The new president of Augustana College, Rock Island, belongs to the new politics of language.
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| Augustana's Cerberus Scholar, with a post-doc from Princeton. |
“Dr. Talentino is a scholar, a teacher and mentor for students; an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion; and an innovator and engaged citizen. She is looking forward to connecting with the Augustana community, including alumni around the world.”
“Augustana’s mission and vision reflect what I most care about,” Dr. Talentino said. “I’ve focused on creating an inclusive, holistic, challenging, integrated student experience that offers a real transformational opportunity. Any institution can have internships, study abroad, opportunities for research, but it’s how you put them together, how you create natural connections and meaning between all of them that makes the difference in what’s outstanding and what is ‘just fine,’ and Augustana is committed to being outstanding."
A few years ago, micro-aggressions were the big deal. The most innocuous gestures and words can be labeled micro-aggressions. Corporations required tests and lectures on the topic, as silly as it sounded. Now American higher education and many corporations are in the Cerberus stage. The offices have been set up, and are running at top speed. Like Church Growth, this is a top down invasion aimed at bullying people into submission. The guardians are thought-and-language police, ready to jump into action when they imagine some terrible injustice has been implied (not stated).
The litmus test is promoting the use of self-selected pronouns. Check for Cerberus scats - he is at work. One minor rock singer refers to himself as "they," to eliminate gender. Once students begin to insist on their own pronouns, the instructor who balks will beaten like a rented mule.
This issue seems to be central at Concordia, Mequon, where the acting president Cario fired Schulz for publicly complaining.
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| Mom graduated from Augustana in 1943, taking 10 years to complete her degree. Christina and I and her sister graduated from this school named to honor the Augsburg Confession. I had my name removed from their mailing list about 30 years ago. I wrote then, "You no longer represent the name. Drop all mailings and alumni funds requests." They kept asking me later to send all the books I wrote, and they would pay for them, for the alumni library. I sent a few. |
