Roger’s View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!

Before addressing the official responses to Brendan Pringle’s recent opinion piece on “inclusive excellence” in the Mustang Daily, I’d like to make a personal note to Cal Poly administrators David Conn and Cornel Morton: I would suggest approaching this and any subject in your public comments by arguing the merits of your side of the case, not attacking the student-author in question, as many view this as unnecessarily intimidating, threatening and unprofessional…. Or as they say, ‘pick on someone your own size.’ After all, universities are all about teaching critical thinking, and the collective power of two Vice Presidents coming down in a very personal way against one student seems unfair.

Getting back to the issues, I wonder how many Cal Poly faculty are aware that the program of ‘Inclusive Excellence’ – as applied by other universities following the same AACU approach – views “selectivity” on the part of elite universities as “bad,” and ignores the SAT scores and grade point averages of certain applicants in order to grant admission. I am sure most faculty do not want to offer remedial education, nor do they wish to flunk unprepared students.

Here’s how Cornell Morton and David Conn  spun the Inclusive Excellence discussion in a letter that I could not find on-line and only in the student newspaper hard copy! ( I thought you two would be proud of such a piece?)

Let’s parse one of the bits of illogic used by others in defending this program in the Mustang Daily:

1) …on whether their high schools are wealthy enough to offer AP courses

2) or the advantage of having parents who can afford to pay for SAT coaching.”

These statements border on the absurd. First, many universities ask high schools to send transcripts with the higher grade point averages from AP classes already factored out. Besides, high GPAs are not a problem at culturally disadvantaged schools—quite the opposite. The student with a 4.0 at a poor school might not be as well prepared for college as a student with a 3.0 from a good school. The whole purpose of using a standardized test like the SAT is to control for just that situation. Secondly, SAT coaching does not jump a student’s score from 700 to 1600 and is a much overrated factor, if a factor at all, except to all who are trying to get every last point.

The SAT and the SAT2 (Achievement Tests), like any classroom exams, have been much maligned by those who believe that they are a barrier to entry to whatever they want to do.  Sometimes, you have to pass the test to pass the course. The problem, for those who want to ignore their results, is that these tests are excellent predictors for college performance, which is all they were ever supposed to do. The achievement tests (SAT2) measure many basic skills, like competence in math, science, and English, without which any student would have an impossible time of securing a degree in a quality major.

Here are two links that support the value of the SAT and SAT2 in college admission:

2009 SAT scores National by demographic

Validity of SAT

I do not suppose that we should be developing majors of lower academic caliber for the new arrivals? Doesn’t Cal Poly have enough of those already?

The California Master Plan of higher education was developed to grant admission based on a multi-tiered system: the best and the brightest would have an opportunity to attend a U.C., the next tier was the C.S.U., and for those who still needed to sharpen their skills before trying for the brass ring, there was the community college. Consequently, opening up Cal Poly to accept students who should learn the elementary skills of reading, math and science by first attending a community college is ill-advised.

Cornel and David, we’re all for fair play and diversity, but your comments about “a retreat from a merit system” are too vague. Please give us your explicit promise that you will not deviate from use of GPA and SAT data to meet your goals.

This is a really bad idea. Work harder, Chip.

I think I was ten years old when I received my first rifle and I still own it! It was a nice little 22 caliber Winchester rifle which was not very expensive then or by today’s standards. However, I did very well against the expensive competition rifles in contests. Since then I have loaned it out to some of the neighbors when they wished to take their kids shooting. Shhhh, many of the ‘Moms’ still don’t know! Still, I smile when so many of my liberal female neighbors tell me that they plan to run to my house if ’something bad happens.’

I have always thought that there was risk in the second amendment — the right to bare arms — but I felt there was an even a greater risk and danger to not have it.  I love the story about one of the fears of Imperial Japan on the potential invasion of our country during WWII. They were concerned  that — in America –  there was ‘a gun in every bush.’ Like so many conquerors, felons and brutes, they all prefer safe ’soft’ targets to armed citizens.

So, as I approach the second half of my life, I wanted to extend my membership and become a ‘life member’ of the  National Rifle Association …. not a big dream , but an honorable one.

For me, I was proud to make this donation and ‘bite the bullet’.

Roger Freberg

Tonight Greg Lukianoff is announcing the coming of his new book with F.I.R.E. : ‘Greg’s book will explore how today’s college students are “unlearning liberty,” and discuss what happens to our society when students are taught in a campus environment that is marred by speech codes and censorship. Greg’s book will also cover FIRE’s work on hundreds of cases involving student and faculty rights over the past decade..’

Greg writes the following on the  Huffington post:

“This brings me to my big project for 2010: I’m working on a book highlighting the literally hundreds of cases I’ve worked on involving crazy abuses of student and faculty rights. I intend to demonstrate how campus censorship, far from being a niche concern applicable only to those on campus, is a threat to the functioning of our democracy as a whole.”

Greg discusses this tonight at his alma mater Stanford!

