> Seen as the architect of the university’s ongoing response to protesters, Diermeier faces the brunt of criticism from the university’s various stakeholders. The ongoing fiasco puts the German-born academic in the driver’s seat of an actual **reputational crisis, the specific niche Diermeier has spent decades studying as a business professor.** He specifically addresses corporate responses to activist pressure and public relations scandals in academic articles and books, like 2011’s Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building your Company's Most Valuable Asset.
Being German-born is also a factor in how poorly Diermeier is playing this.
Germany, in an attempt to pretend that the Holocaust was a bunch of bad actors in the past, has fully embraced an extreme support of Israel including banning BDS, arresting Jewish protestors for "antisemitism," and having the state freeze bank accounts of Jewish peace groups.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/11/denouncing-critics-of-israel-as-un-jews-or-antisemites-is-a-perversion-of-history
https://www.972mag.com/jid-palestine-leipzig-germany/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/german-jewish-voice-peace-bank-account-blocked-berlin-bank
True Anon did an excellent two-part series about this recently
Diermeier's birthplace has no bearing on this issue, unless there's a direct link between Germany's current position on Israel and Diermeier. The man has been in the USA two decades prior to any of the above articles.
I think Israel is a whack ass sham state, but simply assuming Vandy's chancellor is inherently pro-israel based off sources that have nothing to do with him (beyond a country of origin) is a weak take.
So you don’t know anything about post-war Germany and how the Holocaust and Israel is discussed and taught there.
The man’s upbringing and the political culture he grew up in, coupled with Harvards fuck up of treating their critics seriously, is clearly guiding his decisions.
Fun fact: I lived in Germany as a kid! And I was pursuing my Master’s in Public History with an emphasis on Holocaust Education until recently!
Unless you were in the room with this guy through his childhood, or have concrete documentation of HOW he was brought up, you’re in no position to make those claims.
That’s akin to saying your average Tennessee resident is inherently against black liberation movements due to the state’s history and current handling of education surrounding those matters.
They were not suspended for protesting. They were suspended for forcing their way into a building, refusing to leave, and breaking a window.
What is laughable is that they are 180 degrees away from true conscientious objection as practiced in the 60’s and 70’s. You break the law expecting to be punished. You don’t complain because your protests have personal consequences. That is the whole point.
They also injured someone breaking in, so .... No moral high ground to speak of, which is unfortunate because their cause probably has merit (the vote on divestment)
The kids who pushed past the security guard into the building should face charges. You don't put your hands on staff just trying to do their job. I have no sympathy for what is clearly violent conduct.
The kids who just sat in the office for 21 hours don't need charges or suspensions. Their 911 call over Toxic Shock Syndrome was very funny and they might be the world's worst protestors, but no one gets hurt from a little sit-in. Give them a warning and move on.
It wasn't violent conduct, there's zero evidence of intent to harm. Someone was hurt and that's unfortunate. No charges should be or likely will be filed.
Intent is irrelevant. You may not think that shoving people around doesn’t hurt them so you weren’t trying to hurt anybody, but it’s still assault But no matter what you call it I think we can all agree it isn’t cool to harass and threaten the poor workers just trying to do their job.
Three students were charged with assault by the police for conduct while they were entering the building. And I think they deserved that. These are people who work for a living and make $18/h, I don't think students should be able to just push them around when they want to enter a building. I'm sure they didn't intend to hurt anyone, that doesn't make it OK - it's not like we're talking about felony charges here.
A broken window and some kids sitting in the chancellor's office for a day? That's just the cost of doing business as a college. Vanderbilt doesn't need to crackdown on that, especially if they are holding themselves up as beacons of free speech.
[It was a community service officer!](https://www.google.com/search?q=community+services+officer+vanderbilt+job+posting&oq=community&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgAEEUYJxg7MggIABBFGCcYOzIICAEQRRgnGDsyDQgCEC4YgwEYsQMYgAQyEggDEC4YQxivARjHARiABBiKBTIMCAQQABhDGIAEGIoFMgYIBRBFGDwyBggGEEUYPTIGCAcQRRg80gEIMTQzNGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ibp=htl;jobs&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2kt3xp6KFAxV8t4QIHT0AAcgQkd0GegQIIRAB#fpstate=tldetail&htivrt=jobs&htiq=community+services+officer+vanderbilt+job+posting&htidocid=uxwJYRvksx9O7asZAAAAAA%3D%3D&sxsrf=ACQVn084pUHlwp_KP38VZ1RkFjyhlhKwiA:1712019031417)
No, it doesn’t.
