So, apparently, all 3 of those presidents were prepped by the same law firm, which has an entire practise devoted to Congressional testimony (who knew?).
Is this a case where legalese led them astray? Sometimes the smart legal thing to do is not the same as the smart political thing to do....
In any event, this whole thing is a silly made up controversy. The vast majority of the students at MIT, Penn and Harvard are far more interested in figuring out where the party is than in Israel/Hamas. Student activists are a tiny minority of the student body, but they do make for good headlines/controversy.
I think that's a real possibility. If I read it correctly, Ms. Magill is herself a lawyer and came out of - and is returning to - the law school faculty there.
I have great respect for lawyers, work with them almost daily, but they communicate in a very specific way that is essential - and effective - in the legal realm but doesn't always translate to other forums and contexts. Ms. Magill gave a very legalistic answer to a question posed as matter of morality. She should have been prepped for that and had at hand an answer that addressed the question at that level. Maybe she was and couldn't pull it out of her head - apparently, they kept the presidents in the witness chairs for five hours so she was no doubt exhausted - and fell back on her experience and training. Maybe the law firm didn't prep her correctly. Maybe neither client nor law firm allowed enough time to do a proper prep (which often happens).
To your last point, I suspect you're right; the vast majority of students on all three campuses are not activists and are not directly or deeply engaged.
What has changed, I think, from when you and I would start most schoolyear Sundays with painful searches for aspirin or limping, stumbling staggers to the last minutes of brunch at the cafeteria for rehydration and something - anything - soak up the toxins is that now - thanks to the wonders of social media, kids can do both. Retweet, repost, sign the petition, add the emoji, get 20 texts and posts to come to the rally; all can be done from your bed and with one eye closed so that the double image of your device goes away. The level of engagement isn't very high, but the volume creates the impression it is.
One other little irony I'd like to point out...Elise Stefanik is the one grilling these Presidents about anti semitism, yet she is holding up badly needed aid to Israel .....
What! Inconsistency in the halls of Congress? Hypocrisy from the dais? Say it ain't so, Joe! Say it ain't so.
Sadly, this is a phenomenon that was on the Hill back when you and I were and certainly preceded us. It used to be confined to a couple of issues for each member but now it's a reflex I think.
So, apparently, all 3 of those presidents were prepped by the same law firm, which has an entire practise devoted to Congressional testimony (who knew?).
Is this a case where legalese led them astray? Sometimes the smart legal thing to do is not the same as the smart political thing to do....
In any event, this whole thing is a silly made up controversy. The vast majority of the students at MIT, Penn and Harvard are far more interested in figuring out where the party is than in Israel/Hamas. Student activists are a tiny minority of the student body, but they do make for good headlines/controversy.
I think that's a real possibility. If I read it correctly, Ms. Magill is herself a lawyer and came out of - and is returning to - the law school faculty there.
I have great respect for lawyers, work with them almost daily, but they communicate in a very specific way that is essential - and effective - in the legal realm but doesn't always translate to other forums and contexts. Ms. Magill gave a very legalistic answer to a question posed as matter of morality. She should have been prepped for that and had at hand an answer that addressed the question at that level. Maybe she was and couldn't pull it out of her head - apparently, they kept the presidents in the witness chairs for five hours so she was no doubt exhausted - and fell back on her experience and training. Maybe the law firm didn't prep her correctly. Maybe neither client nor law firm allowed enough time to do a proper prep (which often happens).
To your last point, I suspect you're right; the vast majority of students on all three campuses are not activists and are not directly or deeply engaged.
What has changed, I think, from when you and I would start most schoolyear Sundays with painful searches for aspirin or limping, stumbling staggers to the last minutes of brunch at the cafeteria for rehydration and something - anything - soak up the toxins is that now - thanks to the wonders of social media, kids can do both. Retweet, repost, sign the petition, add the emoji, get 20 texts and posts to come to the rally; all can be done from your bed and with one eye closed so that the double image of your device goes away. The level of engagement isn't very high, but the volume creates the impression it is.
One other little irony I'd like to point out...Elise Stefanik is the one grilling these Presidents about anti semitism, yet she is holding up badly needed aid to Israel .....
What! Inconsistency in the halls of Congress? Hypocrisy from the dais? Say it ain't so, Joe! Say it ain't so.
Sadly, this is a phenomenon that was on the Hill back when you and I were and certainly preceded us. It used to be confined to a couple of issues for each member but now it's a reflex I think.