Voter wrote:

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I have been a member of AAUP for a long time, and have received no materials from any other organization as a result of this membership. I suspect that your colleague made a false connection between receipt of the ACLU materials and membership in the AAUP.

As for the situation you describe as "discrimination...against white law applicants," you know that this is a very slanted characterization of a complex case. Question for you: is there any organization you belong to or respect with which you agree on all issues? I certainly can't think of any for myself. Your remarks here regarding AAUP seem very anecdotal and thus not really very substantive. If you would regularly attend our AAUP meetings, you would find that they are focused almost exclusively on the corruption and mismanagement of the Thames regime.

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Clearly your experience with the AAUP differs from mine. I'll confess that I am the "colleague" to whom I referred. Before joining AAUP my name had never made it onto an ACLU mailing list. Shortly after paying my AAUP dues, I did receive an ACLU membership application. When I became more fully aware of the AAUP's political activism, I decided not to rejoin when my membership expired. And I have not received anything from the ACLU since. So I suspect that the organizations may share mailing lists. Of course I may be wrong. It's hardly a crime if they do, but it would suggest that they are kindred organizations, would it not?

Regarding the Michigan case, I found the following to be of interest.


The current decision is welcome news to supporters of affirmative action, including the AAUP, which, along with many other higher education organizations, has filed friend-ofthe-court briefs focusing on the educational benefits of racial diversity. "Most important," says AAUP associate counsel Ann Springer, "the court recognized the significance of diversity in the educational process and the importance of leaving decisions about how to educate, and whom to educate, to educators."

Copyright American Association of University Professors Jul/Aug 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

You may want to dismiss this as yet another of my anecdotes, but I take it as substantial evidence that the AAUP is a political organization. Note that, as I mentioned in my post, the AAUP tries to find academic footing for its argument by making reference to "educational benefits" of racial diversity. By the way, how can you presume to know that I know that I have mischaracterized the Michigan case? I assure you that I truly believe that the case does involve discrimination against potential white students. Additional evidence of AAUP political activism exits in abundance on the national AAUP website.

I am a member of two national organizations, and I have disagreements with both.

Finally, I have attended several AAUP meetings here, and I agree with your description of what goes on. I applaud the efforts of our local members in our struggle. I just can't bring myself to fund the political activities of the national organization. Frankly, the damage the national AAUP seeks to inflict on this country outweighs the very substantial local concerns I have.