(09-27-2021 03:01 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 02:05 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  I’m not on the BOV so I couldn’t vote. I’ve have had more than enough interactions with Alger since he took office to know he is not someone I am proud of as the prez of JMU. The initial listening tour and the president’s council gave me all the info I needed to see he was not the man for the job.

The renewal is a statement that the BOV actually thinks he is doing a good job.
For academics - good enough and I only care a little as far as how i am able to recruit the University for high caliber employees.
For athletics - he is turrible. Not a leader and so detached from those who are in D-1 big boy athletics. I care much more about athletics and it is what I donate 90% of my money towards.

It would be interesting if someone could create a poll and see what percentage on this board would vote to renew Alger.

I guess it would be interesting, but I feel like it would also be horribly misinformed. The vast majority of us (myself included) don't have the information to accurately conclude on his performance. I mean the majority (and not you specifically) seem to be basing their opinion on a handshake, or something that isn't even his role (i.e., reviewing FROG training guides, which definitely isn't on Alger, OR actions taken by the BOV, which very well could have been pushed by Alger), or something that appears to be false/misplaced (i.e., "donors are leaving" while it also appears that donations are increasing).

As someone that is out of the know, I wish the Alger conversations had more specifics/facts, than opinions. I'm sure it is hard to isolate his singular role in the good and the bad of JMU during his tenure, but I haven't seen anything point to a widespread plateau, or downward trend, anywhere in the school. As far as I can tell, the donor base is continuing to expand as it has historically (perhaps faster?), actual dollar value donations are continuing to expand (and again, perhaps faster?), rankings and national recognition seems to be in line with historical trends, and there doesn't appear to be mass pushback from faculty (certainly not in the know on this one though).

I think you might be surprised by how many people on this board are on the president’s council and the chances they have had to speak with him directly. He has earned his weak reputation.

(09-27-2021 03:38 PM)JMU85 Wrote:  “Let your handshake be a greater bond than any written contract.” ― Steve Maraboli

Top 10 Bad Business Handshakes

That was some funny stuff! My pet peeve is the people who just grab your fingers (as is illustrated in #2). You're not even done extending your hand when they've prematurely latched on to only your fingers.

(09-27-2021 02:20 PM)bjk3047 Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

Two things here.

1) This seems like a very odd quibble. If 7 months wasn't going to make a difference, what difference did that span make with temporary names?

It's basically the same as Washington Football Team. A decision was reached that, gee, we should probably change a name that isn't consistent with the values of our institution. What you change that name to is inherently going to take a little time. But the first decision doesn't inherently hinge on the second decision.

There would have neen zero harm leaving the century old names for an additional 7 months or so until the new names were selected.

(09-27-2021 12:22 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 11:29 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:52 AM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

First, I am not making a political statement here. I am just answering your question with the information I have, all of which is second-hand.

Many have said that it is a well-known fact that Alger is ultra-liberal, which is OK, but he shouldn't be wearing it on his sleeve. He should have the appearance, at least, of being apolitical.

The most damning evidence that Alger is ultra-liberal is the nationwide news a month or so ago involving the freshman orientation. He certainly had to personally approve this or approve of it. As far as I know, there was no retraction, denial, or apology. I have not seen the news piece on the scandal. Maybe someone can post it. However, if true, that would certainly be strong evidence, if not proof, that Jon Alger is so far left that you can't see him from here.

Is that fact or opinion? I really hope our president is not wasting time reviewing and approving a single 25 minute training given to student volunteers' that are a part of a 1 week program.

He's not but for some reason people think he should be

There are hundreds of divisions at JMU, and all of them have some sort of onboarding component. Rest assured Alger doesn't make or review the PowerPoints for any of them

Point taken. It just seems to me that what incoming freshman are being told is very important, important enough for that particular training to have been flagged by someone, somewhere along the way between the freshmen being indoctrinated and Jon Alger. I consider it negligence of the highest order for that to not have happened. Fox didn't have any trouble finding it. There should have been a large doo-doo ball rolling downhill from Alger's office. As far as I know, there were no terminations or even reprimands, or at least none reported. Please correct me if I am wrong.

(09-27-2021 01:38 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 12:30 PM)atljmualum Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 11:20 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:52 AM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

First, I am not making a political statement here. I am just answering your question with the information I have, all of which is second-hand.

Many have said that it is a well-known fact that Alger is ultra-liberal, which is OK, but he shouldn't be wearing it on his sleeve. He should have the appearance, at least, of being apolitical.

