Marquette University honors ’70s cop-killer Assata Shakur with mural

[Dr. Blackheart]

OK, EXACTLY in that way.   I thought you were getting frisky.   

Sounds like we need a Broh Forum, aina?

[Dr. Blackheart]

More as this spreads.  This linked on Drudge...MU handled it quickly to contain it.  McAdams at work.

http://eagnews.org/wi-university-claims-no-knowledge-of-giant-mural-featuring-cop-killer-it-called-courageous/

[GGGG]

you hit it for me.  some people just want this to go away.  so shut up-nothing to see here.  on the other hand, some of this discussion can be therapeutic.  not in a gloating way at all, but i think many people are a little shocked that marquette has gone this far.  how far? well, this far.  what is the value of having a gender and whatever club. can't this be lumped into  another sociology-based study group or club or resource center?  i know, i know, they fired her already.  i also realize this is a university and therefore a place for an exchange of ideas, lifestyles...but how far does a jesuit university need to go?  i don't know the answer to that, but that is why people are continuing to talk about this.  people are just trying to make sense out of this.   

I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill.  You say "Marquette has gone this far."  How far has it really gone?  Is it just one or two bad actors or is it systematic of something deeper.

Because really have trouble seeing Marquette as some bastion of left-wing radicalism.

[mu03eng]

More as this spreads.  This linked on Drudge...MU handled it quickly to contain it.  McAdams at work.

http://eagnews.org/wi-university-claims-no-knowledge-of-giant-mural-featuring-cop-killer-it-called-courageous/

Character Revealed on McAdams I guess

[GGGG]

My take on what happened here:

**Looking at Bartlow's background, I have no doubts she knew exactly who Assata Shakur is and what she was accused of doing.  Given that she signed the petition to have her pardoned, that much is obvious. 

**While I don't know if she is a woman of color, she clearly has an interest in that subject according to her CV.  So I clearly don't think she exploited the AKA sorority.  For all I know, they could have a common view regarding Shakur.  But the difference here is that Bartlow is a professional while the AKA members are students.

**You don't need any sort of permission to paint a mural on a wall space.  At least not a significant one.  She may have mentioned it to her boss, but she could have used words like "student lead" or something similar.  There is no evidence that anyone above her in the organization chart had any idea what was going on in detail.

**This is very important.  Bartlow reported to the Provost.  (I think.)  Remember that the new Provost hasn't even started yet.  She was working for an interim - the Dean of the College of Nursing.  Interims don't approach their jobs in the same way as a permanent staff.  Simply put, Bartlow likely had a lot more latitude than she would normally have had.  Turnover in the President's office didn't help either.

**PR didn't catch this.  They should have.  Yeah I know that the various offices on campus have dozens of social media accounts.  Not an excuse.  Simply reviewing what they put out there once a week isn't difficult nor time consuming.

So in the end I have a few observations:

**Marquette handled it well once they saw what happened.  Painting over the mural and firing Bartlow made perfect sense.

**Marquette needs to figure out what to do with the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.  This is where I think leadership failed.  They established this Center in response to the O'Brien embarrassment.  Did it have a mission?  What was its role supposed to be?  Did the lack of leadership in the Provost or President's office mean that a relatively inexperienced Director could create a kingdom of her own?  I'm not necessarily opposed to a Center of that nature on Marquette's campus.  But figure how what's its role should be in the context of Marquette University today.

[mu03eng]

My take on what happened here:

**Looking at Bartlow's background, I have no doubts she knew exactly who Assata Shakur is and what she was accused of doing.  Given that she signed the petition to have her pardoned, that much is obvious. 

**While I don't know if she is a woman of color, she clearly has an interest in that subject according to her CV.  So I clearly don't think she exploited the AKA sorority.  For all I know, they could have a common view regarding Shakur.  But the difference here is that Bartlow is a professional while the AKA members are students.

**You don't need any sort of permission to paint a mural on a wall space.  At least not a significant one.  She may have mentioned it to her boss, but she could have used words like "student lead" or something similar.  There is no evidence that anyone above her in the organization chart had any idea what was going on in detail.

