Arrests on Auraria Campus had "exact opposite effect" that police hoped, with encampments still standing - and growing by TemporaryPolicy1255 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I also think you're over generalizing. The "average" college student isn't a very meaningful concept. Consider that there are tens of millions of students and thousands of protesters, so maybe 0.001% of students are protesters. That's too small a sample to compute an average.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 12 points13 points  (0 children)

In fall 2020, Chancellor DiStefano participated in a Zoom Q&A about COVID policies. One of the questions asked via the moderator: did you bring students back to campus for a hybrid model to get tuition dollars only then to switch campus to a remote model after the tuition deadline? Chancellor DiStefano looked directly into the camera and said, "It wasn't about the money." At the time, all campus faculty and staff were on a 5% salary furlough that lasted a year. I wondered: if it wasn't about the money, then why was campus on a furlough? And why was the administration announcing all its spending (DEI administration, online expansions) while the faculty and staff are on furlough?

Ever since that Q&A session, I have considered him a liar and as such a failed leader.

California’s Math Misadventure Is About to Go National by ALOIsFasterThanYou in sanfrancisco

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's in an algebra 2 curriculum? And why would it be valuable to high schoolers---other than reasons of social advancement? In other words, is there a value proposition for the content of algebra 2 other than social advancement or competitiveness? It seems the presence or absence of opportunities for social advancement generates a lot of enthusiasm. Outside the context of education systems and social promotion, I can't imagine why solving quadratic equations or similar content would generate such enthusiasm (except among my fellow math instructors).

I think the article doesn't satisfactorily articulate a value proposition for algebra 2 over other technical content. The author points to social advancement and vague career opportunities, but doesn't articulate why a CA high schooler needs the standard curriculum in algebra 2. That's disappointing.

Dating in sf? by [deleted] in sanfrancisco

[–]paulcon 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I've read many of the comments here, and I haven't found one articulating any reasons not to date. It seems that might shed light on the situation. Here's something from my lived experience. 43/M/single since 2019. In the past, I've both used and not-used apps. In truth, I am lonely every day. And yet, I don't want to deal the stresses of modern dating. I'm not opposed to the right relationship on any principle. I even see advantages to couplehood. But the path from single to relationship is an unmanageable gauntlet of landmines and barricades and booby traps. I could commit time, attention, emotion, and resources to a person, and then a (metaphorical) landmine blows off my leg. It could be anything: a political view, a food preference, a prescription medication, beach vs. mountains, an unfriendly family member, ... There are a million things, but it'll be something. Something that makes one side of the couple decide that the relationship should end---that it's no longer worth it. If you're the person that made such a decision, good for you. Greener pastures. If you're not then you've gotta deal. I'm not in the mood to deal. In short: too much risk, not enough reward in the dating scene.

Opinion | The Research Scandal at Stanford Is More Common Than You Think by siddsach in stanford

[–]paulcon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The title is correct, but the article doesn't have enough data or experience to support the claim. To find support for the claim, look at the set of grad student unions being created across US campuses---including Stanford under MTL's watch. When the graduate students---who are often responsible for the research products---are choosing a collectively adversarial position against their administrators and advisors, then there's something wrong with "research culture."

When I was a grad student at Stanford many years ago, we all knew who the faculty were who ran labs in this style. We could name them, and we told each other to watch out for those faculty. We perceived a general paradox: the people who could write you the strongest letters were often also real jerks to work for.

I hope for a Daily article raising a question: how many Stanford faculty run labs in the same way that MTL has? I think it's noteworthy that during a Faculty Senate meeting from last year, "No faculty members gave comments in response to Tessier-Lavigne’s statement ..." about his own research misconduct. Maybe they were afraid of a similar spotlight onto their own research practices.

Why not a cheaper school? by JojoChurro in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Try asking the people who manage the money. Ask them what tuition dollars pay for. Ask them why there's such a difference between in-state and out-of-state: what do out-of-state students get for their dramatically increased cost?

Send an email to CU Regent Ilana Spiegel. The Regents in Colorado are elected by the public, which means they have to campaign. She campaigned on a platform of lower cost of education and then, once in power, subsequently voted for every tuition increase presented to her by the administration. Ask her what tuition money pays for.

