More on Alito and CAP
Today, the New York Times runs the obligatory story about Judge Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP).
As I noted here, the portrait of CAP that Judge Alito's opponents are trying to paint differs significantly with my (limited) recollections of the group. Indeed, as of 1985 (when I enrolled at Princeton), if there had been any kind of right-wing force associated with the University that had opposed minority and female presence on campus, I'm confident I'd have remembered -- not only because I was one of the co-eds, but also because my face would have burned with shame for my supposed fellow "conservatives."
What the linked story doesn't point out is that there were plenty of left wing forces on campus at the time (some within the university administration), and that CAP would have served as a useful counterbalance. Other universities have had their own equivalents -- and at present, I know of concerned conservative alumni both at Harvard and at Dartmouth (where they actually succeeded in seating some conservative alumni on the Board of Trustees).
Only in the world of the left wing interest groups, the MSM and the university would such groups be seen as inherently aberrational and illegitimate.
As I noted here, the portrait of CAP that Judge Alito's opponents are trying to paint differs significantly with my (limited) recollections of the group. Indeed, as of 1985 (when I enrolled at Princeton), if there had been any kind of right-wing force associated with the University that had opposed minority and female presence on campus, I'm confident I'd have remembered -- not only because I was one of the co-eds, but also because my face would have burned with shame for my supposed fellow "conservatives."
What the linked story doesn't point out is that there were plenty of left wing forces on campus at the time (some within the university administration), and that CAP would have served as a useful counterbalance. Other universities have had their own equivalents -- and at present, I know of concerned conservative alumni both at Harvard and at Dartmouth (where they actually succeeded in seating some conservative alumni on the Board of Trustees).
Only in the world of the left wing interest groups, the MSM and the university would such groups be seen as inherently aberrational and illegitimate.
posted by LadybugUSA at 5:24 PM
4 Comments:
Carol, I agree that Alito’s membership does not make him racist or sexist. However, if the article is correct, other members of the group may have been. If so, the group would not have been a mere legitimate counterbalance to lefty groups on campus.
I hope the senators will thoroughly question Alito about CAP.
LQ: But that's my point -- to my recollection, there was NO sexist or racist element to CAP's criticism. Let's remember how readily charges of sexism and racism are hurled around, especially on college campuses, realize that David Fitzpatrick's sources are likely to be those who have a stake in trying to tar Alito as a racist or sexist -- and be cautious about accepting The New York Times' characterization of any conservative group. For many lefties, almost any right of center group is seen as racist or sexist, almost by definition.
Carol, I agree with everything in your comment. Please note I said, “IF the article is correct.” However, just as I am unwilling to assume the article is accurate, I am unwilling to assume it is inaccurate.
The article implies that some in CAP were opposed to changes in admissions and dining halls out of prejudice. I’d like to hear Alito’s side of the story.
(btw, I trust you more than I trust the TIMES).
Since this is of interest, and Carol has only (limited) recollections of CAP, here is another (1981) recollection of CAP.
Given that the NY Times article is based on official CAP letters, memoranda, etc. from the 70's and 80's, I am unsure why Carol is trying to create a false equivalence here. Smearing the Times is meaningless in this instance--there is contemporaneous documentation that disagrees with Carol's reported recollections. Ergo, Carol's recollection is faulty.
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