h:\doc\web\97\08\graglia.txt Date sent: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 01:57:17 -0400 (EDT) To: c-news@world.std.com From: marc@austinreview.com (Austin Review) Subject: C-NEWS: Graglia Continues to Draw Fire from Left Send reply to: marc@austinreview.com (Austin Review) Austin Review E-Mail Edition (National Focus) Graglia Continues to Draw Fire from Left By: Brent Tantillo, Publisher In response to remarks made by University of Texas law professor Lino Graglia, liberals and socialists have banded together to promote and protect affirmative action programs. In a press conference on September 10, Professor Graglia made some forthright comments about the state of certain minorities in higher education. Rather than debate Graglia on the veracity of his remarks, liberal activists are using the race issue as a way to perpetuate their leftist, Marxist ideology that has long since lost favor in most parts of the world. At a rally opposing Graglia's remarks, Reverend Jesse Jackson said that "he [Graglia] represents a national disgrace." He further baited UT students and administrators by saying that "the school must act to regain its credibility and its integrity." Jackson's words at the rally were meant to serve as a rallying cry to minority students who believed that they are getting a raw deal by not having affirmative action programs in place. UT Student Government President, Marlen Whitley said that "if we can't have affirmative action, then we need immediate action." These generally ambiguous statements by liberals perpetuating this controversy further illustrate that they have no real answers to Graglia's statements except to call him racist. Graglia, according to a Daily Texan article by Kirk Wagner, said "Hispanic and African American students can't compete academically with whites and that black and Hispanic cultures don't condemn failure." This story in the Daily Texan refuses to really address what Graglia said. Rather than reducing his statements to one soundbite, it is necessary to understand the context in which he made his remarks. Graglia said that black and Hispanic cultures, on the average, do not perform as well on standardized tests as white and Asian students. One reporter asked him why he believed this to be true, and he responded that, on the average, studies indicate Hispanic and black families are less likely to encourage their children to succeed in academics. Of course, there are many black and Hispanic families who encourage their children to succeed and, conversely, there are many white families who do not. In fact, Graglia correctly notes in his written statement that "nothing is more important in discussing racial or ethnic group differences than to make clear that differences within each group are much larger than those between them." Also, when confronted with the trap question of whether differences in academic performance are genetic or cultural, Professor Graglia choose the less objectionable and more optimistic view. In fact, Graglia points out in his statement that, if these differences are indeed due to the fact that certain groups, on average, spend less time in school and less time studying, then the gap could be closed by creating a better learning environment and enforcing truancy laws. This rather innocuous proposition is a far cry from the arguments of Jesse Jackson and others that Graglia is a "racial supremacist." Although Graglia may not have expressed himself as carefully at the press conference as in the written statement, he did make many of these points there. For example, he noted that he was talking about averages rather than generalizing about all minorities. However, such clarifying comments were edited out of the tape that was seen on the evening news because they were not sensationalist or controversial. Many people like Jesse Jackson himself, have no idea what Graglia even said. Jackson and thousands of others are merely reacting to the now familiar ten seconds of Graglia's twenty minute speech that have been incessantly aired. At the rally, Jackson said Graglia has a "character deficit disorder." What grounds does Jackson have to make these claims considering the fact that he knows little about Professor Graglia? Perhaps Jackson also has a "character deficit disorder." It is well known that he has referred to Jewish people by derogatory names, such as calling New York City "Hymietown." How can he now call for students to boycott Graglia's classes due to insensitive comments, unless he thinks people should also boycott his events? Of course, Jackson's call for a boycott has been a total failure, since, according to a KEYE news report, not one student has dropped Graglia's class because of recent events. Even his black and Hispanic students have turned down the option of transferring without penalty. Many of them told the Houston Chronicle that they enjoy his class and appreciate the dialogue he fosters, even though they do not always agree with him. Even more disturbing than Jackson's past comments and ludicrous call for a boycott were the rantings of UT Student