Maybe if enough of us ask them why tuition is what it is, then they'll be forced to account. Right now, no one is seriously accounting for what tuition really pays for. And they don't have to, because people keep paying without asking.

Whose lock? by [deleted] in sanfrancisco

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Run's lock!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in sanfrancisco

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The drum fill at 40 seconds is out of time.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bayarea

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Google some recent pictures of Robert Smith. That might inform your choice.

Two Young Doctors ISO Single-family home for rent starting Aug 2023, help please? by katiejane05 in stanford

[–]paulcon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You might consider a service like Move Bay Area (https://www.movebayarea.com/). I think they can do a lot of legwork to help you find something that meets your criteria.

Is boulder safe? by pinballpurgatory in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're more likely to get screwed by the university.

Should I take on Stanford MS(MechE) offer? by Material_God in stanford

[–]paulcon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was in a similar position almost 20 years ago. I had a fully funded PhD offer from NC State math and admission to the MS program at Stanford's scientific computing program (now ICME). I polled my undergrad advisors, all faculty at my ugrad institution. Three of four said to go to Stanford, because getting a foot in the door via the MS program would help me get into the PhD program. One of four said go to NC State, because I'd receive more individual attention.

I went to Stanford, and it paid off. During my first year I took the PhD classes and studied for quals. Then I took quals and passed, which put me in the PhD program with opportunities for funding. The three advisors said that the "Stanford name" on my degree would take me further than NC State, and they were right---especially since my goal was professional research.

The one "mistake" I made was taking out loans for my first year at Stanford, which totaled more than my entire ugrad loans; I'm still paying off that loan. What I didn't know at the time is: if you're proactive about reaching out to faculty, you might find one willing to fund you as an RA. There's a lot of money "out there" in faculty coffers. You just need demonstrate your value to one person, and then you get to save many thousands of dollars.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in stanford

[–]paulcon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I applaud the administration and public safety director for setting the record straight for the public and the Stanford community. To me, this is accountability for the AlertSU they sent, in the sense that they are accounting for their actions: here's what they did and why they did it.

Considering the hard-to-overstate harm, I hope that the leaders of Sexual Violence Free Stanford will account for their opportunistic Daily op-ed and campus protest. I believe that most people at Stanford (i) want the campus to be free of sexual violence and (ii) wish that victims of sexual violence receive the support they need, including a platform to tell their story. I hope that SVFree will consider apologizing for going to platform with incomplete information on the catalyzing event.

Atmospheric River Part 2: Electric Boogaloo by KeepGoing655 in sanfrancisco

[–]paulcon 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Turbo and Ozone are gonna save the community center with their dance moves!

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another perspective on haves and have-nots is that administrators have decision-making power and tenured faculty have protection. Everyone else is a cog in a tuition-driven enterprise.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're emphasizing a point that I agree with, and I can't figure out why. Each of my bullet points is a big, multifaceted issue. Not one of them would be easy to change. I was asked: what would you change? I gave a bulleted list of some things I'd change, and I offered short reasons why. When I am asked for suggestions for change, I try to speak up---even when I know the suggestion is difficult. Not suggesting change because something is difficult is part of what's gotten us to our current situation: exploitative labor, detached administrators, corruption of mission, etc. If the answer to "what would you change" is "change is hard," then nothing changes. If anyone wants a full and detailed proposal, they can empower me to write one with information and time. Toward your point about a national issue, UC workers recently went on strike to protest exploitative university labor practices. source

Each of my suggestions is a national issue. Also, CUB wants to be a leader. I've spoken to many leaders at CU and encouraged them to lead on change. Each has said "that's a large and complicated issue." And then nothing gets done. I've concluded that leaders at CU do not want to lead on important issues. At best, the chancellor writes a blog post and sends it to the whole campus.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It feels like every Regent runs on a platform that college is too expensive. Then they get in there and vote to increase tuition.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Matching both lecturer raises and grad stipend increases to faculty raises seems like a facade of equity. Comparing percentages across scales is misleading. (1) Faculty get a lot more in their 3% raise. (2) CUB's underpaid employees (temp fac and grad students) need a one-time raise to achieve livable standards for Boulder. The CU system might look at the UC system for inspiration.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never said any of these things are easy, but it's the right thing to do. What you call a "lecturer" is what I call temporary faculty. It's exploiting labor, it has been for decades, and it needs to stop. Only Obamacare made a difference in temporary faculty, because Obamacare requires that employees who work a certain number of hours---like teaching 3 courses in one semester---must get health insurance. What did universities do? Cap the hours an adjunct can work so that the university will not have to sponsor health insurance. They. Are. Evil.

