Kiwi Camara and GMU Law: What Happened Here?
Today's Washington Post has an update on controversial legal scholar Kiwi Camara (at right). Camara, you may recall, is the legal Doogie Howser who was 16 when he entered Harvard Law School. At HLS, he caused an uproar after dropping the N-bomb in a group outline. (That's the Cliffs Notes version; Google him for more.)
From the Post:
Camara, a native Filipino who grew up in Hawaii and enrolled at Harvard Law School at age 16, had been on track to become an assistant professor at George Mason University's law school. But his candidacy was derailed after the law school's dean, Daniel D. Polsby, publicized the possible appointment so he could hear what students had to say before making a final decision.
But Camara's appointment wasn't scuttled because of the town hall meeting. That meeting never took place:
At George Mason's law school, the faculty had authorized Polsby to hire Camara as an assistant professor, but the dean wanted to first see what students, alumni and others thought. He scheduled a town hall meeting for last night, but the meeting was nixed after Camara's application was withdrawn.
Why was Camara's application withdrawn? Did it have anything to do with his controversial past? A tipster tells us no:
It has come to my attention that the derailment of Kiwi Camara's appointment as associate professor at GMU did not occur because of his checkered past. Rather, there appears to be an independent reason, but insiders have refused to reveal what that is. I am not sure if it is worth soliciting info on this from the abovethelaw readership, but I thought I would pass it on to you.
Yes, it is worth soliciting info on this. If you know what REALLY happened with respect to Kiwi Camara and GMU, please email us (subject line: "Kiwi Camara"). Thanks.
P.S. Take a spin through Camara's official website, which is a trifle self-important and/or oddly amusing in places.
Racist Writing as a Teen Haunted GMU Candidate [Washington Post]
K.A.D. Camara [official website]
Kiwi Camara [Wikipedia]
(28) Comments
I am not sure of the circumstances surrounding the one problem he has had but he seems like an incredibly talented legal scholar and unless he is a racist as opposed to someone who once used offensive language, George Mason would be lucky to have someone who ordinarily would have been teaching at a top-ten school.
One incident, should not get someone blacklisted. A series of these type of incidents would be another story.
BTW, I think it is absurd that the Harvard Professor who was trying to make the best of the situation was removed from the class. Compared to Harvard, NYU appears to be a bastion of academic freedom.
That picture of Kiwi continues to be an outstanding accompaniment to anything written about him.
4:03: the debate on whether HLS handled matters appropriately is played (the New Yorker article was the best account, I think).
yes, one incident is enough to get someone blacklisted. it's embarassing (for you) to suggest that there's some discernable difference between being a racist and using racial slurs. the fact that one would ever do the latter is proof positive that they are the former.
Does anyone have a photo of the giant (several feet tall) stuffed animal that Kiwi lugged with him to in-class finals? A full-length color shot of him in his pink-pants glory would be quite spectacular as well.
Anon, you are a moron. He did not call another person a racial slur, he used it in an outline when he was 16. He was 16 and despite being academically gifted was probably considerably immature compared to his classmates. If he was an actual racist, he would have been smart enough not to post it. It seems obvious that he was too immature to realize the offensiveness of his abbreviation.
Quite simply, he messed up. He has apologized. Probably prefusely. No, he should not be blacklisted for that.
This demonstrates just how pc law schools are. This guy used one racial slur in an outline and he may be basically banned from teaching and Derrick Bell's (if you read any of his writing) writing and teaching invokes racism.
Yet, Derrick Bell is a tenured professor and former Dean who gets to defend Hamas in of all places a con. law class while this other guy cannot get a job at George Mason.
Even calling the town hall meeting in the first place is a ludicrous concession to p.c. forces. Camara's scholarship is undoubtedly up to snuff, and the absence of any repeat incidents since the Harvard row should exonerate him.
Positions of influence cannot and should not be reserved only for those with unblemished records. George Mason's faculty would never have approved an offer unless they were sufficiently satisfied that he would succeed at the school.
Self-righteous dogooderism from, of all people, law students should not be allowed to trump true intellect.
Anyone ever think that Kiwi just wasn't ready for prime time and was too immature (and plainly unlikeable) to be a professor?
Actually, 4:32, he used a racial slur to describe the African American plaintiffs challenging a racially restrictive covenant in Shelley v. Kramer. That _is_ "call[ing] another person a racial slur."
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2001/Jan/08/image2/localnews_b.jpg
There is distinction between describing people in a racist abbreviated term in a private outline and calling another student this term. The latter is considerably more offensive, unless we want to start punishing people for thought crimes as well.
4:45: I'm not sure how "private" the outline was...KAD posted it on the internet.
4:45: He also advertised the fact that it contained a racial slur, as I recall. Read up on the facts; as I said, the New Yorker article was good.
