We already noted Zizek's intervention (he's another guy not talking to a lawyer: welcome to America, Zizek!), but the eminent historian Jon Wiener (UC Irvine) has managed to get some of the Ronell apologists (who signed the now infamous letter) to "explain" themselves; a few excerpts (but read his whole article):
Gayatri Spivak, University Professor at Columbia, wrote, “I’d rather not comment … Loyalty gets in the way of the law.” It’s a reasonable position: she’s not going to criticize a friend publicly. But of course not defending a friend implies the friend is guilty as charged — loyalty and the law would not be at odds otherwise....
Sam Weber, Professor of German at Northwestern, said he signed the letter because “at the time I was told that NYU was about to either fire Avital or give her the option of resigning, and that this would take place in a matter of days … For me, the letter was meant to testify to the respect I have for Avital and her work, not to judge the merits of ‘the case.’” The letter they all signed, however, wasn’t just about the value of Avital’s work. It declared that the signers sought “to register in clear terms our objection to any judgment against her” [emphasis mine].
John Hamilton, Kenan Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Harvard and Chair of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures there, offered a similar explanation: “I signed the letter to support a friend I’ve known for 30 years and who always acted respectfully. Avital can be flirtatious and I could imagine her crossing lines in a campy way; usually it was nothing more than fun. Obviously this person didn’t feel that way, and these accusations have to be taken very seriously.” And yet the letter also declared that the student who filed the complaint was “animated” by “malicious intention,” despite the fact that most of the signers didn’t know anything about what “animated” Nimrod Reitman....
Jonathan Culler, Distinguished Professor of French and Comp Lit at Cornell, wrote, “I think that signatories to Judith Butler’s letter probably varied a lot in how much they knew about the accusations. I certainly don’t regret signing, because I don’t believe the accusations of sexual misconduct. Professor Ronell certainly does write over-the-top emails, as all her correspondents know.” He accepted her defense that Nimrod “reciprocated,” and pointed out that if Nimrod had been “upset” by the emails, “he could have chosen to work with someone else” — which indeed often happens with grad students....
Emily Apter, Chair of Comp Lit at NYU, was less forthcoming about the letter of support she signed: “I am not able or willing to discuss the case,” she wrote, a bit cryptically. Cynthia Chase, Professor of French and Comp Lit at Cornell, responded by repeating verbatim the conclusion of the letter: “The allegations against Avital Ronell do not constitute actual evidence, but rather support the view that malicious intent animated and sustains this legal nightmare” — this despite the fact that “actual evidence” was now public in the form of Avital’s emails.
The New York Times also published 943 comments on the article. One of the most striking was from “Lady Professor” in Los Angeles, who wrote “as a feminist … who has been teaching for more than 20 years.” She offered her advice:
Q: Is it ever OK to get in bed with your advisee?
A: No. It is never, ever OK to get in bed with a student. You should not get in bed with ANY student from your institution. If the student is in a class you are teaching, or is your advisee, you should refrain from getting in bed with them until they have graduated…
Q: How about going over to my student’s apartment when my electricity goes out?
A: Don’t you have other friends who can help you in this situation? Remember that your student and advisee does not have power in this relationship and cannot easily turn you away or ask you to leave. Don’t go there. I repeat: don’t go there…
Q: I’m campy and flirty. I want to send campy, flirty emails to my advisee.
A: DO NOT SEND FLIRTY EMAILS TO A STUDENT. EVER.
Q: But I just want to say that he’s a sweet cuddly baby!
A: Do not do it. NO. Keep it professional.
Q: But we share culture and he will understand my sly and playful flouting of convention.
A. What is wrong with you?So we have a student complaining of unwanted sexual attention and physical contact, which a powerful mentor pressured him to submit to and participate in; and we have a professor arguing that she thought the student’s participation in the relationship was consensual and welcomed, but upon learning that he was telling friends she was a “monster” who made him “want to throw up from disgust,” she concluded that he had been “duplicitous”: manipulating and exploiting her to advance his own career, then turning on her when his career failed to advance.
The academic community is indebted to Prof. Wiener for getting some of these folks to open up to him about what they thought they were doing and in the process reveal their depraved moral sensibilites. The law has many failures, but it is very good at holding self-important fakers to account.
The real tragedy here is that this disgraceful behavior by alleged adults and tenured professors should be exposed at this moment in America, when the threats to decency and enlightenment are far greater than those posed by a narcissist professor and her friends. Please remember, dear readers, that most of the university is a serious place, devoted to Wissenschaft, whether history of chemistry or linguistics or political science. Do not visit the sins of some feeble disciplines on the academy as a whole.
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