Friday, February 22, 2008
Like a Prayer
The New York Sun reports that a colleague and a student of Madonna Constantine's have written letters supporting her against the accusation that she is a multiple plagiarist.
(And—and this has gotten little attention—she allegedly ripped off her own students.)
"These accusations are not believable," Ms. [Barbara] Wallace wrote. "I absolutely believe this is just an attempt to besmear her name and reputation."
I suspect that for legal reasons Columbia can't release its report on Madonna Constantine—but she could release it herself. (Don't hold your breath.)
"The truth is that I am not a liar, nor am I a cheater," Ms. Constantine wrote in a two-page statement released yesterday that accused the president of Teachers College, Susan Fuhrman, of "blackmail and intimidation."
Release the report, Professor Constantine....
(And—and this has gotten little attention—she allegedly ripped off her own students.)
"These accusations are not believable," Ms. [Barbara] Wallace wrote. "I absolutely believe this is just an attempt to besmear her name and reputation."
Ms. Wallace noted in her letter that she is the only other black female professor with tenure at the school.
The injection of race is predictable, heartbreaking, and entirely unnecessary. Because of course, accusations of plagiarism, a crime that has nothing to do with race, don't have to be taken on faith; people can look at the evidence and decide for themselves.I suspect that for legal reasons Columbia can't release its report on Madonna Constantine—but she could release it herself. (Don't hold your breath.)
"The truth is that I am not a liar, nor am I a cheater," Ms. Constantine wrote in a two-page statement released yesterday that accused the president of Teachers College, Susan Fuhrman, of "blackmail and intimidation."
Release the report, Professor Constantine....