Government President Marlen Whitley. At the rally, he declared we must "support diversity by any means necessary." This type of rhetoric is dangerous, since it merely fuels more racial tension by implying all other priorities must be sacrificed to achieve racial quotas. It is unfortunate that Whitley took such an absolutist stance at a time when we needed healing words from the leader of the UT student body. Whitley's comments still pale in comparison to those made earlier in the rally by a Hispanic activist from People In Defense of the Earth and Her Resources (PODER). She argued the capitalist system has destroyed her people and that this institution, presumably UT or the state, has stolen their resources. She never cited any facts to justify her brash statements, but who needs facts when you have hysteria! What made the diversity rally on Sept. 16 even more interesting was the fact that many of these radical liberals, who typically support freedom of speech, said there should be a difference between "free speech" and "foul speech." It is often convenient for liberals to hide behind the First Amendment when it supports their causes, however when it goes against their agenda, they call for the head of a professor who merely spoke his mind. Even more egregious were the threats of several minority state legislators to hold the University's state funding hostage if Graglia was not terminated. Why should all administrators and faculty, let alone all students, be punished for one professor's expression of his personal views? The radical agenda of the liberal protesters was also on display at the Law Students for Diversity sit-in at the Law School on September 17. Among those attending the event were members of MECHA, a radical group that opposes Texas Independence Day and thinks Texas is still part of the Aztec land. At this protest, a left-wing umbrella group called Students for Access and Opportunity listed ten demands they had of the UT administration. Among these is a return to pre-Hopwood affirmative action, although it has been ruled unconstitutional. They also want to weaken admissions standards by relying less on standardized tests and grade point averages, and more on "other factors." Additionally, the group wants the administration to charge Lino Graglia with racial harassment. Such a charge would not only infringe on Graglia's academic freedom, but would also violate the First Amendment right of all Americans to say what they believe. In any case, Whitley and several other black students, with the help of the N.A.A.C.P., have already filed such a baseless complaint. What constructive purpose could another one serve? Perhaps the worst of their demands is a mandatory multicultural course for all UT students. A similar proposal was rejected by UT professors several years ago and would merely impose another burden on students. Moreover, their version of the multicultural requirement is even more draconian than the one that failed. The previous, more broadly defined proposal rightly included courses such as the "History of Irish-Americans." However, the radical new requirement being proposed is limited to courses in critical racial or ethnic studies, which is an isolated, left-wing branch of academia specializing in the study of group victimhood. The UT Board of Regents has agreed to hold a public meeting prior to November 13 to consider these demands. It is proper for the Regents to be receptive to student input, but it is important that these radical proposals not be hastily passed without full consideration of their impact. The rhetoric and agenda being pushed by the groups that have formed to bludgeon Graglia only perpetuate misunderstanding between the races. Even worse, they are making it difficult for people to openly and honestly discuss these important matters, without fear of having a racial complaint made against them or being ridiculed in the media. These liberal organizations claim they want "understanding" and "education" about the issues. If they really desire these admirable goals, then it is time for them to open their ears and listen to all voices. After all, the truest and most important form of diversity is diversity of opinion. ___________________ Due to the magnitude of recent racially charged events on the University of Texas, the below story summarizing and analyzing these events is the only story in our national e-mail edition. The Review is now bi-weekly, so you can expect more stories in two weeks. The Austin Review is published by the Texas Review Society, a non-profit educational organization seeking to inform the public about the free enterprise system and the American way of life. To send letters to the editor, submit articles, or make a contribution to the Texas Review Society, please contact: Marc Levin, Editor-in-Chief (512) 478-0752 marc@austinreview.com www.austinreview.com 2002-A Guadalupe, #284 Austin, TX 78705 ------- To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message UNSUBSCRIBE C-NEWS to unsubscribe, to majordomo@world.std.com. Contact owner-c-news@world.std.com if you have questions.