Part-Time Pundit

Does the University of Illinois MBA Program Hate the Troops?

Breaking News: This will be updated in this post as more information comes in. (Hat Tip to Marathon Pundit.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has established an innovative program specifically targetted to Illinois veterans of the War on Terror. Basically, the state and the University will allow them to get a FREE executive MBA from UIUC (in there Chicago office) or attend the MBA program in the Champaign campus by having the state pay for the program with Illinois Veterans Grants (IVG) and the College of Business picking up the rest (about 54% of the total yearly tuition). The program was touted far and wide by Rumsfeld, Congressmen, and the State of Illinois. There were 110 slots for veterans. In the end, according to varying reports, 46 were accepted. The details of the program can still be viewed on the College of Business website.

The architect of the program has left the University and has filed a lawsuit, alleging anti-military bias and discrimination. The University of Illinois system is the same system that employs William Ayers as a distinguished professor of education. That’s the same Bill Ayers that tried to blow up government buildings and infamously quipped that people should kill their parents.

According to Robert Van Der Hooning, the architect of this program, the University (specifically Dean Ghosh) tried to scale back the amount of “jarheads” in the program. He alleges that the criteria for acceptance was changed after the vets were promised slots. That is why only 46 of the 110 slots are currently taken by students. According to anonymous sources, the reason that the number is so low is that the remaining applicants did not meet the criteria for acceptance by the appropriate deadlines. One would assume that a free executive MBA would draw more than 110 applications and that applications denied for cause would not have lead to a high-profile administrator in the College of Business not only leaving the University but filing a lawsuit.

Currently, Dean Ghosh is referring all questions to the University Public Relations office and Lt. Gov. Quinn is unavailable as of this writing to comment further.

According the University spokesperson Robin Kaler, the EMBA program only has a capacity of 60 students. The room will only accomodate that many students and there is only enough faculty to handle one class of those 60 students. The program has cost the College of Business $650,000 and according to Kaler, “all commitments were honored regardless of whether they were authorized or not.”

At present, the facts on hand don’t warrant the kind of article that Marathon Pundit put up (and Pajamas Media linked to). I’m not saying the University is in the right, I’d like to see more information.

Possibility 1: That Ghosh and company did in fact have a problem with too many jarheads in the program. This, after having supported the creation of a program almost exclusively for jarheads.

Possibility 2: Miscommunication about what can and cannot be done with Van Der Hooning over-extending the University.

Possibility 3: Van Der Hooning is engaging in a press push to keep the heat on the University while his lawsuit is working his way through the court of claims in Illinois.

Kaler made some pretty good and fatal points to Van Der Hooning’s claims. One of them is lying, the facts will determine which one.

More facts need to be had before condemning the University, or at least Dean Ghosh, of being on an anti-military crusade. There are more questions to ask, and the downside of blogging, is that people want to rush their stories to the web without doing all the footwork to get the facts straight. Will update with more information when I get it.

(Waiting on calls back from others in the know, will update as I get it).

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March 5th, 2007 Posted by John Bambenek | Chambana, Education, Military / War, Politics, University of Illinois | 12 comments

My views on the Chief

Because I’m in the Daily Illini today with a soundbite, I’m going to clarify my views on the Chief matter. My views have largely not changed since I said retire the Chief in 2003. However, I would not consider myself Anti-Chief. The Peoria, the descendants of the Illini Confederation, have asked us to retire the Chief. Since it represents them, I think they and only they have a say here. Not the Lakota, not the Sioux, not the Cherokee, or any other tribe. Hundreds of years ago they spent time kililng each other and it is stupid to lump all of those very disparate cultures under one umbrella as “Native American” and then say they are all the same. That would be like saying the Irish and Italian are of the same culture… European.

In 1995, it is true, the Chief of the Peoria said they were honored by Cheif Illiniwek and they wanted him to stay. The controversy should have died there. In 2000, they had a private vote without comment and changed their position. Regardless of their reasons, it is their heritage and they can do with it as they want. If Bertie Ahern called up Notre Dame and wanted them to drop the Fighting Irish, I think they should do it too.

