New (?) University in Austin

[Chooky 13,314]

7 minutes ago, naija said:

The Intellectual Dark Web strikes back.

This current era has produced the dumbest crop of intellectuals ever. 

[wildcat09 29,355]

I'm struggling to think of anything funnier than this that has happened this year.

[Dr. Teeth 5,845]

At least they are smart to do this in Austin. Anywhere else in Texas doesn’t do much for them. This gets them some coverage and potentially protests. And it helps give college football Twitter feeds at least 10 new jokes about the best college football team in Austin. 

[BabaYaga 15,300]

41 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I'd be interested in taking "The Positive Side of Slavery 101."

Most sociology departments have this - you misinterpret.  It's about understanding and challenging the denial movement, not supporting it.  This was why Spielberg created the largest recorded database of survivors in history.  To preserve their voices and historical experiences as most are dying off.  

[52-80 19,162]

21 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

 And it helps give college football Twitter feeds at least 10 new jokes about the best college football team in Austin. 

first of all how dare you.

[naija 2,865]

This current era has produced the dumbest crop of intellectuals ever. 

Chooky, I think you know what the phrase means? It’s what certain members of this group calls themselves.

As to Holocaust Denial, Weiss is not going to be associated with anything like that.

[TwiceHorn 31,493]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

UT-Dallas and University of Dallas coexist, so barring prior claims to the name/mark, that doesn't seem to be a big issue.

The fact that it appears to be a giant grift does appear to be an issue.

True.  The marks/names are a combination of descriptive (university) and geographically descriptive (Austin, Texas).  However, by long use, such as by UT Austin, such marks can go from weak to strong.  And I think we can rest assured that UT is considering legal action, because that's the way we roll.

UD was founded in 1956, and UT-D, under that name, in 1969.  That's barely enough time for UD to "work up" a case of a strong trademark.  We have 140 years and an ostensibly very strong brand.  But it's mostly the fact that we're so aggro about it that makes me think this may be an issue.

[Celery Man 20,965]

10 minutes ago, naija said:

Chooky, I think you know what the phrase means? It’s what certain members of this group calls themselves.
 

the sugar baby crew?

[washparkhorn 9,939]

1 hour ago, Chooky said:

This current era has produced the dumbest crop of intellectuals ever. 

 

23 minutes ago, naija said:

Chooky, I think you know what the phrase means? It’s what certain members of this group calls themselves.

As to Holocaust Denial, Weiss is not going to be associated with anything like that.

"WE ARE DONE WAITING FOR THE LEGACY UNIVERSITIES TO RIGHT THEMSELVES. AND SO WE ARE BUILDING ANEW."
— PANO KANELOS, FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF AUSTIN 

(emphasis in original). https://www.uaustin.org/

Edited November 8, 2021 by washparkhorn

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

5 hours ago, Godzillatron said:

At first I thought this was part of THE University. More from one of the founders

https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/we-cant-wait-for-universities-to

Pano Kanelos

President of the University of Austin. Former President of St. John's College. Shakespeare scholar. Liberal Arts advocate. Old soul.

2 hours ago, OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys said:

we are accredited by sacks cock?  

Explains our football coaches.

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1,084]

Interesting.  The founding President was President of St. John's College in Annapolis, MD.  It's a great school, but a 100% traditional one, where all they teach is the great books of western society plus science and math, and all students must learn Greek and Latin.  They don't even have majors.  Apparently, it's a great way to prepare for law school. (No intercollegiate sports at St. Johns, so the Longhorns can breathe a sigh of relief).

Undergraduate Program—Liberal Arts, Great Books | St. John's College (sjc.edu)

I guess this is part of a back to basics educational approach that wants to rid the curriculum of the current-events focus on college campuses many traditionalists seem to hate.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

One of the board members is a co-founder of Palantir.

Also, while I recognize several of those board members, I wonder which ones actually believe in this and which ones are just cashing a check.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

4 hours ago, MissingInAction said:

Or a Terrorist Front of Islam.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

1 hour ago, usmc0331horn said:

That class on Holocaust denial is gonna be fucking lit.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

1 hour ago, wildcat09 said:

I'm struggling to think of anything funnier than this that has happened this year.

Fitlump was sworn in as an Austin City Council member back in January.  

Which seems like 5 years ago, I know, but it happened this year.

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1,084]

BTW, How's the Acton School of Business doing these days?

[wildcat09 29,355]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Fitlump was sworn in as an Austin City Council member back in January.  

Which seems like 5 years ago, I know, but it happened this year.

Ok, that's in the running. This still might be funnier though.

