Teng-Kee Tan
With UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton‘s apology for the inflated rankings of the university’s Bloch Business School, the Kansas City Star succeeded in its goal of embarrassing the university…
Although no one questions that the data submitted to the Princeton Review were fudged, some question why the Star saw fit to invest its dwindling resources in exposing this mini-scandal and wonder whether there wasn’t a racist subtext to the reporting.
Indeed, on review, the original Star article on this subject seems to have been written to provoke anti-Chinese sentiment. The reader learns, for instance, “of a previously undisclosed relationship between the university and the study’s Chinese authors.”
The gratuitous use of the word “Chinese” here serves no obvious purpose but to invoke stereotypes of stealth and craftiness.
Mohammed Whitaker
The Star adds that the two Chinese scholars had come to UMKC at the invitation of “then-dean Teng-Kee Tan and professor Michael Song,” thus overtly linking these Chinese scholars to two ethnic Chinese administrators at UMKC.
The Star also used coded language, referring for instance to the ways in which the undisclosed relationship among these scholars “raised red flags,” an apparent allusion to the iconography of the People’s Republic of China.
For a newspaper that refused to even explore the possible Muslim connections of last year’s highway shooter Mohammed Whitaker, this kind of reporting shows, at best, a shocking insensitivity to the Asian American community and, at worst, a deep-seated racism.
Rich Steele is a citizen journalist and head of the NSAAS (Non-Smokers Against Anti-Smoking).
“…some question why the Star saw fit to invest its dwindling resources in exposing this mini-scandal and wonder whether there wasn’t a racist subtext to the reporting.”
No one is wondering that.
I agree with you Not Quite. I was wondering why they don’t do more hard hitting, investigative journalism down in the Glass Box.
It’s not only the glass box. Investigative journalism has been on the downswing for awhile throughout the country.
Rich Steele, ladies and gents.
Parody, ladies and gents. Hate to have to explain it.
Wow, you finally came back and responded to a comment. I guess that any assumption that your other postings are parodies would be a stretch.
Rich, your perspective does generate a lot of vitriol from those of us that see Sam’s view of government as misguided, but you have lit the fire under commenters from both sides of the aisle. I know you are a sharp guy that is respected in your real job so I do hope you keep posting here.
Vive la difference !
Mr. Steele, I posted my other comments before reading yours. My apologies. Are you saying this your article is not about the Star’s piece on UMKC at all, but a piece of irony based on the Star’s refusal to acknowledge race in other stories, like crime?
If thats the case, it was not immediately obvious to this reader.
Mr. Steele I have loved your reporting here at KCC. But we have a media problem. A problem where youtube cat videos occupy daily spots on Fox4, where I can count the number of in-depth, investigative articles written in a years time on my hands, where 50% or more of articles are nothing more than PR news releases. I don’t care how marginal you think this story’s topic is. If the Star were doing its job as the 4th estate we would see MORE stories like this, on a wide range of topics. Ideally, one a week. You should be commending the Star, and demanding MORE investigative reports on other topics, instead of more Osterholdt (renee) fluff junk.
I think you were a welcome addition to the crew at KCC, but I think you are misguided here.
I know it is parody but UMKC has made big business off of the new riches of the PRC. They bring over tons of unqualified law students to pursue LLMs when they can barely read or understand English. Few (probably about 1 in 10) ever pass either the CA or NY bars (they are considered unqualified to pass either the KS or MO bars)
They do the same thing to a lesser extent at Bloch. They prefer there to keep their bill down by hiring bottom-rate academics who graduated from either suspect Asian universities or people who need a h1b to stay in the country.
It is also obvious to all that speak with them for more than 2 minutes that Chinese college students do not hold the same beliefs regarding academic honesty and the honesty of their own home-country transcript.