That said, I am more opposed to the Anti-Chief movement than I think the Chief should be retired. It’s obvious the Peoria know they have bigger problems. I think the Chief would have been retired years ago if it weren’t for the obnoxious, stupid, and sometimes violent activities of the Pro-Chief movement. Making this a “Native American” thing is beyond stupid and exposes the absurdity of the racist claim. They don’t even know the basics about the race they are talking about. How the Chief dance metaphysically creates an oppressive environment for minorities, I have no idea. Of course, the overt hostitilty towards conservatives and Christians actually in the classroom is not only unimportant, it’s “the way things are supposed to be.” Likely, if the Anti-Chief movement would have likely approached the Board in a constructive way, I have full confidence that they would have retired the Chief awhile ago. Instead, it took the NCAA having to pay off the University. And while that is my conjecture, based on the timing and the letters, it is a reasonable conclusion that the NCAA has given the University something to do this. Which leads me to my last point.

The Open Meetings Act requires business to be done in the open. No backroom votes, no secret deals, nothing. The law is VERY clear on this point. There are only very narrow exceptions to the Open Meetings Act, and not only do none apply, but if Eppley wants to claim one he had to do it in a public announcement before the fact. If it was truly urgent, and it is hard to see why an issue that has been going on for 15 years suddenly became urgent, he could have declared an emergency meeting of the Board. The law allows for that. However, dealing with this under a shroud secrecy has clearly violated the Open Meetings Act, is apparently a Class C Misdemeanor, and the decision could be voided in a court of law by anyone who wanted to file suit.

The University, the public, and the alumni deserved for this decision to be made in public. This is the biggest decision the Board has made in decades. It deserved to be made legally.

February 19th, 2007 Posted by John Bambenek | Chambana, DailyIllini, Law / Legal Issues, University of Illinois | one comment

Press Release - I’ve Filed a Lawsuit Against Illinois Over Ethics Tests

For background, see this.

The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The case number is 07-2012. Documents relating to the case can be seen at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/bambenek/www/ig online.

Know Your Rights

Before you file a lawsuit make sure to find local attorneys who will do the job right. Whether you are looking for a workers compensation lawyer or are dealing with civil rights violations it’s important to have legal aid on your side. Don’t get stuck in the confusion of employment law, find the right attorney today!

January 27th, 2007 Posted by John Bambenek | Illinois, Law / Legal Issues, University of Illinois | 4 comments

When Knowing Ethics Too Well is an Ethics Violation

The governor’s office is facing a lawsuit over disclosure of the many subpoenas received by our illustrious government. Pay-to-play scams, hired truck, and hiring scams are rampant in the government of Illinois. So what does the Executive Investigator General target for investigation? People who take the annual ethics test too fast because they know the material already (or have an IQ above 70).

The news has made the rounds in Illinois that people who took the ethics test too fast were declared to be non-compliant. It appears that I am one of the people who knows the ethics law too well and has a sound moral compass.

My response was less than kind. The reason for this is as follows:

1) I don’t take kindly to being accused of an apparent crime.
2) I really don’t take kindly to being declared guilty of an apparent crime.
3) It’s especially obnoxious that I’ve been declared guilty of an apparent crime without any investigation, hearing, trial, consultation, or any of those other things that general constitute a just government.
4) My wife is a week and a half overdue. While this is obviously more an issue for her than it is for me, we’re both frayed and this letter turned my mood from sour to downright shitty.

I was in a hurry to get it written before I left the office so there are some typos at the end. The other interesting thing I noticed is that although I said such a violation is apparently a misdemeanor, I’m not so sure that’s its the case after a closer look at the statute. Article 50 stipulates the penalties. The training is required in Section 5-10. The penalty section doesn’t actually assign a penalty for section 5-10 so it is entirely possible (this is the point where a lawyer can come in and clarify) that not complying with the Ethics training requirement cannot be punished at all.

I’ve decided to make this public because it’s a public record anyway. That and I’m sure some enterprising C-list blogger will think he’s terribly clever for filing a FOIA and then declaring me to be unethical to interject that into my campaign for the Unit 4 school board.

At first, I thought I was believed I was fine because I seem to remember going to the bathroom in the middle of the training. Apparently it was before or after I did the web-based training. The training was relatively simple and everyone I know could have taken the test without looking at the accompanying material and aced it. Do we really need web-based classes to say “Thou Shalt Not Steal”? I realize some enterprising lawyer probably got some political connected corrupt crony off because no one ever told him stealing was bad, but that’s not the world I live in.

The training was virtually the same as last year and the material is intentionally written to be easy to understand. Besides being familiar with the material because I took the same training before, I’ve been through the ethics process twice (on the filing end, not the receiving end) so I’m familiar with reporting, the duty to report and whistleblower protections. I also come from a family of lawyers which makes me somewhat of a rule monger. We won’t get into the fact that I read very fast.