[Leeroy Jenkins 2,404]

Just now, J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. said:

Interesting.  The founding President was President of St. John's College in Annapolis, MD.  It's a great school, but a 100% traditional one, where all they teach is the great books of western society plus science and math, and all students must learn Greek and Latin.  They don't even have majors.  Apparently, it's a great way to prepare for law school. (No intercollegiate sports at St. Johns, so the Longhorns can breathe a sigh of relief).

Undergraduate Program—Liberal Arts, Great Books | St. John's College (sjc.edu)

I guess this is part of a back to basics educational approach that wants to rid the curriculum of the current-events focus on college campuses many traditionalists seem to hate.

Ah the Johnnies.  We (Midshipmen) used to pelt them with candy as we marched by their campus on the way to football games as they protested and called us war criminals.  It was a great time.  

During COVID USNA rented out the St John's dorms to allow for more social distancing on the Yard.  

[CooterBrown 18,014]

WHY AUSTIN?

If it's good enough for Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, it's good enough for us.

 

That's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

Quote

 

Heather Heying

Until 2017, Heying was a professor of biology at Evergreen State College in Washington State. Her doctoral research focused on the evolutionary ecology and sexual selection of Mantella laevigata, a Madagascan poison frog.[3] In addition to papers in the reproductive evolutionary adaptations of frogs, 

 

She spent a chunk of her life studying the evolution of frogs.  

And she believes in eating horse paste to avoid covid-19.

Alex Jones live cam:

[CooterBrown 18,014]

1 minute ago, J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. said:

BTW, How's the Acton School of Business doing these days?

I was about to post that the MBA in Entrepreneurship and Leadership sounds suspiciously like Acton's MBA.

 

[Chooky 13,314]

23 minutes ago, naija said:

Chooky, I think you know what the phrase means?

I think it means that most of them have taken massive amounts of Alpha Brain and Gorilla Think and Cerebral Stench or whatever is available with the best promo code discount.  I don't know.  Most of them sell an energy drink that boosts your immune system while simultaneously giving you a boner, or something.  Not clear on all of it.  This is all speculation.  I think a good product would be a carbonated syrup that can teach your dick how to do karate.  But what do I know?  I tried to engage a couple of times but had to bow out when they start openly weeping about how the world won't embrace their manliness.  Watching men cry while they bemoan the lack of masculinity makes me uncomfortable.  We might be talking about two different things, though.    

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1,084]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

I was about to post that the MBA in Entrepreneurship and Leadership sounds suspiciously like Acton's MBA.

 

I looked it up and Acton's MBA program was accredited in the past.  currently the school as a whole and all its programs are unaccredited.

 

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

https://www.uaustin.org/faq

Quote

DON'T UNIVERSITIES COST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO START?

If we were mimicking the traditional model of higher ed, then yes, that would cost billions. But we're not doing that. Building a university from the ground up affords us the opportunity to reexamine the legacy practices of universities. UATX is developing a new model that reverses higher ed's lopsided priorities of building up a bureaucracy at the cost of instruction. Our university operations put intellectual development and scholarly achievement at the center. Student affairs, athletics, and extraneous services will be outsourced or streamlined whenever possible to keep costs down.

Quote

WHY ARE YOU SEEKING ACCREDITATION?

While we believe that the accreditation process is one that needs reform, at this point, it is necessary we seek accreditation for our degrees for our graduates to pursue postgraduate degrees at other universities, professional schools, law schools and medical schools.

Quote

DO YOU OFFER DEGREES?

We do not confer degrees at the moment.

Quote

SO WHAT DO YOU OFFER?

It all begins this coming summer. We will offer a summer program for college students called "Forbidden Courses" that invites top students from other universities to join us for a spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities.

Quote

In the fall of 2022, we'll begin offering several MA programs (starting with Entrepreneurship and Leadership).

And in fall of 2024, we'll launch our undergraduate college.

Sign up for our mailing list (at the footer of our website) and we'll let you know when we are accepting applications.

A $200 web design class at Austin Community College would teach you how to add an HTML link to your mailing list instead of pointing people to the footer of your website.  Or 30 seconds in Google for that matter.

 

[OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys 2,078]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

SO WHAT DO YOU OFFER?

It all begins this coming summer. We will offer a summer program for college students called "Forbidden Courses" that invites top students from other universities to join us for a spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities.

University of Edgelord.   

[wildcat09 29,355]

I will pay a prospective student $250 to go to their Forbidden Courses thing and start advocating for socialism.

['stache 21,818]

So it's a permanent bitch session about librul professors at real universities. Interesting strategy, Cotton.

[washparkhorn 9,939]

Impotent grifting deserves a school song:

[Captainant 27,680]

17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

She spent a chunk of her life studying the evolution of frogs.  

And she believes in eating horse paste to avoid covid-19.

