Hipster Professor Stephen Collis
School has now ended, and many new graduates are still working on the choice of which university they will attend this fall. Well, let me help you out with this one- if you are planning to get a degree in English, let me recommend that it may be a good choice to avoid SFU. At least, if Professor Stephen Collis is any indication of their teaching quality…
Collis is one nutty professor- and, not the good kind. He’s a radical left-wing crazy who sees the world through red tinted glasses. If you want to see some evidence of this, read his latest article in the Occupy Vancouver Voice titled- Is That A Kick Me Sign On Your Back?
In his article Stephen’s argument uses logical fallacy saying that because two of the people who the police arrested at last week’s Casseroles march were women, and one was a woman of colour, that the police were specificity being racist and targeting women. Not very impressive for an English professor. As I said, avoid going to SFU if you plan on getting an English degree. (probably avoid an English degree altogether, it won’t help you find a job)
Here’s a really rich quote from his article:
“Two arrests occurred at the VAG: both were of men trying to support the woman (the only woman of colour present) who a police officer had physically accosted”
You see what I mean about not getting an SFU English degree? Do you really want to learn English from a man who can’t recognize the difference between “supporting” someone who was being arrested, and “interfering with an arrest”? Come on, Stephen, you are being so transparent here you are opaque!
And, now, for Professor Collis’ next gap in logic:
“The detachment assigned to the demonstration Wednesday night was apparently led by Sgt. Ken Athans, a crowd control specialist, who recently returned from a trip to Montreal, where, it has been revealed, he was observing “strategies the Montreal Police are using” in dealing with student protests. Sgt. Athans was seen to direct the police tactics first hand on Wednesday night, and it was Sgt. Athans himself who led the officers in their targeted and intentionally provocative arrests of women that night.”
What a load of crap Stephen! Athans went to Montreal to learn about dealing with large-scale protests- something that last week’s Montreal Casseroles march was not. We’re talking about 20 people here Stephen, not 250,000! And, according to the words of one of the arrestees, some people went with the intention of making things difficult for the police. The only people being intentionally provocative were the demonstrators. I saw the videos too…
There are only two things Stephen got write in his article:
1.) Yes, indeed, if you are planning to paralyse the city’s traffic, you will need more than 20 demonstrators. First, it is entirely selfish for a group of 20 people to think it is okay to do that. But, more important, you are guaranteed to lose.
2.) He’s also right that, if you are to have a successful demonstration, you need a message that the people can grasp on to. Posting a copy of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms on your back, and ignoring the word ‘peaceful’ on it just won’t work.
So, to those English students who may still be considering taking-up home at SFU this fall- take my advice, go to UBC. Otherwise, you may end up as dumb as Stephen Collis…
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11 comments
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I think you mean right instead of write Greg…..Unless you are being
jocose – humorous – jocular – waggish – comic – funny .In which case I apologise.Enjoying your blog ,keep up the good work.
Author
That was a genuine mistake- I should have gone to SFU! lol
Thanks for the correction…
lol all the best.
he’s an english teacher.. don’t they teach you have to write fiction?
Author
Well, if you are going to SFU to study writing fiction- Stephen Collis is definitely your man!
If they wanted to weird out the police, they could read the bible, or something else peacefully surreal. I don’t get why they are so aggressive, and I don’t get why people in positions of public trust, like University Professors, would countenance this sort of behavior.
Author
Perhaps they could torture the police with some Vogon poetry! Or, even better, one of Collis’ poems!
http://occupyvancouvermedia.com/2012/06/28/poem-for-casserole-arrestees/
Collis is a fantastic prof.
Author
That’s good to hear, because he’s a crappy reporter!
By fantastic prof, do you mean well-liked by undergrads who are assured good marks for repeating political talking points? They have a few of those at every University.
I won’t speak for S, but I would also classify Stephen as a fantastic prof for being one who is consistently prepared, and who creates an engaging, welcoming atmosphere in every class. While he often spoke about politics, and, as most who do, has opinions on political subjects, I never felt pushed towards one political viewpoint while attending his classes. This article is really hurtful and unfair towards both him and SFU as an institution.
A written piece of work, such as Stephen’s referenced here, does not define a person, and certainly does not define the place that the person teaches at. Of course, I am an SFU English major, so this writing may be scoured-over for minute spelling or grammatical errors to prove this article correct. But, I digress. Perhaps it’s futile in this setting, but I feel this accomplished teacher deserves defense, at least for being an important part of my education by being skilled at what he does.