{"id":2224245,"date":"2024-04-18T14:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbia-president-suggests-faculty-dont-know-how-to-spell-to-avoid-scrutiny-of-dei\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:04:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:04:00","slug":"columbia-president-suggests-faculty-dont-know-how-to-spell-to-avoid-scrutiny-of-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbia-president-suggests-faculty-dont-know-how-to-spell-to-avoid-scrutiny-of-dei\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia President implies faculty lack spelling skills to dodge DEI scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcolumbia-president-suggests-faculty-dont-know-how-to-spell-to-avoid-scrutiny-of-dei%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2224245&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Columbia University President Nemat \u201cMinouche\u201d Shafik \u200bquestioned\u2063 faculty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/next-target-freedom-of-the-press-ocasio-cortez-says-congress-will-look-into-initiatives-to-rein-in-media-and-unapproved-press-reports\/\" title=\"Next Target \u2014 Freedom of the Press: Ocasio-Cortez Says Congress Will Look into Initiatives to \u201cRein In Media\u201d and Unapproved Press Reports\">literacy<\/a> over the\u2062 spelling\u200b of \u201cfolks\u201d \u200bas \u200c\u201cf-o-l-x\u201d in a handbook \u200dduring a hearing. \u200cThe term \u201cfolx\u201d\u200d is used\u200c to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-democrat-senator-praised-cleveland-indians-name-change-while-working-on-policy-that-would-hurt-native-americans\/\" title=\"Ohio Democrat Senator Praised Cleveland Indians\u2019 Name Change While Working On Policy That Would Hurt Native Americans\">show inclusivity<\/a>. Rep. Banks \u200calso queried \u200cShafik on \u201cAshkenormativity,\u201d a\u2064 term in the handbook. Shafik distanced herself from the material distributed at Columbia.\u2062 The testimony is part of a \u200blarger context of university leaders facing \u200cscrutiny over responses to antisemitism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Columbia University President Nemat \u201cMinouche\u201d Shafik questioned the literacy of faculty at the Ivy League institution on Wednesday when asked why the word \u201cfolks\u201d is spelled \u201cf-o-l-x\u201d in a handbook that also includes pages upon pages of \u201cwoke\u201d vocabulary and definitions used in Columbia School of Social Work classes. <\/p>\n<p>Shafik was testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is investigating antisemitism in American universities, when Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind, pressed her on the spelling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t go to an Ivy League school, admittedly. \u2026 Can you explain why the word \u2018folks\u2019 is spelled \u2018f-o-l-x\u2019 throughout this guidebook and in other places at the School of Social Work?\u201d Banks asked. \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t know how to spell?\u201d Shafik suggested. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m not familiar with that spelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Rep. Banks: &#8220;Can you explain why the word &#8216;folks&#8217; is spelled f-o-l-x throughout this guidebook?&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>Columbia President: &#8220;They don&#8217;t know how to spell? I&#8217;m not familiar with that spelling.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wy5aZpUAcP\">pic.twitter.com\/wy5aZpUAcP<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greg_price11\/status\/1780642310864159137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t find it a laughing matter,\u201d Banks said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not laughing either,\u201d Shafik replied. \u201cI think it\u2019s\u2014 I really don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re denying that this is a official product of the school,\u201d Banks said. \u201cBut \u2026 you are aware that this is handed out to all of your students, and you\u2019re not doing anything to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I said, it\u2019s not an official product of the administration,\u201d Shafik said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs this how Columbia University spells the word \u2018folks\u2019?\u201d Banks clarified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Shafik said. <\/p>\n<p>The term \u201cfolx\u201d spelled with an \u201cx\u201d rather than a \u201cks,\u201d is far-left language manipulation to \u201cexplicitly signal the inclusion of groups commonly marginalized,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/folx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to Merriam-Webster. In other words, it takes a word with a fixed meaning and distorts it to signal fealty to the left\u2019s \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d framework.  <\/p>\n<p>Banks also asked Shafik to define \u201cAshkenormativity,\u201d another bizarre term in the handbook. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not familiar with that term,\u201d Shafik said. \u201cI believe it appeared in a student glossary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears in the orientation guidebook that\u2019s given to all of the students at the School of Social Work, but you can\u2019t define it for us?