Rutgers English Department to deemphasize traditional grammar ‘in solidarity with Black Lives Matter’
Also pledges to decolonize the writing center
The English Department at Rutgers University recently announced a list of “anti-racist” directives and initiatives for the upcoming fall and spring semesters, including an effort to deemphasize traditional grammar rules.
The initiatives were spelled out by Rebecca Walkowitz, the English Department chair at Rutgers University, and sent to faculty, staff and students in an email, a copy of which was obtained by The College Fix.
Walkowitz sent the email on “Juneteenth,” which celebrates the commemoration of emancipation from slavery in the United States.
Titled “Department actions in solidarity with Black Lives Matter,” the email states that the ongoing and future initiatives that the English Department has planned are a “way to contribute to the eradication of systemic inequities facing black, indigenous, and people of color.”
One of the initiatives is described as “incorporating ‘critical grammar’ into our pedagogy.”
[….]
Walkowitz explained in the email that since 2012, the Rutgers English Department has had a Committee on Bias Awareness and Prevention.
Following the committee’s most recent meeting in mid-June, its members agree it needs to “move from a role emphasizing awareness and prevention towards a role emphasizing ‘culture change.’Several initiatives came out of that meeting,” she wrote.
A recommendation endorsed by leaders of all instructional units is to require all fall 2020 instructors in English to attend at least one workshop remotely on “how to have an anti-racist classroom,” the email states.
Just a reminder first about what Ned Ryun said at American Greatness (reported here by me yesterday) as he proposed that it is imperative that the Right grows a spine:
Some people might think this is mean. [To fight like the Left does.] To which I say: grow up. There is a war for the republic’s existence and some people are like, “Ew, this approach would make me feel so icky.” You know what will make you feel super icky? When your indoctrinated kids inform on you and get you sent to a re-education camp. So suck it up, buttercup.
I am ashamed to admit that I have an undergraduate degree from Rutgers University (graduate degree from Yale), but if I had it to do over, I would tell my kids—do not go to college!
And whatever you do, don’t send money to colleges like Rutgers!
Do you remember the controversy in 2014 when Condi Rice was forcedto turn down her invitation to speak at a Rutgers commencement when students protested that woman of color because she was a Bush Republican? So much for BLM!
My brother, who also graduated from Rutgers, told me that he told a phone solicitor for Rutgers to NEVER call him again for a dime in the wake of that shameful RU episode.
16 thoughts on “In Bow to BLM, Rutgers University Says No Need to Require Traditional Grammar”
Don’t know why so much surprise because Rutgers was teaching Progressivism when it was still viewed as an unacceptable ideology about 10 years ago. This is just another step forward as used by the Marxist movement.
My question who is BLM and is it a trademark, seen commericals promoting this last week and in Minnesota , a BLM sign was vandalized on a roadway, which is illegal to place and made the state news. If this idea or movement is funded and organized, all principals, members and or assigns and interest should be held legally and fiancially responsiable for all damages nationwide amd worldwide
I have an undergraduate and graduate degree from Rutgers. I’d be mortified to go back, not only because of the woke cancel culture but also the student body seemed to be becoming increasingly and aggressively leftist. If you’re a liberal or a leftist – fine, but don’t try to purge dissenting voices. As for what the English department intends to do, I have to wonder what’s the point of the English department at all then? This so-called anti-racism stuff is not only in itself racist, but also going to make all students lazier and quite frankly, dumber.
I am also a Rutgers graduate (RC ‘63). This school is not the one I attended. I can no longer financially support this institution.
The kicker is that not only does the degrade the quality of the education one receives, but it does nothing to help blacks, except allowing them to spend money on a degree that will make them practically unemployable. When I was doing the corporate thing, I would get stuck training AA hires and I would refer to this condition as “ghetto mouth”. While these individuals (thankfully) possessed the intelligence to do the job, clients didn’t want to hear someone on the other end of the phone who spoke like a ghetto rat and I was getting some not-so-subtle complaints, even though I assured them the ghetto-mouthers were qualified to do the job. Eventually, I had to get frank with the ghetto-mouthers and explain what was happening and, believe it or not, they appreciated my advice and took it to heart. I really did want them to succeed and they saw this and saw my advice made sense. This was almost 30 years ago, unfortunately, and I’d be hesitant to be that frank now, which would result in what? Discontent customers, alienated and unhappy ghetto-mouthers, and an overall degradation of the company culture. No winners but, hey, no one gets their feelings hurt, right?