**This is very important.  Bartlow reported to the Provost.  (I think.)  Remember that the new Provost hasn't even started yet.  She was working for an interim - the Dean of the College of Nursing.  Interims don't approach their jobs in the same way as a permanent staff.  Simply put, Bartlow likely had a lot more latitude than she would normally have had.  Turnover in the President's office didn't help either.

**PR didn't catch this.  They should have.  Yeah I know that the various offices on campus have dozens of social media accounts.  Not an excuse.  Simply reviewing what they put out there once a week isn't difficult nor time consuming.

So in the end I have a few observations:

**Marquette handled it well once they saw what happened.  Painting over the mural and firing Bartlow made perfect sense.

**Marquette needs to figure out what to do with the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.  This is where I think leadership failed.  They established this Center in response to the O'Brien embarrassment.  Did it have a mission?  What was its role supposed to be?  Did the lack of leadership in the Provost or President's office mean that a relatively inexperienced Director could create a kingdom of her own?  I'm not necessarily opposed to a Center of that nature on Marquette's campus.  But figure how what's its role should be in the context of Marquette University today.

[Lennys Tap]

Character Revealed on McAdams I guess

"Character Revealed" on McAdams? He blew the whistle on something that should disgust everyone associated with MU regardless of their politics. How is he the bad guy here? Shooting the messenger because the news makes you uncomfortable? Never a good idea.

[warriorchick]

"Character Revealed" on McAdams? He blew the whistle on something that should disgust everyone associated with MU regardless of their politics. How is he the bad guy here? Shooting the messenger because the news makes you uncomfortable? Never a good idea.

How about because he immediately went to the press instead of simply notifying the appropriate people in administration?  I have no doubt that the end result would have been the same. He intentionally wanted to embarrass Marquette.

[GGGG]

How about because he immediately went to the press instead of simply notifying the appropriate people in administration?  I have no doubt that the end result would have been the same. He intentionally wanted to embarrass Marquette.

My guess is that this is evidence that any conversations between the two parties regarding his continued employment at MU isn't going to way he wants.

[jsglow]

My take on what happened here:

**Looking at Bartlow's background, I have no doubts she knew exactly who Assata Shakur is and what she was accused of doing.  Given that she signed the petition to have her pardoned, that much is obvious.  

**While I don't know if she is a woman of color, she clearly has an interest in that subject according to her CV.  So I clearly don't think she exploited the AKA sorority.  For all I know, they could have a common view regarding Shakur.  But the difference here is that Bartlow is a professional while the AKA members are students.

**You don't need any sort of permission to paint a mural on a wall space.  At least not a significant one.  She may have mentioned it to her boss, but she could have used words like "student lead" or something similar.  There is no evidence that anyone above her in the organization chart had any idea what was going on in detail.

**This is very important.  Bartlow reported to the Provost.  (I think.)  Remember that the new Provost hasn't even started yet.  She was working for an interim - the Dean of the College of Nursing.  Interims don't approach their jobs in the same way as a permanent staff.  Simply put, Bartlow likely had a lot more latitude than she would normally have had.  Turnover in the President's office didn't help either.

**PR didn't catch this.  They should have.  Yeah I know that the various offices on campus have dozens of social media accounts.  Not an excuse.  Simply reviewing what they put out there once a week isn't difficult nor time consuming.

So in the end I have a few observations:

**Marquette handled it well once they saw what happened.  Painting over the mural and firing Bartlow made perfect sense.

**Marquette needs to figure out what to do with the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.  This is where I think leadership failed.  They established this Center in response to the O'Brien embarrassment.  Did it have a mission?  What was its role supposed to be?  Did the lack of leadership in the Provost or President's office mean that a relatively inexperienced Director could create a kingdom of her own?  I'm not necessarily opposed to a Center of that nature on Marquette's campus.  But figure how what's its role should be in the context of Marquette University today.

