Monday, June 19, 2017

Campus Reform - Rowan University, NJ: 'Meritocracy' is a micro-aggression, guidebook claims - Saying hard work leads to success also thought crime





Rowan University has published a guide on “Interrupting Microaggressions” with strategies for "calling out" those who advocate concepts like "color blindness" and "meritocracy."

Rowan University has published a guide on “Interrupting Microaggressions” with strategies for "calling out" those who advocate concepts like "color blindness" and "meritocracy."
The guide—which is available on the website for the Rowan University Bias Assessment & Response Team (BART) along with several other resources billed as “tips to stop bias”—lists various examples of “microaggressions,” then provides suggestions for “Third Party Intervention” approaches, followed by more-detailed explanations under the heading of “Communication Approach.”
Under the heading “Myth of Meritocracy,” for instance, the document asserts that saying “Everyone can succeed in this country, if they work hard enough” constitutes a microaggression, advising students and faculty members to respond to such statements by challenging the speaker to provide examples. ...
     You can see how this might appeal to someone who has been boosted up by affirmative action all through high school when they suddenly find themselves in a university class were the lectures and textbook might as well be in Greek. They can comfort themselves by saying 'Grades are part of a discriminatory meritocracy that is meaningless and evil!'