Alex Jones live cam:

LMAO I didn't realize that Bret Weinstein and that part of academia was involved. Bret is the guy who's been making his bones by grifting off his firing from evergreen college, is one of the preferred antivax disinformation outlets, and was an originating source of the ivermectin hoax. I'm surprised that @GRHorn isn't on the board

['stache 21,818]

I like how the website uses the worth "TRUTH" in all caps like a billion times. Overcompensating for what they know is really going on with this venture.

[UTPhil2006 3,807]

[elfenix 34,271]

10 minutes ago, 'stache said:

I like how the website uses the worth "TRUTH" in all caps like a billion times. Overcompensating for what they know is really going on with this venture.

gotta get in before DWAC trademarks "truth" on the intertubes. 

[52-80 19,162]

40 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

One of the board members is a co-founder of Palantir.

Also, while I recognize several of those board members, I wonder which ones actually believe in this and which ones are just cashing a check.

Yeah I saw Lonsdale's name on it.  He's not exactly apolitical in the SV-DC sphere. 

Bari Weiss' name has come up a lot in the culture war but she seems in general really reasonable ?  (and def not a Holo denier as pointed out).

Larry Summers is a big brand though, and a big step above the rest for credibility.

[wildcat09 29,355]

Bari Weiss supports ethnic cleansing, just not of Jews.

[washparkhorn 9,939]

8 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Larry Summers is a big brand though, and a big step above the rest for credibility.

How does one get lower than Larry Summers?

Come to University of Austin and find out! 

Edited November 8, 2021 by washparkhorn
Dershowitz, Epstein, Pinker, ?, Summers

[52-80 19,162]

8 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Bari Weiss supports ethnic cleansing, just not of Jews.

Citation?

[naija 2,865]

57 minutes ago, Chooky said:

I think it means that most of them have taken massive amounts of Alpha Brain and Gorilla Think and Cerebral Stench or whatever is available with the best promo code discount.  I don't know.  Most of them sell an energy drink that boosts your immune system while simultaneously giving you a boner, or something.  Not clear on all of it.  This is all speculation.  I think a good product would be a carbonated syrup that can teach your dick how to do karate.  But what do I know?  I tried to engage a couple of times but had to bow out when they start openly weeping about how the world won't embrace their manliness.  Watching men cry while they bemoan the lack of masculinity makes me uncomfortable.  We might be talking about two different things, though.    

Intellectual Dark Web  was coined by Eric Weinstein and has since been popularized by others. As you can imagine, it refers to a group of commentators who are willing to go "there," wherever there may be that current sociopolitical climate frowns upon. Ostensibly, it includes conservatives, libertarians and liberals alike, but if you dig deeper into what they are saying, there really isn't a lot of diversity in the main amongst the group. 

I haven't seen the full slate of who supports this, but I wouldn't rule it out as doomed to fail automatically. 

I can imagine Coleman Hughes has probably been enlisted as a star pupil or some such...

[midtown 3,346]

Just saw Steven Pinkers name attached to this in a tweet.   

[naija 2,865]

4 minutes ago, midtown said:

Just saw Steven Pinkers name attached to this in a tweet.   

IDW member.

[Brisketexan 105,154]

If you make a big show of "Fearless pursuit of TRUTH!"......that's a 100% guarantee that what you're contemplating is a platform of epic bullshit that will functionally be the "University of Shit People Talk About on Joe Rogan's Show."

Not that several of the folks on their list don't offer interesting ideas and topics worthy of discussion....it's that they make themselves god-like martyrs about it, and happily associate with the extreme that makes it very difficult to support.  I mean, stupid shit like this:

Quote

WHY AUSTIN?

If it's good enough for Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, it's good enough for us.

Quote

We intend to launch a call for applications in Spring 2022 for our summer “Forbidden Courses” program

I mean, for fuck's sake, that's right out of the script of Facebook Disinformation Bullshit: "10 things big pharma doesn't want you to know!" followed by pages of how lemon juice and coconut shells CURE CANCER!, or "The Washington elites are terrified of the people finding out these HUGE SECRETS!" followed by Ben Shapiro claptrap.

The whole exercise brings to mind this:

Quote

Let us keep our minds open, by all means, as long as that means keeping our sense of perspective and seeking an understanding of the forces which mould the world. But don’t keep your minds so open that your brains fall out! There are still things in this world which are true and things which are false; acts which are right and acts which are wrong, even if there are statesmen who hide their designs under the cloak of high-sounding phrases.

They are hyping among their top thinkers freaking ivermectin-dosing COVID deniers (one of the leading voices of that movement, actually).  This is post-modernist worship of every opinion as its own "true" reality at the peak we all should have expected.  I am super-excited for their classes on how lemon juice cures cancer, how the holocaust was a lie, how slavery was really awesome, and how viruses don't exist at all and are a total hoax, and how DARE anyone criticize that curriculum, you're not just suppressing debate, you are suppressing THE TRUTH!

