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The Jefferson Council, formed by University of Virginia alumni and other stakeholders, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, the Lawn, the Honor Code, and the free exchange of competing ideas and intellectual diversity one would expect from Mr. Jefferson’s university.
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The TJC Forum
The Jefferson Council champions free speech at the University of Virginia. We welcome well-written columns, op-eds, and letters addressing issues affecting the UVa community for publication on this blog under the heading of the “TJC Forum.”
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We also invite readers to participate in the forum by posting comments on articles and commentary. We love civil debate – even when people disagree with us! We do, however, ask everyone to address others respectfully. Insults, profanity and ad hominem attacks will be deleted.
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Friends and Allies
Many organizations are championing the cause of intellectual diversity and fighting the cancel culture on college campuses. If you are interested in pursuing these topics, we recommend you check these organizations.
National
American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
Virginia
Cadet Foundation (Virginia Military Institute)
Generals Redoubt (Washington & Lee alumni organization)
Madison Cabinet for Free Speech (James Madison University alumni organization)
Spirit of VMI (Virginia Military Institute)
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For those interested, here is a link to the form.
Please sign because Newcomb Hall needs another grievance group!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6AIbCfDlh05z8JZEqLBwEub_00lykVCUZ9Tg4lusZckg_4w/viewform
Sounds about right for the level of education being offered .
People have always done things that are out of the norm or which seem “strange.” Remember the hippies? This is nothing new. It’s a free country.
It is a free country.
That’s what TJC is trying to preserve through free speech.
And in that spirit of free speech, let me offer some old guy wisdom.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Wisdom is knowing the difference. In this case, being morbidly obese is generally not something that is unavoidable.
During the great Covidiocy scare, morbid obesity was perhaps the single biggest contributor to bad outcomes. So was a deficient level of Vitamin D. Morbid obesity also leads to all sorts of other bad health outcomes.
So my advice, offered in love because it is true, would be not to create your own victimhood clique and to lose the weight and get serious about not being morbidly obese.
Spot on, Walter!
I’m sure the Dove black woman helped create this place to celebrate victim hood.
These people have helped greatly with the increase in health care.
Seems to me, that a gathering at a “fat camp” would – after exploring the development of “fat phobia” through race and the body”, group body painting, photography sessions and the rest – be well served by looking at the adverse health that accompanies obesity.
An undergrad is doing a fun project… what’s wrong with that? Stop being so bitter all the time!
Being morbidly obese is not a good long term “fun” plan. Just like being drunk all the time ain’t the best way to go.
particularly when young, now is the time to beat the obesity problem. It isn’t easier as you get older, and you invite all sorts of other health problems the longer you remain significantly overweight, and that is simply telling you the truth.
Exactly, people like Walter appear to be very bitter. I believe that bitterness is often a way to compensate for other issues. In a way, I do feel bad for him. He also seems to despise Palestinians, which he calls “so-called Palestinians.” Very strange!
Exactly, people like Walter appear to be very bitter. I believe it is to compensate for greater issues and difficulties, or a feeling of meaninglessness. In a way, I do feel bad for him. He also seems to despise Palestinians, which he calls “so-called Palestinians.”
Please remove my comments on this article (under name student). Thank you. (I am not “enjoying the weather in Charlottesville,” however, so I’m just referring to the comments by Student.’
I didn’t mean to be disrespectful in my comments, and I hope it didn’t come across that way. But, I do agree with “enjoying the weather” in that I sense bitterness from this organization, whose existence I was unaware of until relatively recently.
I don’t like when, for instance, individuals in the past have put “Palestinians” in quotes, as if they don’t exist, or perhaps conflated support for Palestinians with support for violence against civilians.
Both Israelis and Palestinians “exist,” and peace can only be based on an end to the occupation and equal national rights for both peoples. Right now, I believe the United States needs to pull the plug from Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. We can’t keep sending weapons to Israel as it slaughters Palestinian civilians en masse.
More children have been killed than had been killed in all the world’s conflict zones combined, according to the UN Secretary General. 80% of those facing phase 5 catastrophic levels of hunger globally are in Gaza. We, the United States, are complicit in this man made famine. Israel claims it has full operational control of northern Gaza, and that’s where children are starving to death.
Tens of thousands of children have been injured, orphaned, and killed. This is a large scale extermination campaign. Collective punishment is never acceptable. Palestinians are a people who have been subjected to the longest ongoing military occupation in the world. I believe that anyone with a conscience can see that what Israel is doing to the Palestinian people is a terrible, terrible atrocity.
To me, it’s inspiring to see young people and people of conscience around the world stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Thank you.
When I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid. I thought I knew it all. Then life happened.
so I disagree with you on two fronts. One of more import than the other. And telling you why is not bitterness. It is pursuing truth.
The fat liberation thing is ridiculous, because it is harmful to those who join into the victimhood cult. For most people it is easier to gain weight than lose it. For most of the most in that dilemma the weight gain can be avoided. The loving thing to do is to encourage your friend or family member not to get to that point.
As to “Palestine,” “people of conscience around the world stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.” You mean the 29% who don’t support Hamas and the terrorism continuously inflicted on truly innocent Jews? Hamas is evil. Hamas must go. Hamas started a war. Hamas uses civilians as shields. Hamas diverts the aid. Hamas used money to build tunnels all under Gaza to hide under Mosques and universities and hospitals and the like. Israel goes out of its way to not kill civilians. But when the criminals purposefully hide amongst the innocent like the amoral truly genocidal cowards they are, the amoral genocidal Hamas leaders have chosen the civilian casualties as propaganda, because the maniacs don’t care about human life, they care only about exterminating the Jews. Hamas is a cancer. It must be killed. Pacifying the cancer doesn’t work. It persists. Hamas chose this. That is reality.
Walter, I don’t support Hamas, but it as a symptom of occupation and ethnic cleansing. The occupation predates Hamas, born in response. The status quo of apartheid and occupation is clearly not sustainable, and it’s what got us here.
I think we can respectfully agree to disagree, but I do want to apologize for the tone earlier. I could and
should have worded my comments in better way.
I’m completely unfamiliar with and have no opinion or stance on fat liberation, other than the belief that people should be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of body weight, sexual orientation, religion, race, or other physical characteristics.
~AW
I was not offended. You have an opinion. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. Every kid knew that and said that when called a name when I was a kid, over 50 years ago.
… A portion of this comment was deleted. — JAB
Israel is killing civilians at a rate highest since the Rwandan genocide.
This blog is dedicated to exploring issues at UVA, not to relitigating the conflict between Palestinians and Israel. That conflict is totally irrelevant to this particular post, and is relevant to the blog only in how the discussion about it plays out at UVA. I will shut down any further posts on the subject in this comment thread. — JAB
Ok, I apologize once again for my tone.
~ AW (UVA grad student)
Apology accepted. We all get emotional in these polarized times, and we all need to work towards maintaining a civil tone.
Beyond excited for this turn of events as I am an expert on Fat Liberation Politics.
To all students who are enjoying the C’ville weather:
One day, when you have lived life for 20, 30, 40 or older,you will look back on the wisdom one can glean from these “bitter and angry old men”. I know, I’ve been where you are.
Please remember, regardless how thin you slice the bread, there are 2 sides.
Everything is up for civil discussion. You are welcome to engage.