Word: hominem
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...Kovacevich '99 deftly accomplished just that. Kovacevich founded The Grape Coalition, which campaigned for the return of California table grapes to the Harvard dining halls. Through a virtually single-handed effort, Kovacevich convinced 54 percent of Harvard students to support the return of table grapes despite an ad hominem and platitudinous misinformation campaign by several activist groups. As his success seemed more likely, Kovacevich became Harvard's equivalent of "The Great Satan" among activists...
...officers of PBHA, we have tried over the past year to work more closely with the Assistant Dean than have any other students. The arguments here are not groundless ad hominem attacks, but are based on thorough reflection after many concrete experiences, ranging from program staff management to space planning, fundraising to personnel issues. We do not mean to insult, but a contrived and dishonest congeniality serves no one, least of all the community...
Moreover, the assertion that minority students receive a "totally free ride" is equally ad hominem and groundless in fact. Many minority students arrive at Harvard having already secured outside funding. Having successfully competed for and won national competitions, these students, like other fellowship winners, are a financial boon to their departments as well as to the University. Had Mansfield bothered to inquire which minority students received Harvard funding and which students had outside sources, he would have been forced to acknowledge the groundlessness of this generalization. Based on hasty generalizations and factual inaccuracies, Mansfield's claims are neither interested...
...with Professor Mansfield's public statements. A fearless and robust discussion of affirmative action would feature vigorous disagreements and sustained criticism. Given the variety of perspectives and breadth of political commitments within the Harvard community, this would be welcome indeed. But when disagreements assume the form of ad hominem arguments by tenured faculty toward graduate students' qualifications, the discussion is no longer principled disagreement but, rather, personal attack. Without evidence or credible justification, such accusations amount to little more than ideologically-charged assaults upon individuals within minority groups. The intellectual competence of tenured faculty is virtually unassailable, but as graduate...
...familiar ring. In its partisanship and preference for diatribe over argument, it resembles much of what today passes for scholarship and sometimes art. While a case can be made for preserving the endowments, Hughes' shallow, sneering polemic does it little justice. Indeed, the persistently ad hominem character of his essay only fortifies the impression of an intellectual culture too coarsened to be much worth supporting. Much more than the future of two federal agencies is at stake. STEPHEN H. BALCH, President National Association of Scholars Princeton, New Jersey...