Not directly.  MU has moved to 'Strong Provost' model.  Numerous departments not previously associated with academics directly now report into that office mostly reporting to a series of deputies, in this case likely Associate Provost Dr. Bill Welburn.  It should be noted that beyond the Deans, the Provost has approximately 5-8 direct reports, all at the Vice Provost or Associate Provost level.  And to suggest that Dr. Callahan has approached the job with anything less than 100% dedication for the two years she has served since Fr. Pilarz asked her to replace Dr. Pauly is flat out wrong Sultan.  

I will agree that further strategic changes/reevaluations have purposefully been deferred (especially in the past 6 months) to give incoming Provost Dr. Dan Myers a chance to make his mark.

[GGGG]

Who said that she wasn't "100% dedicated" to her position? 

I said that "interims don't approach their job the same way as permanent staff."  That is a general statement based on working in higher education for 25 years with various interim deans, provosts and presidents.  And I said it is "likely" she had more latitude.

I am sure that Dr. Callahan worked very hard to do a good job.  That being said, I have no idea how she approached her job or how good she was at it.  Frankly I have no evidence either way.

[jsglow]

Who said that she wasn't "100% dedicated" to her position? 

I said that "interims don't approach their job the same way as permanent staff."  That is a general statement based on working in higher education for 25 years with various interim deans, provosts and presidents.  And I said it is "likely" she had more latitude.

I am sure that Dr. Callahan worked very hard to do a good job.  That being said, I have no idea how she approached her job or how good she was at it.  Frankly I have no evidence either way.

I do.  Take that for what it's worth.

[mu-rara]

My take on what happened here:

**Looking at Bartlow's background, I have no doubts she knew exactly who Assata Shakur is and what she was accused of doing.  Given that she signed the petition to have her pardoned, that much is obvious. 

**While I don't know if she is a woman of color, she clearly has an interest in that subject according to her CV.  So I clearly don't think she exploited the AKA sorority.  For all I know, they could have a common view regarding Shakur.  But the difference here is that Bartlow is a professional while the AKA members are students.

**You don't need any sort of permission to paint a mural on a wall space.  At least not a significant one.  She may have mentioned it to her boss, but she could have used words like "student lead" or something similar.  There is no evidence that anyone above her in the organization chart had any idea what was going on in detail.

**This is very important.  Bartlow reported to the Provost.  (I think.)  Remember that the new Provost hasn't even started yet.  She was working for an interim - the Dean of the College of Nursing.  Interims don't approach their jobs in the same way as a permanent staff.  Simply put, Bartlow likely had a lot more latitude than she would normally have had.  Turnover in the President's office didn't help either.

**PR didn't catch this.  They should have.  Yeah I know that the various offices on campus have dozens of social media accounts.  Not an excuse.  Simply reviewing what they put out there once a week isn't difficult nor time consuming.

So in the end I have a few observations:

**Marquette handled it well once they saw what happened.  Painting over the mural and firing Bartlow made perfect sense.

**Marquette needs to figure out what to do with the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.  This is where I think leadership failed.  They established this Center in response to the O'Brien embarrassment.  Did it have a mission?  What was its role supposed to be?  Did the lack of leadership in the Provost or President's office mean that a relatively inexperienced Director could create a kingdom of her own?  I'm not necessarily opposed to a Center of that nature on Marquette's campus.  But figure how what's its role should be in the context of Marquette University today.

Good synopsis Sultan.  Here is my issue.  Jodi O'Brien gets dumped on by Marquette.  While I agree that this was not a huge PR disaster, it was not in keeping with Jesuit standards.  Then, in some sort of presumed settlement with Dr. O'Brien (what exactly we do not know)Marquette sets up this waste of tuition Resource Center, causing more PR issues.  Does anyone think that a tribute to a cop killer is in keeping with Jesuit morality?

[Lennys Tap]

How about because he immediately went to the press instead of simply notifying the appropriate people in administration?  I have no doubt that the end result would have been the same. He intentionally wanted to embarrass Marquette.