Man, this guy gives the rest of us Doogie Howser JDs a bad name.
anon 4:35: unlikeability is not a problem at GMU.
his past and his website make me want to weep for him. but alas, all i can do is laugh. what a puffed up moron.
"thought crimes" are something to consider when hiring a professor. whether he said it to another student or used it in an outline is not the issue -- the issue is that he THINKS it. does a school not have the right not to hire someone who has exhibited racist views?
Wouldn't be surprised if he got a more attractive offer elsewhere.
4:59 - nice
This guy seems like a real jagoff. Enough said, who cares about his pitiful search for an entry level teaching job.
Some conservative freakshow will scoop him up in no time -- Monica Goodling's job will be available soon.
Gallion, as always, OUT!
Having attended GMU, I am not surprised that the faculty authorized the dean to extend him an offer for a tenure-track position, given the law & economics "program" at GMU.
I was a bit surprised by the town hall meeting idea, given that the incident is in the past, and Kiwi has more than established his chops as a legitimate legal scholar. Like 5:19, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a more attractive offer elsewhere, or simply decided to do something else.
Ironically he could have any biglaw job he wanted, while I will be earning $15/hour copying and filing this summer.
dyslexic? in his "bio" page, the photo caption says "r to l" but goes on to list the people from "l to r". he simply could not resist putting his own name first
I thought that GMU was supposed to be the anti-PC law school. You know, the place where PC-hating conservatives would feel confortable. So no, I do not believe that this dude was turned down because of comments on an outline. As GMU 2003 points out, the town hall meeting was an odd endeavor and it seems contrary to normal faculty hiring decisions. The fact that it went that course at all suggests that GMU did not want to hire this kid. I think it probably has to do with factors relating to his overall level of maturity.
I've definitely encountered law professors with pretty clear misogynistic attitudes or behavior. But that seems to get a pass in academia for some reason...
"George Mason would be lucky to have someone who ordinarily would have been teaching at a top-ten school."
Actually, pretty much everyone who teaches as George Mason is someone who has the academic qualifications to teach at a top-ten school, but whose political ideology makes it impossible to get a job at a top-ten school.
i dont think what he did at 16 should haunt him for the rest of his life. his scholarship should be given a premium than stupid things done in the past. we all did stupid stuff, at one point or another, as teenagers.
David:
Excellent picture.
Good work.
First of all, the dumb fuck put a DISCLAIMER regarding his "racially sensitive" remarks on his outline! What a lame piece of shit. Why didn't he just CHANGE the outline, seeing how he was well aware of the derrogatory nature of his remarks. Seriously, a DISCLAIMER?
Second of all, did he ever think that some black students might just look at his outline? (They have blacks at HLS, right?) For fucks sake, when a black person sees someone referring to people of his race as "nigs", they get rightfully pissed.
Thirdly, "nigs" is just lame. He should have used the more entertainting term "jigs".
I'm glad this dumb oriental douche bag is blacklisted. He should do the world a favor and blow his prestigious fucking brains out.
Perhaps some background on Hawaii, where Prof. Camara went to high school, might give us some insight to his thinking. We should note that the African American community (comunities) in Hawaii is quite small and keeps a low profile. Most people's attitudes toward African Americans are shaped not by direct experience, but by media images, some of which are not very flattering.
We should also consider the local culture in Hawaii which percieves itself as racially tolerant despite its racist history, i.e. oppression of the indigenous or Native Hawaiians by white settlers. This colonial oppression continues to this day and the peoples of Hawaii have not fully acknowledged the role that asian settlers have played and coninue to play in this racist history. It is plausible that Mr. Camara has internalized the racist attitudes toward marginalized minorities in Hawaii.
We should also consider the factt that in Hawaii it is common and acceptible to tell ethnic jokes and it is considered bad form to take offense when one's own ethnic group is the butt of a joke.
Complaining about bad treatment might get one labeled as "thin skinned" or "too sensitive." A complainer might be dismissed as jealous of the success other groups. Another tactic is to claim that the complainer is just a newcomer and therefore not familiar with local customs and that the complainer needs to work harder at assimilating.
These accusations are often directed against marginalized groups in Hawaii like filipinos and filipino americans. As the population of these groups grow and move up the socio-economic ladder, they become the scapegoats for all the problems in Hawaii. Ethnic jokes are a way expressing the fear and insecurity, but wrapped in the cloak of the “Aloha Spirit” or whatever.
Locals in Hawaii are often unaware that their brand of ethnic humor is not always embraced by outsiders. Locals surprised when their ethnic jokes are interpreted on the contental US as insensitive racial slurs. Camara is not the first person who has internalized the local culture of Hawaii with all its racial hangups and ran into problems when he expressed them in a more racially charged academic environment where minorities are better organized and able to assert their right to be treated with respect.