\u201d Banks pressed. \u201cYou seem to be familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t use that term. I don\u2019t know that term,\u201d Shafik said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a product of the School of Social Work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Banks read the definition of \u201cAshkenormativity\u201d from the handbook, which said its \u201ca system of oppression that favors white Jewish \u2018folx,\u2019 based on the assumption that all Jewish \u2018folx\u2019 are Ashkenazi, or from Western Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that appropriate?\u201d Banks added. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t agree with it. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s very useful,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/community-remembers-yale-student-killed-in-conn-2\/\" title=\"Community remembers Yale student killed in Conn.\">university president<\/a> said, attempting to distance herself from the materials distributed to Columbia students under her leadership. <\/p>\n<p>Shafik\u2019s testimony follows a trio of other elite university presidents <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/06\/top-college-presidents-refuse-to-testify-that-calls-for-jewish-genocide-violate-their-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refusing<\/a> to forcefully condemn antisemitism during a congressional hearing in December. Their shocking responses and public blowback led to the ouster of two of the three who had appeared on Capitol Hill. The hearing, which featured presidents from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was held just two months after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, when some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/liveblog_entry\/israeli-death-toll-from-hamas-shock-onslaught-reaches-1300\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1,300<\/a> were slaughtered by the Iranian terrorist proxy group Hamas. As Israel began responding to the attacks, terrorist sympathizers expressed <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/02\/pro-palestine-protests-are-rampantly-antisemitic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">solidarity<\/a> with Hamas, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/10\/13\/israel-palestinian-colleges-hamas-rallies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">antisemites on college campuses<\/a> in particular began calling for Jewish genocide. <\/p>\n<p>After the three presidents ignited controversy at the December hearing, the four leaders from Columbia University who appeared before lawmakers this week sought to avoid the same performance. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes calling for the genocide of Jews violate Columbia\u2019s code of conduct?\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/17\/nyregion\/columbia-university-antisemitism-hearing-takeaways.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore.<\/p>\n<p>Each of the four representatives from the university, including Shafik, said, \u201cYes, it does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shafik also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2969073\/columbia-ramped-up-student-misconduct-cases-antisemitism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">emphasized<\/a> that since the October terrorist attack, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/medical-professor-warned-colleagues-that-schools-racial-preferences-were-illegal-and-he-was-removed-from-directorship-now-hes-suing\/\" title=\"Medical Professor Warned Colleagues That School\u2019s Racial Preferences Were Illegal And He Was Removed From Directorship. Now He\u2019s Suing.\">university officials<\/a> have taken \u201cmore disciplinary actions than have been taken probably in the last decade at Columbia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the same day of the House hearing, antisemitic <a href=\"https:\/\/justthenews.com\/politics-policy\/education\/massive-protests-columbia-pro-hamas-chants-day-house-antisemitism-hearing?utm_source=mux&#038;utm_medium=social-media&#038;utm_campaign=social-media-autopost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">protests erupted<\/a> on the university\u2019s Manhattan campus. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antisemitic mobs at Columbia university campus chanting for a violent terrorist uprising, \u201cintifada\u201d the same day the university president claims they are stopping unsanctioned protests on campus.   <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JksuuK8qZ3\">pic.twitter.com\/JksuuK8qZ3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamMilstein\/status\/1780796172392714502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During her testimony before the House, Columbia University President Nemat \u201cMinouche\u201d Shafik raised doubts about faculty literacy by addressing the spelling of \u201cfolks\u201d as \u201cf-o-l-x\u201d in a handbook featuring diverse vocabulary and definitions for Columbia School of Social Work classes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2224246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Columbia-President.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Columbia-President.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}