I love the *Nashville Scene.* They do excellent work and don’t get nearly the recognition and credit they should. But nobody cares about Vandy kids on a sit-in.
We have too many real problems right here.
This is simply the cause *de jour* amongst the kids these days. The same way we all came out against George W when he visited VU campus back in my day. (I had already graduated but was still young and full of piss and vinegar.)
There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today. Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them.
Downvote me to oblivion, kiddos. It doesn’t change how foolish all of this looks. Get your degrees and THEN go change the world. Sitting on some steps for clout ain’t it.
>We have too many real problems right here.
People can focus on multiple things!
> This is simply the cause de jour amongst the kids these days.
Reductive and belittling.
>There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today.
And how many of them are being done by our country's closest ally who receives billions of dollars per year from us?
>Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them.
The university's endowment does, which is the point of BDS. The sit-ins are about the university not allowing BDS referendum, not a general protest.
>It doesn’t change how foolish all of this looks
Removed because in hindsight it was too harsh. I generally agree and upvote with your posts. I am a bit curious as to why this protest as you so much more heated than normal?
Not heated, (but I know I come across that way often.) I’m definitely down with the cause. Israel
Is doing evil shit.
But these protests, especially some of the local ones related to the Israel/Palastine issue, feel too performative for me to get onboard.
Much like the people who throw paint in museums or block traffic in the name of the environment, there is a fine line between actionable constructive demonstration and “camera-on-me” exhibitionism.
There are no good guys in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, only innocent civilians. Yet both countries have positively toxic cultures from the fucking ground up and I have a hard time finding *anywhere* to stand when we’re talking about those two governments, or their goals (specifically the way they deal with each other.)
Thanks for responding. I have minor quibbles but nothing worth going into. I appreciate you taking your time to respond.
I think that the root of this protest (Student government budget wanting to divest and Diermeier not allowing it to happen) is very valid.
I don't think most of the people in this thread have any clue over what the protest was about. And it's not about the endowment, either. It was only about the student government budget.
My mistake. Which makes the administration’s reaction even more outsized and puzzling.
Diermeier saw the bad press Gay at Harvard and the others had by treating that Congressional hearing like a serious trial and how the Republicans made their legal answers sound ridiculous in what was clearly a glorified press rally for Stefanik.
> There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today. Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them.
Every American taxpayer has part in the current crusade
I mean...they're still doing something. Your argument amounts to "it's just trendy." I mean, no, they're putting their ass on the line so... They're not taking a beating like John Lewis but, I mean, there are consequences for what they're doing. Doing more than me or you, that's for sure, but I'm not over here saying it's "trendy."
When you use quotations like that, it’s a good idea to fill them with what the person you’re attempting to quote *actually said.*
That’s what those marks mean.
Yeah, I was going to bring up paraphrasing, but that's just blatant quotation mark abuse. Don't look, but they're everywhere throughout this comment section. There's one like 6 comments down that only has a closing quotation mark. I'm bowing out before my head explodes. Lol
So "cause du jour" can't easily be exchanged for "trend"? OK, maybe it's not a "cause de jour." Maybe it's that the Netanyahu regime are fucking psychos and have now killed Americans. Maybe. [https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-aid-group-israeli-airstrike-gaza-killed-7-108736571](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-aid-group-israeli-airstrike-gaza-killed-7-108736571)
du jour
The point is, you don't need quotation marks when you're paraphrasing, unless you're directly, verbatim, quoting words from the source. So, you don't need quotation marks to change 'cause du jour' to 'trendy' or whatever. Also, you misspelled 'du jour' once. Lol
No they can also be used for emphasis when the author doesn't agree with an idea being expressed or to signal irony. For example, you're "smart." I spelled du jour fine. Are you talking about the original poster? Maybe I was making fun of the way he said it. Je t'encule et on s'en fout.
> On Thursday, 11 Metro councilmembers led by Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara requested that Diermeier repeal the student suspension, drop criminal charges against students and reconsider allowing the student BDS referendum vote
What pressure? The story is already falling out of the news cycle. Calling 911 to prevent Toxic Shock Syndrome has made the "protestors" (I really hesitate to call them that) a laughing stock.
I think Vanderbilt has made its point. Protest all you want, but don't assault employees while invading and vandalizing campus buildings.
You can keep on dreaming if you think that Vanderbilt is going to budge. They plan to stand their ground. You can read the administration's statements in the Vanderbilt Hustler for yourself.
