The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at The Wall Street Journal written by the editor, James Taranto.
What Would We Do Without Experts
“Public Speaking: Don’t Always Start Your Speeches With a Joke, Expert Says”—headline, ABC .net.au, Nov. 23
News of the Tautological
“Humidifiers Infuse Moisture Back Into the Air”—headline, Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Nov. 23
Mike Drop
“The dean of the University of Arkansas’ prestigious law school, Michael Schwartz, is resigning after a four-year tenure marked by clashes with campus conservatives,” Heat Street reports:
The last straw that led to his resignation was the backlash over his reaction to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. . . .
What finally cost . . . Dean Schwartz his position was his opinionated reaction to Trump’s surprise victory. Soon after the results were announced, Schwartz sent an email offering free counseling services to students who “feel upset” following the “most upsetting, most painful, most disturbing election season of my lifetime.”
The dean’s statement led to many questioning his ability to ensure a vibrant academic environment and treat students like adults. According to [Schwartz antagonist Robert] Steinbuch, he could remember just one time counseling being offered to law students at the university and that was after a student had committed suicide.
Steinbuch also said that while such instances were “obviously tragic situations” that justify on-campus counseling, the tragedy of a suicide isn’t equivalent to a Republican being elected to the Presidency.
A young Schwartz was one of your humble columnist’s lawyers when we sued our journalism professors after they punished us for publishing a politically incorrect cartoon in the student newspaper, as we recalled in 2013. And he did a terrific job. Oh well, at least we learned a lot from that experience.
Note: The excerpt above is from the Nov. 23 BOTW archives. For more “Best of the Web” from The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto click here.
