Courting Controversy--Law Professors and Gay Rights

Recently my current school found itself in the middle of a controversy over one of its faculty appointments. See, NYU Law decided to hire Professor Li-ann Thio from Singapore as a visiting professor this fall. Initially, this appointment proved no problem, as most of us are not up-to-date on the collected writings of legal scholars in Singapore. However, as you may be expecting (considering I would not be writing about this otherwise), a video surfaced that would outrage many within the NYU community.

You see, Dr. Thio is also a member of Parliament in her home country, where they were recently considering whether to repeal the criminalization of homosexual sex. Dr. Thio gave a speech arguing against the repeal, raising more than eyebrows among concerned members of the NYU community. These are the sorts of people who would not be swayed by such rhetorical flourishes like "a human wrong cannot be a human right" and that "diversity is not a license to perversity".


You can imagine the reaction. First a letter informing the students of the existence of the video, and soon followed by petitions and calls for her ouster. In the face of this stiff opposition, NYU made the tough decision to stand behind the principle of academic freedom and not remove the appointment. They stated that they were unaware of the speech and that such views had not appeared in her legal writings. They pointed out that while regrettable, this did not affect her ability to teach or her scholarship, the basis on which the appointment was made.

This led to an uncomfortable few weeks as the situation remained at an impasse. Dr. Thio made a sharp rebuttal to her critics, which spurred further protests. And when it came time for students to select classes, a grand total of five students decided to sign up for her seminar on, I kid you not, "Human Rights in Asia." Today though, we have a resolution to this ordeal: Dr. Thio has canceled her visit to NYU for the fall semester.

I have mixed feelings about the way the situation was handled, though I'm more disappointed than anything. Let me explain. On the one hand, I am firmly against her position on homosexual relations, but then I have to square this with the fact that I am coming from a perspective and experience that's much different from that of Singapore. Gay rights have advanced greatly here, but there is a greater resistance elsewhere, so it should come as no surprise that there are more people that hold these views. The state of the discussion in Singapore is far behind that in the US, considering the nature of the proceedings (the mere decriminalization of homosexual relations). It should also be considered that Dr. Thio's role as an MP is also different from that as a scholar, and one should not have bearing on the other in this case.


However, I am proud of NYU for sticking out in support of academic freedom. They realize that in our scholarly pursuits we must look to arguments from all sides, and not restrict the communication of ideas, even if we do not personally agree with them. That's why it disappoints me when strong-arm tactics are used by others to totally suppress others' views. By merely shouting down the other side instead of engaging, the only thing that is accomplished is spreading bitterness among both sides. I also find that it shows a lack of faith in one's own arguments if you have to resort to such drastic means. And the hypocrisy is stunning: how many times have the left denigrated conservatives for side-stepping debate and resorting to name-calling? We can't be selective in this principle--it is the definition of liberalism.

The students though should be applauded for partially making the right move. The lack of interest in the class is the most effective action that can be taken, and may be the most damning of Prof. Thio's views. This "voting with your feet" should be commended, and should be the route that is pursued in the future.

In the end, NYU loses out on an attempt to provide at least a little balance to their pretty strict liberal professorship. Admittedly, it would be somewhat interesting to hear a seminar on human rights who isn't a particular fan of the subject. But hey, I'd rather take Environmental Law with the Dean.

Hump Day Helper -- Moving to New York City Edition

Because it's Wednesday, and we all need a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the week in our respective hells, WDR is providing some fun.

I know, we've used The Walkmen for the HDH before, but circumstances dictate that we repeat the choice. One, the group released a stellar album this week (I've already listened to it, and trust me, it's great), and two, when you're moving to Gotham, you got to do something to commemorate the occasion.

We've been had, you say it's over
sometimes I'm just happy I'm older
we've been had, I know it's over
somehow it got easy to laugh out loud...

Don't Mess With Dex -- Live With Local H

What does one do when you've just flown for 18 hours halfway across the globe? Well, I know what I would do--hop in a car and drive an hour away to some dive bar to catch a band whose heyday was over a decade ago. And you do not regret this decision, though you do remain confused by your continuously shifting verb tenses.

I had heard for years that Local H were one of those bands that just brought a ferocious live show, so when the opportunity came to see them for only ten bucks, I had the inevitable reaction of "Sure, why not?" It's not like we had something better to do in ol' Salem Towne. And hey, who doesn't love "Bound For The Floor"?

We had two opening bands that night, with one a promising new local band, and the other being a serviceable, well, opening act. I'll be keeping my eye out for Sharpening Markers, who had a great mix of punk energy and dissonant rock chords, with the vocal stylings reminiscent of Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat (though for one song it shifted to Hutch Harris of The Thermals, and if you're reading this Sharpening Markers, keep doing this--it works well). My only complaint was the total lack of showmanship from the guitars--put some life into your performance, guys! As for The Photo Atlas, they had some of the better qualities of the indie/screamo movement, but they were noteworthy for the band members resemblance to people we know--the rhythm section looked like two goofballs we knew from high school, the singer like Trent Reznor's kid, and what was clearly Judd Apatow handling the guitar. We loved The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Judd!



Local H lived up to all expectations, as the two-man wrecking crew knocked through a blistering set, mixing in with the old and new. I myself was most intrigued to see how Scott Lucas's super guitar/bass combo actually worked--I had my doubts to the AllMusic story that he had installed a bass pickup in his guitar, but lo and behold, something on the internet was true. The group effectively mixed the old and new, showcasing cuts from the new album that fit in effortlessly with older classics, such as "California Songs", which brought the house down mid-show.

Perhaps the highlight of the show was the monologues from Scott. Sure, there were only a couple, but they were instantly memorable. As Scott's liquor began to take hold, he began to take issue with some audience member's idiotic requests:

"So you think you're old school, huh? You're about as old school as Will Ferrell?"
"Who the fuck do you think I am, Ian Mackaye?"
"If you keep this up, we'll just play M. Ward songs all night."
"Not even the good M. Ward songs, the ones with Zooey Deschanellanksd [unintelligible rambling]. Just the shitty ones."

Scott gets bonus points for the local reference, as M. Ward is a prominent fixture of the Portland music scene. As the drinks kept flowing (Scott: "It's her birthday, so I'm taking a shot!"), we heard the tale of a ruckus a few days ago in California.

"So I nearly got in a fight down in California a couple of days ago. Some guy had a problem with me, and as he gets more into it, asks me, "Do you know who I am?!?"
"I'm Dex!!!"

As for the music itself, well, the ending was spectacular. "Bound for the Floor" of course led to a massive audience response, but the mid-song shift into Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was genius, even if it left 99% of the audience clueless. It wasn't wholly out of character--they covered the song on their No Fun EP--but I ate it up, singing the missing horn parts in Joe Reefer's ear (thank you, pep band!). And wasting no time, Scott began a blistering cover of "Wolf Like Me" to close the set, proving what I had mentioned to Joe earlier that very afternoon: "I can tell you this at least: Wolf Like Me fucking rocks".