Lotta smart people on their list.

Dirty secret: a lotta smart people are both full of themselves and full of shit.

[wildcat09 29,355]

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

1 hour ago, OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys said:

University of Edgelord.   

1 hour ago, 'stache said:

So it's a permanent bitch session about librul professors at real universities. Interesting strategy, Cotton.

More like there's money in getting people laid in college, who normally don't get laid during college.

 

[OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys 2,078]

now we're talking

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

Larry Summers is a big brand though, and a big step above the rest for credibility.

15 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Lotta smart people on their list.

Dirty secret: a lotta smart people are both full of themselves and full of shit.

Or circling back to what I said:

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Also, while I recognize several of those board members, I wonder which ones actually believe in this and which ones are just cashing a check.

If they are in the process of raising hundreds of millions of dollars, I would assume there are some smart people thinking they'll take home a decent chunk of that, and all they have to do is get their name mentioned on a website and give a speech or two.  Ain't none of them relocating to Austin unless they are already here.

[Brisketexan 105,154]

3 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

More like there's money in getting people laid in college, who normally don't get laid during college.

 

Sadly, it will attract a passel of incel edgelords who get super pissed -- and eventually violent -- because none of the hotties at UT Austin are impressed by them, and none will sleep with them.

[atomheartbevo 89,696]

11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Sadly, it will attract a passel of incel edgelords who get super pissed -- and eventually violent -- because none of the hotties at UT Austin are impressed by them, and none will sleep with them.

They won't be located anywhere near UT Austin.  Maybe a PO Box, but their campus will probably be a strip mall in Fitlump's district, or at least start out there.

I'm actually surprised they are announcing all of this at the stage that they are - they should have had a lot more of this stuff completed well before they made any announcements, like offices, etc. and their social media branding is not so hot - even if they are going legit, eventually those addresses will need to be changed.  And if they are trying to purchase actual land/offices, anybody with property to sell, who links their would-be purchases with them will realize they can ask for more, given the amount of money they are bragging about.

[Brisketexan 105,154]

3 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

They won't be located anywhere near UT Austin.  Maybe a PO Box, but their campus will probably be a strip mall in Fitlump's district, or at least start out there.

I'm actually surprised they are announcing all of this at the stage that they are - they should have had a lot more of this stuff completed well before they made any announcements, like offices, etc. and their social media branding is not so hot - even if they are going legit, eventually those addresses will need to be changed.  And if they are trying to purchase actual land/offices, anybody with property to sell, who links their would-be purchases with them will realize they can ask for more, given the amount of money they are bragging about.

Also...we should set a date over/under on when the first member of the "Board of Advisors" viciously turns on another member for horning in in the first member's grift or somesuch.  I don't think 90 days from now is an unreasonable number to get some action.

[Sawbonz 27,566]

Did a quick wiki jump from link to link on these folks and they don’t seem on the whole particularly right wing or grifty 

 Its founding faculty fellows include Peter Boghossian who resigned as an assistant professor at Portland State following a research misconduct investigation after he demonstrated that preposterous leftist ideas can easily be published in low-impact academic journals, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Kathleen Stock.^[3]

Its board of advisers includes Bari Weiss, Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir Technologies), Larry Summers, David Mametand Niall Ferguson.^[2]

[SizzleChest 8,284]

2 hours ago, Chooky said:

I think it means that most of them have taken massive amounts of Alpha Brain and Gorilla Think and Cerebral Stench or whatever is available with the best promo code discount.  I don't know.  Most of them sell an energy drink that boosts your immune system while simultaneously giving you a boner, or something.  Not clear on all of it.  This is all speculation.  I think a good product would be a carbonated syrup that can teach your dick how to do karate.  But what do I know?  I tried to engage a couple of times but had to bow out when they start openly weeping about how the world won't embrace their manliness.  Watching men cry while they bemoan the lack of masculinity makes me uncomfortable.  We might be talking about two different things, though.    

You just described my experience with the IDW.  Went down that rabbit hole, listened to some podcasts, then quickly realized the rabbit hole was an anus full of Twitter likes and clicks.  A perpetual motion machine of heterodox masturbation.

[wildcat09 29,355]

6 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Did a quick wiki jump from link to link on these folks and they don’t seem on the whole particularly right wing or grifty 

 Its founding faculty fellows include Peter Boghossian who resigned as an assistant professor at Portland State following a research misconduct investigation after he demonstrated that preposterous leftist ideas can easily be published in low-impact academic journals, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Kathleen Stock.^[3]

Its board of advisers includes Bari Weiss, Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir Technologies), Larry Summers, David Mametand Niall Ferguson.^[2]

Look man, just trust me on this. It's very grifty.