People can virtue signal all the want, but no one wants to take out a mortgage or get their 401K managed by a guy who talks like Snoop Dog. What these schools are doing is so dumb I almost have to wonder if it is willful sabotage.
Thanks for that very interesting information. Agreed though that you couldn’t do it today.
Schools like that are no longer educating people for useful work. Resumés with ‘unusual’ grammar are less likely to get people hired. Scary to see institutions that should know better throw logic out the window.
My daughter is currently a student at Rutgers. Over the past two years that she has been there, she has changed dramatically. She is an older student, so this isn’t the typical young adult spreading her wings. She has become angry and radical leftist. Sadly, she won’t even talk to me right now as we don’t agree about whats happening across the country with the protests. Her last statement to me was, “Well, you were the one who wanted me educated…this is what you get.” I know I can’t blame Rutgers for all of this, but I do think the culture there makes radicalism seem normal. I don’t see how lowering standards can be called higher education. I hope her degree won’t be considered a joke.
So sad to hear.
My son graduated recently from RU, as I did, and I’ve been trying to get him to see the point of view of the other side. He is surprisingly supportive of BLM and as I’ve tried to explain who they are, he wants none of it. I get criticized for watching Fox News, though I get varied information from other sources. When I hear that the educational system is indoctrinating our children, I don’t have to look too far. I used to think higher education is about learning how to collect facts and apply reasoning. So sad for this country that he is one of so many.
Teri- I can sympathize! They are not being taught to be critical thinkers. It’s their myopic opinion, or the highway. My RU student daughter learned that capitalism is evil from one of her professors! Yet, her capitalistic parents are financing this nonsense. Maybe there is a support group for us 😉
-Maja
RE: “This is it! Do not send your kids to college!”
Whoa there. This is one college, it is not all colleges. A university education is a good thing in general. You just may want to be careful about which one you choose to attend.
The idea that people should abandon the educational system is not a winning argument. Rather, focus on reforming it.
Send them to college only if they need it for some specific profession, like medicine. Name me one major college where your kids will be free of the socialist BS! There may be some small Christian or conservative colleges where they will get a broad education, but otherwise urge your kids to get training to provide some skilled service.
And tell me John, who is working to reform Rutgers, Yale, Harvard, Berkeley etc. etc…
By the way the COVID panic is a really good reason to try home schooling for the younger grades. It isn’t that hard to do! If your family hates it then send them back in a year or two. Lots of people bailing out of the educational system might be just the shock it needs.
Part of China plan to eliminate USA, as we know it. From within we will destroy the way we communicate and ignore and eliminate the Constitution, Bill of Rights. Lower USA to BLM/ANTIFA MOB rule and the Socialist takeover, again from within. Attack and limit Religious gatherings, but allow “protests” and deny violence portion of all protests even existing. Burn Bibles and American Flags as our foundational beliefs will dissolve before our ways. Allegiance to only the State Leader (ie. “Manchurian Candidate”) not Constitution. COVET-19 is first strike China Plague. No invasion necessary, just surrender. No meetings, low communications, economy destroyed, all small business gone and info from “Talking Heads” fake news. We are all the sheep and the shearing has begun. God Help us all…
Don’t know why so much surprise because Rutgers was teaching Progressivism when it was still viewed as an unacceptable ideology about 10 years ago. This is just another step forward as used by the Marxist movement.
A friendly welcome to the new curriculum:
https://youtu.be/RrZlWw8Di10
My question who is BLM and is it a trademark, seen commericals promoting this last week and in Minnesota , a BLM sign was vandalized on a roadway, which is illegal to place and made the state news. If this idea or movement is funded and organized, all principals, members and or assigns and interest should be held legally and fiancially responsiable for all damages nationwide amd worldwide
I have an undergraduate and graduate degree from Rutgers. I’d be mortified to go back, not only because of the woke cancel culture but also the student body seemed to be becoming increasingly and aggressively leftist. If you’re a liberal or a leftist – fine, but don’t try to purge dissenting voices. As for what the English department intends to do, I have to wonder what’s the point of the English department at all then? This so-called anti-racism stuff is not only in itself racist, but also going to make all students lazier and quite frankly, dumber.
