TEMPE, ARIZONA - This week, two Arizona State University physics professors, Mike Thorpe and Jose Menendez, polled ASU faculty on whether President Barack Obama should receive an honorary degree when he delivers the commencement speech next month.
When news broke last week that ASU may not confer the customary honorary degree on Obama, it ignited a public backlash and a media firestorm. This week, Thorpe and Menendez, who felt faculty had no voice in the process, sent a poll to all ASU faculty via email asking each faculty member to reply with "yes" or "no" in the subject line.
The polling email:
Tuesday April 14, 2009
To ASU faculty:In discussions on this issue, the ASU faculty has yet to be heard from. Express your opinion via this informal poll by voting on the following:
"President Obama should receive an honorary degree when he visits ASU as the commencement speaker on May 13"
To vote, hit "*reply*" and put either "*yes*" or "*no*" somewhere in the subject line. Votes received by midnight Thursday will be automatically tabulated (no replies will be read so don't waste time with comments etc.) and you will receive an email Friday with the result. All names and email addresses will be kept confidential. This email is being sent to all faculty on all ASU campuses.
Mike Thorpe, Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jose Menendez, Professor of Physics
Approximately 4 out of 5 faculty members (79.5 percent) who voted said they are in favor of giving an honorary degree to Obama. Only about 1 in 5 faculty members (20.5 percent) voted against giving Obama an honorary degree.
The results email:
Friday April 17, 2009
To ASU faculty:The result of the ASU faculty vote was 579 "yes" votes and 149 "no" votes - which is 79.5% "yes" and 20.5% "no".
We stress this is a very informal survey and agree with any and all criticism that it is non-scientific. The numbers should therefore only be taken as a very rough indicator of faculty sentiment. This information has been transmitted to the chairs of the relevant university committees and to President Crow.
The total number of emails received was 955, after subtracting "out of office', undeliverables etc. and 3 duplicate votes (nice try!). Only those emails with "yes" or "no" in the subject line were counted (case insensitive), so that for example "no later" was counted as "no" and "yes maybe" as "yes". We eliminated 227 emails for not voting in the subject line. No spam or irregularities were detected. The vote count was verified by us both independently.
Mike Thorpe, Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jose Menendez, Professor of Physics
Earlier this week, an ASU spokesperson now confesses, "we blew it," and concedes that the university likely would have conferred the honorary degree, but once it became a controversy, ASU administrators were too worried about appearing insincere.
Read here for more background information on this story.
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ASU does not deserve the President's time -- they are not worthy. Maybe their enrollment will decline.
Besides, he is President of all Americans, even the stooopid ones.
The urge to blame a whole group for the actions of a few has a bad history.
And referring to a university like it's an individual with a single consciousness ("ASU thinks...", "ASU wants...") is borderline psychotic.
We are judged by the actions of our elected officials. And so is ASU now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlR9DNfqGD4.
Wah Wah Wah Waaaaaaaaaaaah
This move was not motivated by politics. In fact, Crow has pretty strained relationships with the GOP powers in the state. This was not racially motivated as Crow came long after the MLK flap and has been a champion for Latino kids who are getting jacked around by our local legislature.
No ...Crow made a bad call like we all have in our jobs. He just happpend to do it on a very public stage.
Crow has done a lot for ASU. I've been reading withering criticism of ASU's academics, but I can tell you that many of it's programs are in the top 25% of their discipline. ASU gets as many talented students as any insitution - public or provate. A lot of kids who could have gone to school anwhere go to ASU.
Now Arizona is a very conservative state. And it does border on racist. It was no accident that we were the last state to have an MLK holiday. I've watched white bread Mormons and Midwesterners run the show here for years. Because of their backwards ideology , we rank pretty much last in everything except foreclosures. And we crazy Sheriff who parades Mexicans around like they were zoo animals.
Bottom line - Obama will be greeted by 70,000 screaming fans in Sun Devil Stadium and he will conduct himself with the cool classiness we admire him for.
...this is the President of the United States of America we are talking about here.... for crying out loud!!!..this is not the same as taking a wrong order at the IHOP!!!
PLEASE STOP TRIVIALIZING THIS ISSUE!!!
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2. One the youngest US Senators in the history of this country
3. Ran an historic, smooth, powerful, efficient and effective POTUS campaign
4. Powerhouse, epic grassroots fundraiser extraordinnaire
5. Beat out veteran John McCain in the POTUS race
6. Beat out the popular and powerful Clinton Machine in the race for POTUS
7. Author of TWO best selling books
8. First black POTUS
9. Is not even yet in the traditional 6-month probationary period of his new job as POTUS, and has already accomplised more politically than GWB in his 8 years!
...and ASU is refusing/polling President Barack Obama for their sh*tty honorary degree???
...keep your honorary degree, ASU, President Barack Obama doesn't need it...
...ASU honorary degrees can probably be acquired on ebay for a dime a dozen...
...what President Barack Obama needs to be awarded is a friggin' NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!...for all of is accomplishments!...
...ASU...brari bure kabisa!
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79% are for him getting an honorary degree and I think the other 21% ought to be dismissed from duty for being so ignorant.