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Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 12:39:19 2019

College Fix

Columbia professor who fled communism resigns, says university is becoming communist

Jeremiah Poff, Staff Reporter

A Romania-born academic says he recently left his tenured position at Columbia University because the Ivy League school is “on its way toward full blown communism,” according to a Romanian TV interview translated by a Romanian-American immigrant.

Prof. Andrei Serban, an award-winning director, complained about the increasing social justice demands he faced in the theater department in the interview, which aired on Romania’s TVR1 Oct. 26. One prominent example he gave: pressure to admit a transgender applicant who auditioned as Juliet from “Romeo and Juliet.”

Andy Ionescu, a native Romianian speaker who immigrated to the United States in 1999, told The College Fix in a Twitter message that he translated the interview.

He said it was likely the first time that Serban made his resignation publicly known. Columbia still lists Serban as an active professor. Media relations did not respond to an email from The Fix, and Serban’s department did not return a voicemail. Serban did not respond to an email.

The TV host expresses incredulity at multiple points in the interview, seemingly shocked that the American higher education system is headed toward communism. Serban fled from the ideology, which ruled Romania for much of the 20th century.

Serban says in the interview that after a faculty member retired, the remaining professors in the department were called in to a meeting to discuss a replacement.

It was at this meeting that the dean of the art school told them that there were “too many white professors, too many heterosexual men,” and that it would be best to hire a minority or a woman, or a gay man.

Serban, who was the director of the hiring committee, says that he was told that it could not be someone like him because he is a man that has been “married, a heterosexual man who has children.”

The professor says that he then asked if they could choose a straight white male if the most qualified candidate happened to be so, and was promptly told that they could not. “I felt like I was living under communism again,” he said.

A second incident involving a male-to-female transgender student was the final impetus for Serban to resign, according to the translated video.

While reviewing applicants to the theater school, the transgender student prepared Juliet’s monologue from “Romeo and Juliet.”

Serban says that he could not believe that this person could become Juliet. After his colleagues expressed displeasure with him for stating as much, Serban resigned, saying that he could not violate his principles.

According to his faculty bio, Serban is an accomplished theater and opera producer who served as the director of the Romanian National Theater and won a Tony Award.


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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by BILLBKLYN on Fri Nov 8 12:52:28 2019, in response to Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 12:39:19 2019.

And this is why Trump will win again.

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(1673235)

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by gp38/r42 chris on Fri Nov 8 13:01:24 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by BILLBKLYN on Fri Nov 8 12:52:28 2019.

The Democratic party has become so extreme and left, that they can't win like this.

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(1673236)

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by cortelyounext on Fri Nov 8 13:02:44 2019, in response to Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 12:39:19 2019.

College Fix

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 14:31:03 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by gp38/r42 chris on Fri Nov 8 13:01:24 2019.

A little research will illustrate how long they've been this way. Don't be surprised by that.

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(1673269)

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:32:13 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by gp38/r42 chris on Fri Nov 8 13:01:24 2019.

I agree. It is no longer the party of the working people, as it used to be. Once upon a time, this country was run by moderates from both sides of the aisle working together. I did not vote for Hillary or Trump because I liked John Kasich, and still do.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 14:36:47 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:32:13 2019.

It is no longer the party of the working people, as it used to be

No, it never was. They were always against the actual workers.

All commies claim to be for "the working people". But an ideology concocted by college professors can never be.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:40:51 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 14:36:47 2019.

Makes me glad I graduated from a Catholic University! lol

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Spider-Pig on Fri Nov 8 15:51:26 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:32:13 2019.

LOL!

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(1673300)

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Spider-Pig on Fri Nov 8 15:52:00 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 14:36:47 2019.

Anti-intellectual garbage.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Spider-Pig on Fri Nov 8 15:52:32 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:40:51 2019.

NEWSFLASH: Catholic universities are just as ivory towery as the secular ones.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 22:03:55 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Elkeeper on Fri Nov 8 14:40:51 2019.

Which one?

Many of them aren't too far behind Columbia these days, particularly the Jesuit ones.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Nov 9 09:12:50 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by cortelyounext on Fri Nov 8 13:02:44 2019.

Yes, those colleges do need fixing.

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Dyre Dan on Sun Nov 10 06:33:34 2019, in response to Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Nov 8 12:39:19 2019.

Well, I don't think having a transgender Juliet has much to do with Communism, as such. But being told to put group representation above qualifications when filling a faculty position is certainly an example of the authoritarianism that Communism was known for. I also don't really think of a theatrical director, even at a university, as an "academic".

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Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist

Posted by Spider-Pig on Sun Nov 10 07:20:50 2019, in response to Re: Romanian professor who fled communism resigns Columbia U—says university is becoming communist, posted by Dyre Dan on Sun Nov 10 06:33:34 2019.

A transgender Juliet is nothing. Historically, plenty of plays had men play female roles.

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