UC Berkeley is a tough school to get into academically. But book smarts are not the same as class, as the school newspaper’s sex columnist demonstrates.

Nadia Cho

Because I couldn’t afford to fly home the day before Thanksgiving this past week, I spent all of Wednesday in Berkeley. I only had one class that day, and the campus was marvelously empty. So at around 4:20 p.m., I called up my partner, and as two mischievous UC Berkeley students would, we set out on a nice little sex tour through campus. Since I started my column off a few months ago writing about a sexy encounter with a lady, I’ll end my classy kissing-and-telling with some afternoon delight I had with a man.

In response to the spring 2012 “Sex on campus: actually doable?” column, yes — having sex on campus is actually very doable, and it’s lots of fun. It’s also surprisingly easy.

That particular column brought up concerns about not getting to “finish” when doing it in a public place. Maybe I’m just not ambitious enough to have goal-oriented sex, but sex isn’t always about cumming and having orgasms. Sometimes it’s for shits and giggles. Having expectations and goals can ruin the fun of it. Besides, it’s probably not a good idea to ejaculate in public places — just saying. Keep this in mind should you ever attempt sex on campus.

I’ve always had the cliched fantasy of having sex in Main Stacks, so we wasted no time in heading there first. The trick to doing it in Stacks is to go at a time when there won’t be a lot of people studying at the same time and to pick a section of books that people won’t ever think to look up. Like the British Royal Academy archives…

Read it all, including the first comment, from the school librarian.

Governor Scott Walker is thinking — and doing — outside the box. Higher education is ripe for reform and he’s doing it.

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), already well known for his efforts to curb union power, has now set out to tackle an equally big task: busting the higher education bubble.

The problem of college affordability is recognized on both sides of the aisle, but sadly, most efforts to abate the problem – such as increasing federal subsidies – have only exacerbated it. Walker wants to try a different approach for taxpayers and students in his state.

Last Tuesday, Walker released his proposal to create the University of Wisconsin Flexible Degree Program, a competency-based approach using both online learning and traditional college courses. He explained:

This unique competency-based model will allow students to start classes anytime they like, work at their own pace, and earn credit for what they already know… Students can use knowledge obtained on the job, through free open courseware, or anywhere else to quickly test out of a module or a course. A student may move ahead as soon as he or she can prove content mastery.

Obtaining a degree through the University of Wisconsin system will now be more affordable and customizable. By tapping into and giving credit for the knowledge a student has obtained outside the classroom or through another school, the Flexible Degree Program brings down the cost and the time required to graduate. If a student proves his mastery of a certain subject, he can obtain credit without taking a full class. Walker’s office notes:

Students can demonstrate college-level competencies – no matter where they learned the material – as soon as they can prove that they know it…

Rather than molding coursework around a set timeframe, these modules can be designed to contain only the knowledge required within a specific competency. This could benefit working adults who need to start and pause their studies because of work and personal commitments. It could also benefit highly motivated students who are able to move through course materials at a faster pace.

Courses in this new program will be based on competency, not seat time, so students can move on to the next topic when they have mastered the current material. Students will have broad access to high quality coursework and student services, and they can graduate as soon as they can prove their mastery of the material…

Students with extensive knowledge from the workplace, free open courseware, or other life experiences will be able to quickly move closer to degree completion by having their knowledge assessed and credited.

The classes can also be tailored to allow for a student’s busy schedule or career goals. What’s more, Walker expects the program to reach even international students, broadening the university’s student and revenue base…

Steve Landsburg. a professor at the University of Rochester, was publicly rebuked by his own college president for debating the merits of Sandra Fluke’s argument for subsidized contraception.

He was also subjected to loud disruptions in this classroom by thugs students outraged at an academic voicing a contrary opinion. So much for the free exchange of ideas.

Full background here.

Here is the professor’s 4th blog post on the topic.

Joel Seligman, the president of the University of Rochester, has, in his words, exercised his right to express his views with a dissent from my recent posts about contraceptive subsidies.

Several news organizations have asked me for a statement. Here is what I sent them. (Below the fold is a copy of my email response to President Seligman.)

President Seligman says that the mission of the university is to promote the free exchange of ideas and lively debate, and I agree. That mission is undermined whenever a member of the academic community elevates raw self-interest over the exchange of ideas.

That’s what Sandra Fluke did. She observed that contraceptives are expensive, and therefore demanded that somebody other than herself and her fellow students pick up the tab. She didn’t even pretend to be interested in debating any of the serious issues raised by the question of when some of us should pick up the tab for others’ expenses.

Sometimes we should, sometimes we shouldn’t, and there’s a lot to be said, discussed, and debated about the particulars. An emotional appeal for one’s preferred outcome, ignoring all the substantive issues, is the
exact antithesis of the free exchange of ideas that President Seligman claims to endorse.

I’ve had three blog posts on this subject, here, here, and here. The commenters have offered many bright and lively arguments and observations, some of which have led me to modify some of my views.
This is a wonderful thing. It’s also the very opposite of Sandra Fluke’s approach, which amounts to a contemptuous dismissal of the very possibility of engaging these issues through intellectual discourse. I’d have expected a distinguished academic to feel the same way.

And now, my letter to President Seligman:

Dear President Seligman:

I do appreciate your right to express your views, but I don’t think you have a right to misrepresent mine.

You wrote: “Landsburg…characterized those who disagreed with his view as `contraceptive sponges’”. This is the exact opposite of the truth. I offered several good and bad arguments for and against subsidized contraception, dissected them with respect, applauded commenters who differed from me intelligently, and in some cases bowed to their insight.

I reserved the phrase `contraceptive sponges’ very clearly and specifically for people who demand subsidies without offering any reasons beyond the fact that they’d prefer to be subsidized. In other words, the targets of this phrase are people who have not actually stated any views on the matter at hand, namely how do we know when a subsidy is justified.

People who express actual views on this matter do not deserve to be mocked or ridiculed, and I never once said or implied that they do; indeed the considerable respect I’ve shown to opposing views throughout the comments section (and in the posts themselves) belies this interpretation.

Again, my objection is to people who think we ought to draw policy conclusions based on nothing more than their own personal preferences—that is, people who think that ideas don’t matter. I’d have hoped that a distinguished academic would share that objection.

Steve Landsburg