The most damning evidence that Alger is ultra-liberal is the nationwide news a month or so ago involving the freshman orientation. He certainly had to personally approve this or approve of it. As far as I know, there was no retraction, denial, or apology. I have not seen the news piece on the scandal. Maybe someone can post it. However, if true, that would certainly be strong evidence, if not proof, that Jon Alger is so far left that you can't see him from here.

NJDukes, I'm also curious.

The interactions I've had with people who are Anti-Alger are so far right they just don't like him personally. I'm thinking of folks such as Joe Showker. I'm not knocking Joe necessarily - we have a good friendship & professional relationship - but you don't have to scroll too far into his twitter account to see he shares some very uneducated takes and lots of ultra conservative media propaganda. Beyond Joe and Jeff Tickle's rant to the BoV I haven't heard of other donors heading for the hills. And for each of those who disagree with Alger, there is someone like the Hartman's who are stepping up and putting their names on buildings, so it's not fair to say that everyone hates Alger and his leadership or direction.

Alger was not behind the inclusion training that Fox News wrote about in August. He hadn't seen the training. If anybody here thinks Alger has time or should be reviewing these kinds of things for student orientation, you aren't aware of the responsibilities at his level. Orientation falls under Tim Miller, who took responsibility for the training, apologized, and committed to finding out what happened and what should be done better. From what I know, Tim also didn't see the training before it was distributed. Leaders trust their people to do their jobs; in this case I think there was room for improvement and I trust JMU will learn and do better next time. I expect JMU to do better with these kinds of things - the August incident was not handled well in my opinion. And that responsibility does rest at the top of the org chart.

I also don't think that Alger "wears it on his sleeve". I see him as one who is in favor of inclusion and creating an environment where anybody can be welcomed at JMU. I am not standing up for him (after all I am an apologist right?). I don't think he's done anything wrong at JMU... I just think he's better at policy making in an oversized suit than he is at socializing with people. Could we do better for a University President? Sure. Could we do worse? You betcha. He seems average, and if you think we should be doing better, I don't disagree with you but I think we're doing alright. There are a lot of great things happening at James Madison University.

I appreciate your insights here, but when make statements like the one below, your true colors really come through. It’s one thing to have a different opinion or views but to say you’re not knocking someone personally and then suggest that their views are uneducated because they differ than yours is a pretty immature thing to say. I sure hope I don’t have any “good friends” that would go on a message board that I didn’t post on and throw my name out there and say something like this just because our views on politics and other things differ.

“I'm not knocking Joe necessarily - we have a good friendship & professional relationship - but you don't have to scroll too far into his twitter account to see he shares some very uneducated takes and lots of ultra conservative media propaganda.”

I apologize for being unclear. I did not mean that Joe is uneducated (that is not what I said), but rather that some of his material that he retweets (shares) is very uneducated (and furthermore, narrowminded). Joe is a sharp guy. He's smarter than the material he's sharing.

LOL! That's funny.

Translation; "I'm not saying you are stupid. I'm just saying that anyone who said what you just said would be stupid."

What your post really sounded like is, "Joe Showker is a conservative. Therefore, he is uneducated. Therefore, he is stupid!"

(09-27-2021 02:20 PM)bjk3047 Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

Two things here.

1) This seems like a very odd quibble. If 7 months wasn't going to make a difference, what difference did that span make with temporary names?

It's basically the same as Washington Football Team. A decision was reached that, gee, we should probably change a name that isn't consistent with the values of our institution. What you change that name to is inherently going to take a little time. But the first decision doesn't inherently hinge on the second decision.

2) "In July 2020 the BOV voted unanimously to remove the names of three Confederate military leaders from buildings in the bluestone section of campus. At that time, temporary names for these buildings were assigned with the understanding that a process would take place to recommend new building names. To provide recommendations for permanent renaming, the 47-member Campus History Committee received extensive input from members of the campus and extended community. Recommendations were developed over the course of several months, and they were shared with university leadership for consideration and review."
https://www.jmu.edu/news/2021/02/19-bov-...amed.shtml

Why ascribe this decision to Alger, when 15 of 15 BOV members made this decision? Is the implication that they're all Alger's lackeys?

I won't be happy until we have a Dukester Hall, or wait, how about a dining hall named Deez Nuts!?

(09-27-2021 02:54 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

I've gotta disagree there. I have a hard enough time seeing the other side of names/monuments honoring the confederacy in general, but an even harder time seeing your logic there. To say there's nothing wrong with the names and they don't need changing is one thing, but it's a whole other thing if JMU would go "yeah we acknowledge that these names are racist/anti-USA or could at least be seen that way and need to be changed, but also we're gonna stick with them for seven more months."