I think his point was Marquette should be embarrassed over this.  McAdams is a Spaniard in the works, a fly in the ointment, a burr in the saddle and has been one for decades. He thinks MU has fallen off the rails and given in to political correctness to stymie conservatives while being tolerant of the far left. This was exhibit A. Why help the administration that's trying to fire you cover up the evidence?

[GGGG]

Good synopsis Sultan.  Here is my issue.  Jodi O'Brien gets dumped on by Marquette.  While I agree that this was not a huge PR disaster, it was not in keeping with Jesuit standards.  Then, in some sort of presumed settlement with Dr. O'Brien (what exactly we do not know)Marquette sets up this waste of tuition Resource Center, causing more PR issues.  Does anyone think that a tribute to a cop killer is in keeping with Jesuit morality?

Of course not.  But apparently MU had a director who thought that she was falsely accused.

One question I have about this Center.  Was it brand new in that it used new resources to staff and fund?  Or was it something that they consolidated from other positions and funding?  A combination?

[MUfan12]

How about because he immediately went to the press instead of simply notifying the appropriate people in administration?  I have no doubt that the end result would have been the same. He intentionally wanted to embarrass Marquette.

How do you know that he would have been heard? That relationship is so fractured that I doubt anyone would listen.

[mu03eng]

I think his point was Marquette should be embarrassed over this.  McAdams is a Spaniard in the works, a fly in the ointment, a burr in the saddle and has been one for decades. He thinks MU has fallen off the rails and given in to political correctness to stymie conservatives while being tolerant of the far left. This was exhibit A. Why help the administration that's trying to fire you cover up the evidence?

Why would you assume they want to cover it up?  McAdams made the whole thing look a lot more sinister than it actually was, that is his "sin" as I see it.  I get that we shouldn't expect him to support an employer who is trying to fire him, but it seems to me he went out of his way to be vindictive and given his past history of flame throwing; it's revealing to me.

He may have started as wanting to make equal speech a thing on campus, but I think he lost the altruism of his position long ago and it became more about him being a firebrand and spotlight seeking.

My opinion, not saying I'm right, but that's the conclusion I draw with what I know.

[mu03eng]

How do you know that he would have been heard? That relationship is so fractured that I doubt anyone would listen.

Because there is no one else he can talk to on campus that he's friendly with that has a decent rapore with the administration that could have alerted them to it?

This is the problem with screaming oppression and hate speech at everything....when it actually exists its hard to get someone to take you at face value.

[keefe]

McAdams is a Spaniard in the works, a fly in the ointment

But is he Spanish Fly?

[keefe]

Does anyone think that a tribute to a cop killer is in keeping with Jesuit morality?

No, but students sketching their aunt's vagina in Crayola 64 colored splendor evidently was... 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I think his point was Marquette should be embarrassed over this.  McAdams is a Spaniard in the works,

Spanish O'Donnells?

[jsglow]

Why would you assume they want to cover it up?  McAdams made the whole thing look a lot more sinister than it actually was, that is his "sin" as I see it.  I get that we shouldn't expect him to support an employer who is trying to fire him, but it seems to me he went out of his way to be vindictive and given his past history of flame throwing; it's revealing to me.

He may have started as wanting to make equal speech a thing on campus, but I think he lost the altruism of his position long ago and it became more about him being a firebrand and spotlight seeking.

My opinion, not saying I'm right, but that's the conclusion I draw with what I know.

Yep.

[keefe]

He may have started as wanting to make equal speech a thing on campus, but I think he lost the altruism of his position long ago and it became more about him being a firebrand and spotlight seeking.

You know, if it weren't for firebrands like Sam Adams, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry we would all be speaking English today!!

[muwarrior69]

No, but students sketching their aunt's vagina in Crayola 64 colored splendor evidently was... 

Keefe, did this really happen or am I missing the teal?

[Ellenson Guerrero]

How about because he immediately went to the press instead of simply notifying the appropriate people in administration?  I have no doubt that the end result would have been the same. He intentionally wanted to embarrass Marquette.

It definitely is McAdams' fault. As a Marquette employee... oh wait...