: Drink Tampering At Williams College?

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - According to the Williams Record, it looks like drink tampering is the newest concern of the administration and students at Williams College. The situation is now so dicy that they have ordered the dorm card passes to be adjusted so that students can only access their own dorms.

The aim of this policy is to reduce the number of large parties on campus. The fear, apparently, is that larger parties are more likely to attract sexual predators who feel okay about drugging undergraduates and raping them. Or, at the very least, believe that they can get away with this behavior. 

According to the article, for some students, asking these outsiders to leave their on-campus party is embarrassing and difficult. By controlling who has access to the dorm, the administration believes it will be taking a step toward protecting folks from drink tampering in the first place. 

The official policies of the school make it clear that no one is allowed to serve alcohol to anyone under 18. Clearly, if Williams College was properly enforcing this policy, there would probably be fewer opportunities for the drink tamperers to practice their dark craft on the campus. See the official policies here. As the school's own documents indicate, 

"In Massachusetts, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol. It is illegal for anyone to present false evidence of age to purchase any alcoholic beverage. It is illegal to sell or give away alcoholic beverages to a person who is, actually or apparently, under 21 or intoxicated."'

The whole maneuver seemed to have shady origins. As far as Williams Liberty can tell, the administration wanted to show it was tough on stopping drink tampering while also making it perfectly clear that they had not noticed any actual evidence of drink tampering. It is not clear how or when the crusade to stop drink tampering will come to an end. The Record reports: 

After two weeks, the College will decide whether to extend the restrictions depending on the policy’s success at promoting smaller gatherings that conform to the College’s Responsible Party Standards. According to Bossong, the College will consider whether there are ongoing concerns about drink tampering; the number and nature of calls for medical care related to substance use; damage in buildings, including reports of damaged furniture, urine, or vomit; and reports to Housing Coordinators, Junior Advisors, and Area Coordinators about the condition of common rooms.

Williams Liberty would like to assist in protecting student health by reminding you that if you are experiencing symptoms that could indicate drink tampering, please ask for medical assistance from CSS at 413-597-444 or from EMS at 911. The College’s medical amnesty policy protects students who seek medical care for themselves from disciplinary action.

Moreover, if you would like support relating to sexual assault, you can reach out to Sexual Assault Survivor Services at Williams (413-597-3000).

Those with information about this developing story are encouraged to contact Williams  Liberty through its anonymous tip form or by emailing info.williamsliberty@gmail.com. Williams Liberty will not divulge your name without your consent.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist and a former Williams College professor. He is an occasional contributor at American Thinker, Breitbart, Front Page, PJMedia and WND.