For the cacophony of voices calling for the buildings to be immediately renamed in 2020, where were most of these people in prior years?
Seems like you had people who for years went went from not caring or protesting about the names of the 100+ year old biuldings, to out of the blue being so offended that couldn’t take the names of those buildings for a few more months..And JMU in a knee jerk reaction went right along with it.

(09-27-2021 04:22 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 03:01 PM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 02:05 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  I’m not on the BOV so I couldn’t vote. I’ve have had more than enough interactions with Alger since he took office to know he is not someone I am proud of as the prez of JMU. The initial listening tour and the president’s council gave me all the info I needed to see he was not the man for the job.

The renewal is a statement that the BOV actually thinks he is doing a good job.
For academics - good enough and I only care a little as far as how i am able to recruit the University for high caliber employees.
For athletics - he is turrible. Not a leader and so detached from those who are in D-1 big boy athletics. I care much more about athletics and it is what I donate 90% of my money towards.

It would be interesting if someone could create a poll and see what percentage on this board would vote to renew Alger.

I guess it would be interesting, but I feel like it would also be horribly misinformed. The vast majority of us (myself included) don't have the information to accurately conclude on his performance. I mean the majority (and not you specifically) seem to be basing their opinion on a handshake, or something that isn't even his role (i.e., reviewing FROG training guides, which definitely isn't on Alger, OR actions taken by the BOV, which very well could have been pushed by Alger), or something that appears to be false/misplaced (i.e., "donors are leaving" while it also appears that donations are increasing).

As someone that is out of the know, I wish the Alger conversations had more specifics/facts, than opinions. I'm sure it is hard to isolate his singular role in the good and the bad of JMU during his tenure, but I haven't seen anything point to a widespread plateau, or downward trend, anywhere in the school. As far as I can tell, the donor base is continuing to expand as it has historically (perhaps faster?), actual dollar value donations are continuing to expand (and again, perhaps faster?), rankings and national recognition seems to be in line with historical trends, and there doesn't appear to be mass pushback from faculty (certainly not in the know on this one though).

I think you might be surprised by how many people on this board are on the president’s council and the chances they have had to speak with him directly. He has earned his weak reputation.

Been there (president's council) and done that (spoken with him on several occasions). So perhaps you come back with facts and not opinions as that is what I asked for from the beginning.

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

I mean are there that many people upset over the naming of an inanimate object?

(09-27-2021 08:07 PM)Bawlmer Duke Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

I mean are there that many people upset over the naming of an inanimate object?

Apparently there was all of a sudden, out of the blue, over the old names.

(09-27-2021 09:08 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 08:07 PM)Bawlmer Duke Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

I mean are there that many people upset over the naming of an inanimate object?

Apparently there was all of a sudden, out of the blue, over the old names.

Do these people name their houses, couches, and cars?

(09-27-2021 04:31 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 03:38 PM)JMU85 Wrote:  “Let your handshake be a greater bond than any written contract.” ― Steve Maraboli

Top 10 Bad Business Handshakes

That was some funny stuff! My pet peeve is the people who just grab your fingers (as is illustrated in #2). You're not even done extending your hand when they've prematurely latched on to only your fingers.

Haha I can't stand that one. They latch on to your fingers and make it seem like you have a weak handshake!

(09-27-2021 07:32 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 02:54 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 01:34 PM)BDKJMU Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

It wasn’t just the renaming of buildings- it was also the way it was done. There was the unecessary rush of immediately using temporary names, then coming up with the new names 7 months or so later. The old names could have simply been kept until the new ones were chosen. 7 more months of building names that had been there for a century more or less, wasn’t going to make a difference to those who weren’t super liberal.

I've gotta disagree there. I have a hard enough time seeing the other side of names/monuments honoring the confederacy in general, but an even harder time seeing your logic there. To say there's nothing wrong with the names and they don't need changing is one thing, but it's a whole other thing if JMU would go "yeah we acknowledge that these names are racist/anti-USA or could at least be seen that way and need to be changed, but also we're gonna stick with them for seven more months."

For the cacophony of voices calling for the buildings to be immediately renamed in 2020, where were most of these people in prior years?
Seems like you had people who for years went went from not caring or protesting about the names of the 100+ year old biuldings, to out of the blue being so offended that couldn’t take the names of those buildings for a few more months..And JMU in a knee jerk reaction went right along with it.