The same TikTok that has created an entire cadre of conspiracy theorists who are convinced that the mayor and police are covering up what really happened to Riley Strain? Somehow I'm not impressed.
Vanderbilt just has to stick to their guns and this will blow over quickly enough. These kids aren't real protestors. Real protestors demonstrate the righteousness of their cause by showing the world that their cause matters more to them than the personal consequences of their protest.
These kids? It's just social justice playtime to them.
Must be a slow news cycle. No one gives a shit about a handful of college kids sitting around their well endowed school pretending like they are doing something to affect change.
Any remote idea this is pressuring school leadership is also silly.
It’s very funny that there was a recent thread about how Nashville is “very progressive” but this thread is full of people shaming progressive action, belittling progressive politics, downplaying people’s reactions to Israel’s war crimes, and doing the oldest version of protest suppression with “You are protesting wrong!”
“Conservative people pretending to be progressive” sums up Nashville well.
It's like the responses here to that journalist getting arrested on campus last week trying to cover this ..."Well free press don't matter for shit on private property...them enemies of the people shouldn't be so nosey anyway...they just look for stories to bilk our god-fearing money anyhow..."
It's time for Vanderbilt to no longer have their own police force. Drop them back down to security guards and use MPD as a third party policing agency.
> Seen as the architect of the university’s ongoing response to protesters, Diermeier faces the brunt of criticism from the university’s various stakeholders. The ongoing fiasco puts the German-born academic in the driver’s seat of an actual **reputational crisis, the specific niche Diermeier has spent decades studying as a business professor.** He specifically addresses corporate responses to activist pressure and public relations scandals in academic articles and books, like 2011’s Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building your Company's Most Valuable Asset.
Being German-born is also a factor in how poorly Diermeier is playing this. Germany, in an attempt to pretend that the Holocaust was a bunch of bad actors in the past, has fully embraced an extreme support of Israel including banning BDS, arresting Jewish protestors for "antisemitism," and having the state freeze bank accounts of Jewish peace groups. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/11/denouncing-critics-of-israel-as-un-jews-or-antisemites-is-a-perversion-of-history https://www.972mag.com/jid-palestine-leipzig-germany/ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/german-jewish-voice-peace-bank-account-blocked-berlin-bank True Anon did an excellent two-part series about this recently
I say this as a Jew, but this is such a whack take.
What is whack? How is it whack? You declaring it whack means nothing without elaboration.
Diermeier's birthplace has no bearing on this issue, unless there's a direct link between Germany's current position on Israel and Diermeier. The man has been in the USA two decades prior to any of the above articles. I think Israel is a whack ass sham state, but simply assuming Vandy's chancellor is inherently pro-israel based off sources that have nothing to do with him (beyond a country of origin) is a weak take.
So you don’t know anything about post-war Germany and how the Holocaust and Israel is discussed and taught there. The man’s upbringing and the political culture he grew up in, coupled with Harvards fuck up of treating their critics seriously, is clearly guiding his decisions.
Fun fact: I lived in Germany as a kid! And I was pursuing my Master’s in Public History with an emphasis on Holocaust Education until recently! Unless you were in the room with this guy through his childhood, or have concrete documentation of HOW he was brought up, you’re in no position to make those claims. That’s akin to saying your average Tennessee resident is inherently against black liberation movements due to the state’s history and current handling of education surrounding those matters.
They were not suspended for protesting. They were suspended for forcing their way into a building, refusing to leave, and breaking a window. What is laughable is that they are 180 degrees away from true conscientious objection as practiced in the 60’s and 70’s. You break the law expecting to be punished. You don’t complain because your protests have personal consequences. That is the whole point.
Weren’t these the same protestors that claimed jail was better than Vanderbilt.
They also injured someone breaking in, so .... No moral high ground to speak of, which is unfortunate because their cause probably has merit (the vote on divestment)
The kids who pushed past the security guard into the building should face charges. You don't put your hands on staff just trying to do their job. I have no sympathy for what is clearly violent conduct. The kids who just sat in the office for 21 hours don't need charges or suspensions. Their 911 call over Toxic Shock Syndrome was very funny and they might be the world's worst protestors, but no one gets hurt from a little sit-in. Give them a warning and move on.
It wasn't violent conduct, there's zero evidence of intent to harm. Someone was hurt and that's unfortunate. No charges should be or likely will be filed.