I am also a Rutgers graduate (RC ‘63). This school is not the one I attended. I can no longer financially support this institution.
The kicker is that not only does the degrade the quality of the education one receives, but it does nothing to help blacks, except allowing them to spend money on a degree that will make them practically unemployable. When I was doing the corporate thing, I would get stuck training AA hires and I would refer to this condition as “ghetto mouth”. While these individuals (thankfully) possessed the intelligence to do the job, clients didn’t want to hear someone on the other end of the phone who spoke like a ghetto rat and I was getting some not-so-subtle complaints, even though I assured them the ghetto-mouthers were qualified to do the job. Eventually, I had to get frank with the ghetto-mouthers and explain what was happening and, believe it or not, they appreciated my advice and took it to heart. I really did want them to succeed and they saw this and saw my advice made sense. This was almost 30 years ago, unfortunately, and I’d be hesitant to be that frank now, which would result in what? Discontent customers, alienated and unhappy ghetto-mouthers, and an overall degradation of the company culture. No winners but, hey, no one gets their feelings hurt, right?
People can virtue signal all the want, but no one wants to take out a mortgage or get their 401K managed by a guy who talks like Snoop Dog. What these schools are doing is so dumb I almost have to wonder if it is willful sabotage.
Thanks for that very interesting information. Agreed though that you couldn’t do it today.
Schools like that are no longer educating people for useful work. Resumés with ‘unusual’ grammar are less likely to get people hired. Scary to see institutions that should know better throw logic out the window.
My daughter is currently a student at Rutgers. Over the past two years that she has been there, she has changed dramatically. She is an older student, so this isn’t the typical young adult spreading her wings. She has become angry and radical leftist. Sadly, she won’t even talk to me right now as we don’t agree about whats happening across the country with the protests. Her last statement to me was, “Well, you were the one who wanted me educated…this is what you get.” I know I can’t blame Rutgers for all of this, but I do think the culture there makes radicalism seem normal. I don’t see how lowering standards can be called higher education. I hope her degree won’t be considered a joke.
So sad to hear.
My son graduated recently from RU, as I did, and I’ve been trying to get him to see the point of view of the other side. He is surprisingly supportive of BLM and as I’ve tried to explain who they are, he wants none of it. I get criticized for watching Fox News, though I get varied information from other sources. When I hear that the educational system is indoctrinating our children, I don’t have to look too far. I used to think higher education is about learning how to collect facts and apply reasoning. So sad for this country that he is one of so many.
Teri- I can sympathize! They are not being taught to be critical thinkers. It’s their myopic opinion, or the highway. My RU student daughter learned that capitalism is evil from one of her professors! Yet, her capitalistic parents are financing this nonsense. Maybe there is a support group for us 😉
-Maja
RE: “This is it! Do not send your kids to college!”
Whoa there. This is one college, it is not all colleges. A university education is a good thing in general. You just may want to be careful about which one you choose to attend.
The idea that people should abandon the educational system is not a winning argument. Rather, focus on reforming it.
Send them to college only if they need it for some specific profession, like medicine. Name me one major college where your kids will be free of the socialist BS! There may be some small Christian or conservative colleges where they will get a broad education, but otherwise urge your kids to get training to provide some skilled service.
And tell me John, who is working to reform Rutgers, Yale, Harvard, Berkeley etc. etc…
By the way the COVID panic is a really good reason to try home schooling for the younger grades. It isn’t that hard to do! If your family hates it then send them back in a year or two. Lots of people bailing out of the educational system might be just the shock it needs.
Part of China plan to eliminate USA, as we know it. From within we will destroy the way we communicate and ignore and eliminate the Constitution, Bill of Rights. Lower USA to BLM/ANTIFA MOB rule and the Socialist takeover, again from within. Attack and limit Religious gatherings, but allow “protests” and deny violence portion of all protests even existing. Burn Bibles and American Flags as our foundational beliefs will dissolve before our ways. Allegiance to only the State Leader (ie. “Manchurian Candidate”) not Constitution. COVET-19 is first strike China Plague. No invasion necessary, just surrender. No meetings, low communications, economy destroyed, all small business gone and info from “Talking Heads” fake news. We are all the sheep and the shearing has begun. God Help us all…