Yeah I get your logic on if you didn't see anyone complaining about it for so long, although even there it's not hard to see that social media and the internet makes it much easier for everyone to make their voices heard and spread information and their thoughts on it even if it's often bad info or something you or I would see as some awful opinions. But I just don't see the logic in going "this name isn't ok and we're going to change it!... But let's acknowledge it isn't ok and then stick with it for several more months."

If someone is going to acknowledge that something isn't ok and needs to change but then keeps using it for several months, that's much worse than just arguing that it's ok imo. If JMU had gone "this training PowerPoint was a mistake and isn't ok. We'll keep using it for 7 more months until we come up with a new one though" would you have thought that made sense over either standing by it or pulling it immediately?

Christianity BANNED From College Campus, But Jewish Displays Are Fabulous!

By Bushrod Washington
Published December 8, 2015 at 5:48am

Here is a picture of the holiday decorations they’ve set up on the grounds of James Madison University in Virginia.

It’s very pretty, isn’t it? Wilson Hall all decked out in lights. Very festive. And look, there’s a Christmas Tree. But it’s not.

It’s not a Christmas tree. It looks like a Christmas Tree. It’s decorated like a Christmas tree and it’s even set up at Christmastime. But it’s not a Christmas tree.

It’s a “Unity Tree.”

Just ask JMU’s pinhead communications director, Bill Wyatt. He says it’s not a Christmas Tree. In fact, the entire celebration, at Christmastime
is not a “Christmas celebration.”

And because that tree isn’t a Christmas Tree, and because it’s not a Christmas celebration (it’s a Unity celebration), the school banned the campus a cappalla group from singing any songs about “Christmas.”

They wanted to sing “Mary Did You Know?” but they were approved to sing “Frosty the Snowman” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (which pretty much promotes date rape) and other ersatz songs.

JMU said they decided to ban Christian songs from the celebration because administrators did not want to promote a specific religion at a public university event.

“JMU is a public university, so because it was a school-sponsored event, the song choice needed to be secular,” said Bill Wyatt, JMU’s senior director of communications and university spokesman. “The university made the decision to only sing secular songs. SGA [Student Government Association] merely helps the university coordinate the details.”


Christian Songs Banned at JMU

https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/chris...e-fabulous

https://www.eurasiareview.com/10122015-j...tmas-oped/

(09-28-2021 06:32 AM)Dukeman2 Wrote:  Christianity BANNED From College Campus, But Jewish Displays Are Fabulous!

By Bushrod Washington
Published December 8, 2015 at 5:48am

Here is a picture of the holiday decorations they’ve set up on the grounds of James Madison University in Virginia.

It’s very pretty, isn’t it? Wilson Hall all decked out in lights. Very festive. And look, there’s a Christmas Tree. But it’s not.

It’s not a Christmas tree. It looks like a Christmas Tree. It’s decorated like a Christmas tree and it’s even set up at Christmastime. But it’s not a Christmas tree.

It’s a “Unity Tree.”

Just ask JMU’s pinhead communications director, Bill Wyatt. He says it’s not a Christmas Tree. In fact, the entire celebration, at Christmastime
is not a “Christmas celebration.”

And because that tree isn’t a Christmas Tree, and because it’s not a Christmas celebration (it’s a Unity celebration), the school banned the campus a cappalla group from singing any songs about “Christmas.”

They wanted to sing “Mary Did You Know?” but they were approved to sing “Frosty the Snowman” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (which pretty much promotes date rape) and other ersatz songs.

JMU said they decided to ban Christian songs from the celebration because administrators did not want to promote a specific religion at a public university event.

“JMU is a public university, so because it was a school-sponsored event, the song choice needed to be secular,” said Bill Wyatt, JMU’s senior director of communications and university spokesman. “The university made the decision to only sing secular songs. SGA [Student Government Association] merely helps the university coordinate the details.”


Christian Songs Banned at JMU

https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/chris...e-fabulous

https://www.eurasiareview.com/10122015-j...tmas-oped/

what percentage of people actually care about this (in 2015 when written) or now?

Many. It was directly anti-Christian, for whatever reason (does that matter?) A friend of mine was involved in the fight against this - they were asking for moral consistency from the admin. Yet Jewish and Muslim events were allowed on campus with no interference or song-monitoring. How's that right?

(09-28-2021 06:32 AM)Dukeman2 Wrote:  Christianity BANNED From College Campus, But Jewish Displays Are Fabulous!

By Bushrod Washington
Published December 8, 2015 at 5:48am

Here is a picture of the holiday decorations they’ve set up on the grounds of James Madison University in Virginia.

It’s very pretty, isn’t it? Wilson Hall all decked out in lights. Very festive. And look, there’s a Christmas Tree. But it’s not.

