U of Iowa Rebuttal

http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/12/15/Opinions/26424.html

Take that

I sent a note off to a few email addresses I could collect at the U of I. I got one phone call almost immediately stating “please don’t judge us all by this dork”. I’m paraphrasing. I’m betting the administration loves when their professors do such a fine job of marketing this state and school.

Outstanding!

Id bet he has alot less fellow professors that even want to talk to him now. Can’t find a whole lot of nice things to say about Iowa? I think that means, hes set on himself.

teh story has been picked up by AP now, so with all the nation’s eyes focused on iowa (Repub debates), this could be an interesting news cycle.

Seems kinda cannibalistic with newsmen eating newsmen…

This from the school with the ANF (America Needs Farmers) sticker on their football helmets.

I LOVED his article. I think I posted it as a great read here on IDO. You Iowans are so sensitive. Good for that young man; that article was a terrible piece of tripe, written by a big city leftist who has no value for Midwestern norms and values. I hope he stays in Ann Arbor, where he currently is teaching. Ann Arbor sucks anyway.

President’s Point of View

His response to the backlash.

Quote:

---

In a written statement, Bloom defended his article, saying, “This lengthy story asks readers to think about the long-term future of the state of Iowa. It raises uncomfortable truths that are rarely discussed, but truths that absolutely need to be discussed.”

—

“The issues I raised — about undocumented workers, pollution, unsafe working conditions, sexual abuse, financial irregularities — all have proven true,” Bloom wrote. “Similarly, I ask Iowans to read this article and think about the unsettling truths it contains.”

---

I guess he has a hero complex. He was doing it to HELP Iowa.

We should build universities where the Professors don’t have PHDs and have lived their entire adult life in the bubble of academics, but instead real world experience.

The schools you speak of are called technical colleges. I have found that the less time I spend listening to academics, the smarter I feel.

Every state has its problems, is he also going to write the same things about Michigan. We all know theres problems but you don’t have to write about it.

Quote:

---

The schools you speak of are called technical colleges. I have found that the less time I spend listening to academics, the smarter I feel.

---

You are correct. I am self taught and never needed a computer science degree. If I had I might have found a better paying job, but not a job that I truly love and enjoy. Too bad it took me a year and a semester to figure out college was not for me.

Quote:

---

Quote:
The schools you speak of are called technical colleges. I have found that the less time I spend listening to academics, the smarter I feel.

You are correct. I am self taught and never needed a computer science degree. If I had I might have found a better paying job, but not a job that I truly love and enjoy. Too bad it took me a year and a semester to figure out college was not for me.

---

Ya, let’s generalize to the hilt and throw the baby out with the bath water! Without SOME of these folks you are ripping you’d still be crankin’ on a phone to talk to Bessie, crankin’ that car to start ‘er up in the morn, and oh, by the way, many of use would not be here because we were not vaccinated and of those here 20-40% would have polio at this time and everyone would get it eventually….

This academic wrote a ridiculous article but com’ on man!

Guess it must be Saturday night

Quote:

---

Ya, let’s generalize to the hilt and throw the baby out with the bath water! Without SOME of these folks you are ripping you’d still be crankin’ on a phone to talk to Bessie, crankin’ that car to start ‘er up in the morn, and oh, by the way, many of use would not be here because we were not vaccinated and of those here 20-40% would have polio at this time and everyone would get it eventually….

Guess it must be Saturday night

---

Soooo, where’s you get your degree from?

I didn’t say anything about shutting down the University system. I’m just saying there are a good number of people in academics that shouldn’t be.

I believe Steve Jobs dropped out of school. He was also never a professor. Just saying that there are plenty of examples of people making a big impact on society by either never attending college or dropping out.

Quote:

---

The schools you speak of are called technical colleges. I have found that the less time I spend listening to academics, the smarter I feel.

---

This was just too broad a brush to choke down.

And all the more power to you for being successful without a degree. Not everyone is that diligent and capable of doing it completely on their own.

Quote:

---

The schools you speak of are called technical colleges. I have found that the less time I spend listening to academics, the smarter I feel.

---

education is the biggest investment one can make in themselves. Maybe you don’t see any value in it, so don’t type how smart you feel. The issue here is how this professor painted a picture of the state he lives in, the picture not looking rosey and in some cases offensive to some. Fact is some of Iowa’s simple folk are very wealthy farmers who donate money to open up a new wing of the university of which said professor is employed. Contrary to the professors picture painting, Iowa is really a great spot to raise your family.

I will preface my statement by admitting my wife is from Iowa. She graduated from the IU and I from the UW. In my humble opinion the article is dead on. The air often smells of pigs in Iowa. The fans of Iowa could take more showers and possibly be able to read both liberal and conservative dogmas and to formulate opinions based on that. Also based on family photos, it seems (very recently), that Iowans have begun walking upright which happened centuries ago to most others according to the fossil record.

I can’t disagree with you more. I am a native minnesotan and work in the agri industry (dog side, that is)

In Mpls, i have a hard time finding anyone who understands what i’m doing, but i go to iowa and i get waitresses who want to know what’s happening with my 10th generation inbreeding program (fortunately, they are speaking of dogs).

I’ve worked in Iowa extensively for the last two decades and I can’t say enuf good things about the people I’ve met or how helpful they are when you need support. Makes Minnesota nice seem like a joke.

And, before one of the snotty Minnesotan’s replys, i’m NOT fishing for pheasant hunting spots. Have plenty on my own land…

I think that all that the professor did was show how foul his narrow minded, biased opinion based views were. For the sake of the people of Iowa, I hope he does NOT have tenure, although I can not see someone writing such drivel without it…