http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-01-20T185418Z_01_N19375920_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-UNIVERSITY.xml

A conservative alumni group dedicated to "exposing the most radical professors" at the University of California at Los Angeles is offering to pay students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty.

The Web site of the Bruin Alumni Association also includes a "Dirty Thirty" list of professors considered by the group to be the most extreme left-wing members of the UCLA faculty, as well as profiles on their political activities and writings.

...

Fuck. This. Shit. What is the US becoming? I have decided at this moment never to work for another red state bastard, not to buy from red state bastards, and to openly loathe them.

"UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the university planned to send Jones a letter warning him that faculty hold copyrights to all their course materials and that his campaign encouraged students to violate school policy."


that must come under fair use, surely?

Fair use doesn't cover snarfing whole lectures, does it?

Fair use is about grabbing snippets and the grabber has to request permission for more than snippets.

well...presumably its only the snippets that specifically show the professiors expressing....opinions...that are really important.

You can certainly film things for the purpose of analyzing them. Making copies of the films and distributing them would be more questionable.

What's this about red states? Isn't UCLA in California?

That's attacking it the wrong way. This shouldn't be about "you can't examine what the professors are saying" it should be about "someone fetch me a copy of the Bill of Rights - these jackasses seem to have forgotten how it starts"

Philo

A private organization wants to expose a certain type of speech going on at UCLA, by engaging in more speech. I'm all for it!

Also, there is nothing wrong with the students giving original copies of course materials to any one they wish. They paid for it. It's not a violation of copyright to sell a book you have paid for to someone else.

Also, the university's claims that they own the copyright on notes the students have taken in class are totally absurd. Not surpising though - UCLA is a joke of a school. I would never hire any one who 'graduated' from there.

Art,

There are 38,000 students at UCLA.

It is a top twenty CS department (US NEWS), a top 20 MBA (all major rankings), and a top 25 undergraduate program(us news).

Don't you think you're being a bit rash?

Where did *YOU* go to school that's so great?

"What's this about red states? Isn't UCLA in California?"

Flyover states are increasingly infiltrating the sane parts of the US.

To a university that wasn't so radicalized it felt it neded to sue to maintain its secrets.

and so much worse regarded than UCLA that you refuse to name it.

"What's this about red states? Isn't UCLA in California?"

What a Bigot

What's the big deal? Someone with an agenda is against people who speak contrary to their agenda. BFD. If this was a left-wing group publicizing a list of "extreme right wingers" (to protect the public from them, of course) at the facility, would you be as fervent?

For you non-Californians, aside from the Bay Area and some of LA, California is a very "Red" state.

For Art Wilkins, UCLA is much better than it was even 10 years ago. Their medical school is top notch. Most of the grad programs in engineering are very good. Undergrad is at least as good, if not better than most other huge public state universities.

As far as conservative alumnus "exposing radicals," I'm not sure why sharkfish is so outraged. Left or Right, it seems like every day I read a link to some stupid political group calling for something stupid to be done, in order to compile some stupid list. I'm not sure what this means. I'm thinking it means I need to stop reading online news sites.

I'm amazed that the students are even allowed. Back in the day, I guess, the "classy" thing was to ask permission to tape in the first place - it was de rigeur. I hate it when people snitch on teachers.

The "Red Staters" in CA are simply more vocal than the Dems. Most of LA is old and semi-run-down-ish. So Dems will outnumber GOP.

You only notice Repubs because you only visit semi-nice areas or better. I'm basically the same way. The bay area is a nice area and Dem, that's why you notice it.

In some ways, the only real difference between L.A. and New Orleans is that a cardboard hut in L.A. can cost a million dollars.

Actually when I say "Red", I'm talking about The Rest Of California. The parts no-one (including Californians from the Bay Area and LA) ever thinks about. Inland Empire, Sacramento, the Sierras, the "real" Nor-Cal (Marin all the way up to Oregon), all the farmland, the desert, even San Diego.

One thing about Republicans here is that they are not as lock-step as the red states. A GOP'er here can swear by Bush, have a signed autograph, flags, Bush country sign on the lawn, and still vote for a Democratic governor or senator, and be happy about it.

There is something about the Inland Empire, though, that is more transient. A heckuva lotta truckdrivers in the IE, and there trucks say stuff like Texas on the license plate.

Living in the IE for a lot of people is like sitting on the fence, IMHO. There are some nice areas with a lot of growth, too, though. But it's mainly old, and seems like every building is either retail or a warehouse, or a business park. More people live in L.A.

OK fine, it was Stanford.

It's bigotted to ask why someone is calling California a red state? Do you have an explanation for this or are you just stoned out of your mind and don't know what you are saying?

98% of L.A., I rarely ever visit. So it seems like a lot of Republicans in the nicer areas. I live on the border, or near it, of four different counties, so I have a good feel for things. Lots of warehouses in the IE, a shockingly high number.

If the majority of California is red, why did all their electoral votes go to Gore?

Oh, I've never known a truck driver that lives here, that talks about voting. They could be on the road anywhere. The IE is just a place to crash and call home, have a house. A house here is like an investment, a lot of people don't feel all that attached to their geographic area.

"it seems like every day I read a link to some stupid political group calling for something stupid to be done, in order to compile some stupid list. I'm not sure what this means. I'm thinking it means I need to stop reading online news sites."


I think this is one of the smartest things Ive read for a while.

That group of students is just a couple of guys wanting to make a splash. who gives a shit? Id be more worried about the counter reaction...why on earth would any sane university (or professor) care?

My daughter studies here in Groningen, and because she has small children she cannot attend all lectures.

She gives an mp3-recorder to a friend, who tapes the lecture, and the Powerpoint presentation is on the internetsite of the University, so she can literally follow the whole thing at home in the evening on her computer.

You went to Stanford? Wow. Great school. What did you study?

I didn't think Stanford or the Ivy League would be here with the likes of ?off.