My response is harsh, yes. However, I don’t take kindly to being declared a criminal without so much as a hearing. I called the University Ethics Office and was told the decision was unappealable. On top of that, I don’t appreciate Jimenez suggesting that we committed additional crimes by developing a cheat sheet. I’m not sure what kind of people Jimenez hangs out with, but the people I associate with don’t need a cheat sheet for a test that didn’t even require looking at the material to pass. For the record, I read the material online and the packet they sent with the letter because I am required to.

I revised the form they sent for me to sign so that it didn’t admit guilt or even recognize a crime or offense has occurred and sent it back in. I would imagine that I will see no further problems. I still do hope the OEIG might find something better to do with their time.

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January 6th, 2007 Posted by John Bambenek | Chambana, Politics, Unit 4 Race, University of Illinois | 2 comments

Tuning Out: Students Paying Less and Less Attention in Class

I remember very clearly the first law class I took. I arrived just moments before the class started and sat in the back of the room which is generally my custom. I realized right away that every desk had power and an internet jack which I found kind of cool at the moment.

The person just in front of me (who intended to be in the back of the class before I showed up) turned around and asked me as I sat down, “Hey, do you mind if I look at porn during class?”

This event was memorable not just because of the absurdity of the question but it was one of the few times in my life that I was left speechless. Any number of obnoxious comebacks would have done but I was taken aback at not only the boldness of asking such a question but the concept of looking at pornography during a class on jurisprudence.

Having internet access in a classroom is simply a bad idea. I’ve been to enough classes now to see that none of them have actually made use of that for an educational reason. People will play solitaire, check their e-mail, or even play World of Warcraft during class, occasionally switching back to Word to type in a few notes.

However, the University of Illinois, like many other universities is blanketing the campus with wireless connectivity, including connectivity in the classroom. Some locations make sense like the dorms or the airport. Others locations are a rather sad social commentary, such as the performing arts theater. I’m not much for operas, but if I did go I’d certainly want to be free from the digital leash of e-mail.

Wireless internet access provides no enhancement to the classroom experience and detracts much from it.

It’s easy to blame students who don’t want to give due attention to their studies, however, many instructors here are so obviously disinterested in teaching that their lectures are largely a waste of time. I’ve encountered far more professors who spend lecture time reading out of the book or out of pre-printed lecture notes than professors who actually try to teach and provide solid material in class.

The provision of internet access to the classroom provides yet another incentive for students to tune out during class. While it would be easy to say that those who don’t perform will just fail out, the problem is with the current tendencies, if the bulk of students start underperforming because of web surfing they’ll just lower the standards.

November 15th, 2006 Posted by John Bambenek | Chambana, Education, Technology / Internet, University of Illinois | no comments

Sex on Campus: Not as Fulfilling as you Think

A recent study in the Journal of Sex Research links depression in women to casual sex. This flies in direct contrast to a campus culture that tries to celebrate “uncommitted sex.” The problem is it flies in the face of our internal nature, and is the case in most emotional matters, comes down hardest on women.

Like most campuses, the University of Illinois hosts an annual celebration of uncommitted sex called “Sex Out Loud.” It presents a generally one-sided account of sex which doesn’t represent reality. Sex has consequences and those consequences are felt mostly by women.

One interesting feature of the study shows that it is more typical for uncommitted sexual encounters to take place between friends instead of strangers. What this indicates to me is that women and men have a hard time in this society relating to each other in non-sexual ways. “Friends with benefits” used to be a joke a decade ago when I was an undergrad, now it’s a sad reality.

The study shows what many on the right (particularly religious) have always known, that sex has meaning beyond the physical. People long to be in an intimate relationship and meaningless sex does nothing but break down those relationships. Women begin to feel like little more than objects instead of people to who deserve to be cherished.

Likely this story will be ignored on campus and the general media but it’s another statement that the sexual revolution got it wrong. Those who surfer most from that error is women.

November 9th, 2006 Posted by John Bambenek | DailyIllini, Pro-Life, Religion, University of Illinois | 6 comments

DI Column Up: Counter-Recruitment or Counter-Patriotism?

You can read the latest column here. Basically on the latest crop of counter-recruitment efforts and the lies they spread about the military.

November 1st, 2006 Posted by John Bambenek | Chambana, DailyIllini, Military / War, Politics, University of Illinois | no comments