It’s not a Christmas tree. It looks like a Christmas Tree. It’s decorated like a Christmas tree and it’s even set up at Christmastime. But it’s not a Christmas tree.

It’s a “Unity Tree.”

Just ask JMU’s pinhead communications director, Bill Wyatt. He says it’s not a Christmas Tree. In fact, the entire celebration, at Christmastime
is not a “Christmas celebration.”

And because that tree isn’t a Christmas Tree, and because it’s not a Christmas celebration (it’s a Unity celebration), the school banned the campus a cappalla group from singing any songs about “Christmas.”

They wanted to sing “Mary Did You Know?” but they were approved to sing “Frosty the Snowman” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (which pretty much promotes date rape) and other ersatz songs.

JMU said they decided to ban Christian songs from the celebration because administrators did not want to promote a specific religion at a public university event.

“JMU is a public university, so because it was a school-sponsored event, the song choice needed to be secular,” said Bill Wyatt, JMU’s senior director of communications and university spokesman. “The university made the decision to only sing secular songs. SGA [Student Government Association] merely helps the university coordinate the details.”


Christian Songs Banned at JMU

https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/chris...e-fabulous

https://www.eurasiareview.com/10122015-j...tmas-oped/

I wonder if Mr. Wyatt is aware that Christmas is a Christian holiday. "Christ" in the name should be a hint.

(09-27-2021 04:52 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 12:22 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 11:29 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:52 AM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-27-2021 10:09 AM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Can you provide examples where President Alger has demonstrated that he is super liberal? I’m not arguing the point that folks are making I just suspect there is a narrative about President Alger that has been promulgated on these boards that he is ultra liberal or extreme that I believe is inaccurate. People like to size other people up and fit them in a box I’m just challenging that assessment.

First, I am not making a political statement here. I am just answering your question with the information I have, all of which is second-hand.

Many have said that it is a well-known fact that Alger is ultra-liberal, which is OK, but he shouldn't be wearing it on his sleeve. He should have the appearance, at least, of being apolitical.

The most damning evidence that Alger is ultra-liberal is the nationwide news a month or so ago involving the freshman orientation. He certainly had to personally approve this or approve of it. As far as I know, there was no retraction, denial, or apology. I have not seen the news piece on the scandal. Maybe someone can post it. However, if true, that would certainly be strong evidence, if not proof, that Jon Alger is so far left that you can't see him from here.

Is that fact or opinion? I really hope our president is not wasting time reviewing and approving a single 25 minute training given to student volunteers' that are a part of a 1 week program.

He's not but for some reason people think he should be

There are hundreds of divisions at JMU, and all of them have some sort of onboarding component. Rest assured Alger doesn't make or review the PowerPoints for any of them

Point taken. It just seems to me that what incoming freshman are being told is very important, important enough for that particular training to have been flagged by someone, somewhere along the way between the freshmen being indoctrinated and Jon Alger. I consider it negligence of the highest order for that to not have happened. Fox didn't have any trouble finding it. There should have been a large doo-doo ball rolling downhill from Alger's office. As far as I know, there were no terminations or even reprimands, or at least none reported. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I don't expect Alger to personally review this type of material.....but what it signals to me is that under his leadership this is where the university is going and he has hired folks (i.e. Tim Miller) who have hired other folks where this has become accepted culture and business as usual.

In fact there was no apology for that training, just that Tim Miller said it had been pulled and will be reviewed.....it was after the fact, the training had already been done for the year and it would have been reviewed/updated prior to the next year anyway. That statement from Tim Miller said and meant absolutely nothing. IMO that is the guy that should have taken a huge hit on that training and should have reviewed it b/c that is the primary function of his department with students.

This culture and atmosphere has swung so sharply left under Alger......that students that are conservative or conservative-christian do not feel comfortable sharing their opinions in many classes and settings on campus for fear of being blasted by their peers and/or retribution from their professors. This should not be the case at all, everyone should be free to express their ideas in an open and free setting in college. But that is not the case these days at JMU.

If you are quoting an article by someone with the first name Bushrod I'm going to assume it's a joke

(09-28-2021 07:51 AM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  Many. It was directly anti-Christian, for whatever reason (does that matter?) A friend of mine was involved in the fight against this - they were asking for moral consistency from the admin. Yet Jewish and Muslim events were allowed on campus with no interference or song-monitoring. How's that right?

It doesn't matter to me at all. I went to JMU from 2001-2005. Nothing that has occurred on that campus since I left has made an impact on my life, so I do not get worked up over what could be debated as right or wrong / this or that.