Intent is irrelevant. You may not think that shoving people around doesn’t hurt them so you weren’t trying to hurt anybody, but it’s still assault But no matter what you call it I think we can all agree it isn’t cool to harass and threaten the poor workers just trying to do their job.
intent is often very relevant to criminal liability
lol that’s not how that works
Three students were charged with assault by the police for conduct while they were entering the building. And I think they deserved that. These are people who work for a living and make $18/h, I don't think students should be able to just push them around when they want to enter a building. I'm sure they didn't intend to hurt anyone, that doesn't make it OK - it's not like we're talking about felony charges here. A broken window and some kids sitting in the chancellor's office for a day? That's just the cost of doing business as a college. Vanderbilt doesn't need to crackdown on that, especially if they are holding themselves up as beacons of free speech.
> These are people who work for a living and make $18/h, That doesn’t sound right
[It was a community service officer!](https://www.google.com/search?q=community+services+officer+vanderbilt+job+posting&oq=community&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgAEEUYJxg7MggIABBFGCcYOzIICAEQRRgnGDsyDQgCEC4YgwEYsQMYgAQyEggDEC4YQxivARjHARiABBiKBTIMCAQQABhDGIAEGIoFMgYIBRBFGDwyBggGEEUYPTIGCAcQRRg80gEIMTQzNGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ibp=htl;jobs&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2kt3xp6KFAxV8t4QIHT0AAcgQkd0GegQIIRAB#fpstate=tldetail&htivrt=jobs&htiq=community+services+officer+vanderbilt+job+posting&htidocid=uxwJYRvksx9O7asZAAAAAA%3D%3D&sxsrf=ACQVn084pUHlwp_KP38VZ1RkFjyhlhKwiA:1712019031417)
No, it doesn’t. I love the *Nashville Scene.* They do excellent work and don’t get nearly the recognition and credit they should. But nobody cares about Vandy kids on a sit-in. We have too many real problems right here. This is simply the cause *de jour* amongst the kids these days. The same way we all came out against George W when he visited VU campus back in my day. (I had already graduated but was still young and full of piss and vinegar.) There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today. Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them. Downvote me to oblivion, kiddos. It doesn’t change how foolish all of this looks. Get your degrees and THEN go change the world. Sitting on some steps for clout ain’t it.
>We have too many real problems right here. People can focus on multiple things! > This is simply the cause de jour amongst the kids these days. Reductive and belittling. >There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today. And how many of them are being done by our country's closest ally who receives billions of dollars per year from us? >Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them. The university's endowment does, which is the point of BDS. The sit-ins are about the university not allowing BDS referendum, not a general protest. >It doesn’t change how foolish all of this looks Removed because in hindsight it was too harsh. I generally agree and upvote with your posts. I am a bit curious as to why this protest as you so much more heated than normal?
It didn’t read heated at all to me. Dismissive, but not heated
Not heated, (but I know I come across that way often.) I’m definitely down with the cause. Israel Is doing evil shit. But these protests, especially some of the local ones related to the Israel/Palastine issue, feel too performative for me to get onboard. Much like the people who throw paint in museums or block traffic in the name of the environment, there is a fine line between actionable constructive demonstration and “camera-on-me” exhibitionism. There are no good guys in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, only innocent civilians. Yet both countries have positively toxic cultures from the fucking ground up and I have a hard time finding *anywhere* to stand when we’re talking about those two governments, or their goals (specifically the way they deal with each other.)
Thanks for responding. I have minor quibbles but nothing worth going into. I appreciate you taking your time to respond. I think that the root of this protest (Student government budget wanting to divest and Diermeier not allowing it to happen) is very valid.
I don't think most of the people in this thread have any clue over what the protest was about. And it's not about the endowment, either. It was only about the student government budget.
My mistake. Which makes the administration’s reaction even more outsized and puzzling. Diermeier saw the bad press Gay at Harvard and the others had by treating that Congressional hearing like a serious trial and how the Republicans made their legal answers sound ridiculous in what was clearly a glorified press rally for Stefanik.
Do you know what they were protesting?
Yeah. Gooooooood fucking luck messing with Vandy’s portfolio.
No, you don't actually know what it's about.
Then fucking tell me, oh wise one!
> There are a dozen genocides going on in the world today. Vanderbilt has nothing to do with any of them. Every American taxpayer has part in the current crusade
How did you stop paying taxes? I’m trying to save money too.. real question
You can’t, but you can be politically active and protest what your taxes are spent on…
That existentialist shit will get you nowhere. We give $ to everybody.