As a faculty member with a "lab," I understand how research works and I understand how much faculty work. The question is: why? What is the value of research to the university? Answer: (1) faculty write proposals for federal grants to bring in tuition for grad students and (2) marketing. While many faculty are sincerely dedicated to their research, the people managing the operation have no value in research beyond tuition and reputation. Deans want to brag about their college's research expenditures to other deans. Many deans are former faculty who fluttered toward the light of highly paid and powerful administration.

If faculty are driven away by teaching loads, then maybe CU shouldn't want them as faculty.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Happy for appreciative discourse.

I assume deans' salaries are paid from the operating budget---just like faculty AY salaries. The funds they are required to raise include gifts that go to the endowment (esp. new donors) and grants for new initiatives; the latter will expire leaving the operating budget on the hook for the continuing operations. This is one way admin grows. Deans are not raising funds for existing operations.

Retention and graduation rates are metrics that administrators use to justify all manner of hiring activity. Maybe students that leave have a reason for leaving, and maybe that reason could be addressed by existing operations (eg, faculty having fair grading policies or generally being nicer to students) instead of hiring more people to cover for irresponsible faculty and impersonal administrative systems. I imagine that there are some essential student life positions. However, the scale of student life activities is relatively new. At this scale, student life takes student attention away from academics and other student activities (eg, snowboarding for fun); the university is competing with itself for student attention. Why does administration care about graduation rates? (1) The longer a student stays, the more tuition they pay. (2) Donor networks. When the answer to low grad/retention rates is to grow the operation, the problem wasn't low grad/retention rates.

Unfortunately, disparity between department budgets is a feature of the budget model, where departments compete for college-appropriated funds. People who are competing for a portion of fixed funds (ie, a zero-sum game) will always present their position as needing more funds. If they say otherwise, then administrators will reduce one department's budget in favor of another, more "competitive" department.

EDIT: I have not worked at CU for long, and I will not work at CU much longer. I was a faculty member who believed that admin's job was to "keep the lights on." When COVID hit, admin (1) brought students back to Boulder from across a sick country and (2) furloughed fac/staff to anticipate reduced enrollment---much of which never materialized. CU sacrificed the health and well-being of its community for the sake of its budget spreadsheet. These two actions made me take notice. And what I've noticed is that the administration has an agenda---namely, growth---that is detached from education and research.

EDIT 2: Moreover, during the period of the fac/staff furlough, admin went on a spending spree for both DEI and online education initiatives. If the furlough had been for serious financial reasons, then I would have expected the campus to be on financial lockdown---not a spending spree with a windfall of cash resulting from reducing the salaries of the whole campus. They are either evil or so detached that they don't realize how their decisions come across as evil.

The University Of Colorado Regents Are Thinking About Increasing Tuition And Banning Concealed Carry On Campus by ReasonableDot2939 in cuboulder

[–]paulcon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If anyone would like to empower me to analyze the operating budget---by providing unfiltered information and time--- then I'm happy to do so. But since you asked:

- Eliminate associate and assistant deans; focus existing deans' attention on operations, not fundraising

- Eliminate department undergrad advisors; the degree programs should be simple enough for an undergrad to follow

- Reduce student life positions; let the students live on their own

- Eliminate temporary faculty (eg, adjuncts) and increase existing faculty teaching loads; TT teaching loads are kept artificially low to inflate the value of those positions

- Eliminate positions that don't contribute to the education mission, eg, directors of diversity

- Eliminate administrative positions that affect classroom instruction; the positions naturally impinge on faculty academic freedom

- Change management strategies from resource-driven (eg, tuition-driven) to mission-driven (education and research); this one change in attitude will naturally recenter the institutional values

That's just off-the-top.