Seeing My Grandparents in D.C.

Bernadette and I went to D.C. this past week. It was a lot of fun. She had never been to D.C. before. My favorite part was when she got to meet my grandparents. They weren't the most communicative and it was tough to find them, given that there were a lot of people around them, but we managed to find them OK. 

We made sure to send the pictures to my father. After all, without them, my father wouldn't be around and so I wouldn't be around. 

I hope I get to see them again and maybe next time have a conversation. 

What My Ordeal Can Teach Male Students Accused of Harassment by the College

I have become convinced that Claremont McKenna needs to reform its investigation procedures in light of the witch hunt against me by my ex-girlfriend, Tina Nguyen CMC '11 (Thien-Nga Nguyen) and the college's unapologetic support of it.

Tina called me on May 18th. It was a strange number so I picked it up. I heard who it was when she spoke and then immediately hung up.  She called back and left a voice mail on my machine.

In the message she admitted that she made up the whole thing because she "just didn't know how to get [me] to take it down." (She was referring to the blog post where I criticized her decision to make stuff up about me from high school and give it to a Twitter account.) She also admitted to cheating on me, which she had initially denied. She said she was a different person now. But how different could you be when you lie about accusations against a student? She said, "no matter what I tried to do, I never tried to get you expelled. You can ask Dean Spellman about that."

Right... which is why she falsely accused me of harassment and defamation and derailed the final semester of my academic career. If Tina is serious about being sorry, she could do the following: Apologize to me, write a letter which I will post online here admitting she lied, and ask the college to change its policies so that the accused can defend himself against false charges. Accusing a male student falsely about harassment is morally reprehensible -- and needs to stop before another student has to suffer the indignity and fear of having his life uprooted. It is especially unfair to the real victims of harassment, some of which have been my friends. Harassment is a very serious charge and it now seems obvious that the college is ill equipped to play judge, jury, and executioner in arbitrating disputes of this nature. I have heard of other students who have been harmed by the college's wanton disrespect of due process.

My parents worried that I wouldn't graduate -- Dean Spellman threatened me with not being able to graduate until the matter was resolved, even though I begged her to drop the investigation -- and I was seriously affected. I spent over 40 hours talking with lawyers, preparing letters, explaining to my scared girlfriend, friends, and family that I was totally innocent. I cringe to think what would have happened had I given in with all the pressure building up against me.

My grades suffered as a result and I am petitioning Dean Hess on Monday to have a few more days to resubmit my papers. (My professors and academic advisors have all OKed it.) If Tina really is sorry, she should write him a letter in my favor. 

Remarks at the Phillips Foundation Dinner on May 17

I won a fellowship from the Phillips Foundation in D.C. for $7500. The title of my project is "Enemies, Domestic: An Investigation into Appeasement of Evil by America's Colleges." Bernadette and I visited the National Press Club where I gave the last -- and by far the shortest -- speech there to some approval. Here is its text: 


I know I'm the last one, so I'll be brief.


I know better than to get between people and the exit -- but I would be remiss if I did not thank the beneficence of Mr. Phillips, the help of Mr. Farley, the patience of Ms. Henderson, and the support of everyone at the Phillips Foundation. I would also like to thank my boss -- and my friend -- Brian Kennedy of the Claremont Institute, who is also in attendance. Together, we are part of a team that publishes the Claremont Review of Books, one of the best quarterlies in the country. I can say that more honestly now that I am off to The Wall Street Journal.  Of course I am also very grateful to my fellow fellows, especially fellows past, who I understand contributed some $7500 to make my project possible.

My project is not about our friends, but about our enemies -- radical Islam.... and American higher education. The nexus between the two is a problem for those who love liberty. We can talk about it later, but over drinks because if there is one thing that unites the two especially it is their disdain of conservatives having a good time.  

Atheism 101: Pitzer Embraces "Secularism Studies"

I am pretty much of the view that anything with the word "studies" appended to it isn't really serious. Observe: "Gender Studies," "Black Studies," "Chicano/a Studies," and on we go.

Still I can't quite wrap my head around it.

Truth be told, I'm not really sure what my faith is. I believe in God, but that's about it.

It seems just another media stunt on the part of Pitzer to get itself more attention, sort of like the YouTube class it offers. If that is indeed the case, well done, because Pitzer certainly has gotten quite a bit of it. My favorite has been yesterday's op-ed, titled "A Bachelor's Degree in Atheism," by Alan Jacobs. A simple graff:

The sociologist behind the new Pitzer department, Phil Zuckerman, clearly isn't telling a narrative of decline: "There are hundreds of millions of people who are nonreligious," he told the New York Times. "I want to know who they are, what they believe, why they are nonreligious." 

Certainly this phenomenon has not been sufficiently studied. Secularization—a long-term decline in religious belief, at least in the form we know it in the West—doesn't have a clear precedent in human history. And if scholars give sociological, political and cultural explanations for the presence of religious belief, should we not expect them to treat belief's absence in the same way?