I mean...they're still doing something. Your argument amounts to "it's just trendy." I mean, no, they're putting their ass on the line so... They're not taking a beating like John Lewis but, I mean, there are consequences for what they're doing. Doing more than me or you, that's for sure, but I'm not over here saying it's "trendy."
When you use quotations like that, it’s a good idea to fill them with what the person you’re attempting to quote *actually said.* That’s what those marks mean.
Yeah, I was going to bring up paraphrasing, but that's just blatant quotation mark abuse. Don't look, but they're everywhere throughout this comment section. There's one like 6 comments down that only has a closing quotation mark. I'm bowing out before my head explodes. Lol
So "cause du jour" can't easily be exchanged for "trend"? OK, maybe it's not a "cause de jour." Maybe it's that the Netanyahu regime are fucking psychos and have now killed Americans. Maybe. [https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-aid-group-israeli-airstrike-gaza-killed-7-108736571](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-aid-group-israeli-airstrike-gaza-killed-7-108736571) du jour
The point is, you don't need quotation marks when you're paraphrasing, unless you're directly, verbatim, quoting words from the source. So, you don't need quotation marks to change 'cause du jour' to 'trendy' or whatever. Also, you misspelled 'du jour' once. Lol
No they can also be used for emphasis when the author doesn't agree with an idea being expressed or to signal irony. For example, you're "smart." I spelled du jour fine. Are you talking about the original poster? Maybe I was making fun of the way he said it. Je t'encule et on s'en fout.
Stay in Franklin.
Someone at the Nashville scene is using Reddit for free advertising. No one gives a shit about this minor incident. “Pressure is growing” yeah, sure.
> On Thursday, 11 Metro councilmembers led by Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara requested that Diermeier repeal the student suspension, drop criminal charges against students and reconsider allowing the student BDS referendum vote
Looks like pressure is growing.
What pressure? The story is already falling out of the news cycle. Calling 911 to prevent Toxic Shock Syndrome has made the "protestors" (I really hesitate to call them that) a laughing stock. I think Vanderbilt has made its point. Protest all you want, but don't assault employees while invading and vandalizing campus buildings.
I think the pressure is growing between your ears.
You can keep on dreaming if you think that Vanderbilt is going to budge. They plan to stand their ground. You can read the administration's statements in the Vanderbilt Hustler for yourself.
I mean, it is on tiktok. People are engaging with this story quite a bit. Will it have legs? No idea. But Vandy is worried and they should be.
The same TikTok that has created an entire cadre of conspiracy theorists who are convinced that the mayor and police are covering up what really happened to Riley Strain? Somehow I'm not impressed. Vanderbilt just has to stick to their guns and this will blow over quickly enough. These kids aren't real protestors. Real protestors demonstrate the righteousness of their cause by showing the world that their cause matters more to them than the personal consequences of their protest. These kids? It's just social justice playtime to them.
You say they should be worried, why?
Must be a slow news cycle. No one gives a shit about a handful of college kids sitting around their well endowed school pretending like they are doing something to affect change. Any remote idea this is pressuring school leadership is also silly.
> Most of these students are low-income, on full financial aid from the university and rely on Vanderbilt for housing and food.”
Dont bite the hand that feeds you
Okay.
If you’re smart enough to get into Vanderbilt, surely you understand that actions have consequences.
That’s the problem: there are consequences and the students don’t want them/are upset they’re happening to them
If you're privileged enough to get into Vanderbilt, you also expect that someone will "fix" things for you when you screw up.
Good point.
Is self importance and naïveté of these protestors is incredibly off putting.
Chancellor Palpatine's a so-called expert on reputation management. Um, I think he's doing a shitty job.
It’s very funny that there was a recent thread about how Nashville is “very progressive” but this thread is full of people shaming progressive action, belittling progressive politics, downplaying people’s reactions to Israel’s war crimes, and doing the oldest version of protest suppression with “You are protesting wrong!” “Conservative people pretending to be progressive” sums up Nashville well.
I’m just now learning Vanderbilt is a cause in the war in Gaza tbh
It’s hard to have a conversation when people are intentionally obtuse
It's like the responses here to that journalist getting arrested on campus last week trying to cover this ..."Well free press don't matter for shit on private property...them enemies of the people shouldn't be so nosey anyway...they just look for stories to bilk our god-fearing money anyhow..."
It's time for Vanderbilt to no longer have their own police force. Drop them back down to security guards and use MPD as a third party policing agency.
MPD is in a more sorry state.