Roger Freberg

One of the many recipes from the site of King Oscar Sardines

Sardines don’t always make it to the top of the culinary list for many people, which I really find amazing. Frankly, they are enormously satisfying as they come in the single serving case! I think it was the ancient Greek traveler and historian Herodotus who observed that people are shaped by the land where they live . So, although we may move and transport ourselves hither and yon, there is something innate — especially of our food — that clearly speaks of home. As strange as this sounds, there is something in the preparation and enjoyment of sardines that speaks to my history.

The King Oscar site is truly a marvel in the consumer products world.  I have visited many sites and this is quite complete and entertaining. They include videos of the history, the products and teach even the proper technique for opening a can of sardines. BTW, Laura has already warned me that when we visit Norway and Scandinavia, it will not be a vacation filled with sardine fishing boats and canneries. Oh, I guess we can fit a few other things in.    The picture above is a few frames from a couple of movies on the site , the two pictures on the left show  the ‘double layer’ of sardines being processed and the second are pictures from the recipe section of a  Lefsa wrap. ( Lefsa is a wonderful soft and tender Norwegian flat bread made with flour and potatoes, eggs, butter and sometimes a little cream.

Another popular company is Crown Prince Seafood is actually a third generation American Company. The small sardines are canned in Scotland.

I have yet to intrigue my daughters with the joy of sardines in olive oil. Allow me to share one attempt. When my eldest was serving in the invasion of Iraq, I thought this might be the best time to get her hooked and I sent her cases! She didn’t eat any, but she did make good use of them! I heard that these ‘gifts’ became ‘the coin of the realm’ to getting things done as there were a lot of men, mostly from Samoa, who also felt this dish ’spoke to them’ of home as well.

So, what foods call to you?

Roger Freberg

PS. I buy my ‘double layer’ of ‘2 layer’ sardines (the BEST!) via Amazon.com

0r try this direct link to  King Oscar Sardines at Amazon.com

First, don’t think I am being critical of the cuisine of Iceland because it does speak to my more sturdy warlike roots. However, I do think the Viking celebration of Thor with ‘Thorramatur’ would rival the strongest cuisine of ancient Sparta. Thorramatur is a meal served during January and February in the ’short’ months of light. This meal consists of various dried meats and Icelandic Vodka.  One interesting brand is Reyka and here’s a link . Lift your glass and say “Skål.” As you might have guessed, there are other vodkas, but I am told that the lowest priced version and the most well known outside of Iceland is enjoyed almost exclusively by ‘alcoholics and the homeless’ ( ‘homeless’ in Iceland does sounds formidable and puts a new spin on the term).

Here are a few of the traditional items served during Thorramatur : putrefied Greenland Shark, the testicles of rams cured with lactic acid, blood pudding, rye bread, seal flippers cured in lactic acid,  wind dried fish and the ever popular sheep’s head. Obviously, this is a meal not for the squeamish.  Tradition held that all of  this be served on wooden planks for four people each  in order to create a ‘country’ feel and friendliness to the meal. I also learned what will ’sell’ Icelandic cuisine to my very Scandinavian wife Laura is ‘Skyr’ — which is a very soft cheese served cold ( are we surprised?) with a topping of sugar and cream and made in Iceland for hundreds of years.

Nowadays, Icelandic cuisine prides itself on the quality of it’s lamb and the innovation of an annual chef’s competition utilizing only the ingredients from Iceland. Of course, for me, they have it all : Icelandic blueberries, thyme, seaweed and mushrooms! For us, the process of ‘fermenting’ fish in its preservation may seem a bit unusual, but not if you recognize that they have been doing this since the 9th century. In addition, smoked meat is an honored tradition and this is where they sold me. They have a smattering of vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, turnips and rutabaga which are often boiled and served along with fish. Be advised, this isn’t a country where a vegan could survive easily.

All in all, Iceland has a very interesting diet, but not exactly for the faint hearted. I do hope to someday visit and become well acquainted. BTW, in my journey, I did find a couple of recipes that although simple in their constructions sound very delicious!

Icelandic Pancakes (or Crepes) with Whipped Cream.

Batter: 3 cups flour, 4 eggs, 3 tbs. butter (melted), 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. vanilla essence, 2 ½ -3 cups milk.

Directions: Separate egg whites and beat until stiff. Mix together all other ingredients and add the egg whites last. Bake paper-thin on a hot cast-iron griddle (about 9 inches in diameter). Spread with preserves, jam or jelly, one tablespoon whipped cream. Fold into triangles. Serve with afternoon coffee or as dessert. (Traditional)

Fried Crullers (Kleinur)

Batter: 4 cups flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. hartshorn (ammonium carbonate), 2 tsp. cardamom, 1/2 cup margarine, 4 1/2 tbs. sugar, 7 tbs. milk, 1 egg.

Directions: Mix together the flour, baking powder, hartshorn and cardamom. Add the margarine, sugar, egg and the milk. Work into a dough. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide and about 3 inches long in a slantwise direction, using a pastry wheel and ruler. Make a slit in the center of each cruller and pull one pointed end through. Lower the crullers, one at a time, into hot fat and fry them until golden brown (deep fat frying). Lift them out and let them drain on a paper towel. Serve hot or cold.

enjoy!

Here is the source of the recipes and a link to more on the wonders of Iceland!

Roger