Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Trouble At A Texas College

 

Screengrab from Collin College Youtube video

From a reader:

I don’t know if you have seen this, but a former COG member and Ambassador University faculty member, Neil Matkin, is in the news. My niece is at this college and this isn’t the first time Matkin has been in the news at this college.

 

At a Texas Community College, the Attack on Free Speech Is Coming From the Right
BY BRANKO MARCETIC 

Community college professor Michael Phillips spent the past year speaking out against a right-wing “purge” of progressive faculty at his college. Then he was fired.

For the past year, history professor Michael Phillips has been warning about a right-wing “purge” taking place at Collin College, led by administrators angling to remove progressive voices from the Texas school. Then he himself was purged.

 

Further down the article, there is this about Matkin:


Phillips had been clashing with administrators for some time before he was fired. Phillips immediately butted heads with now president H. Neil Matkin when he was a finalist for the position in 2015. Concerned that Matkin had received degrees from an unaccredited college run by the Worldwide Church of God (now known as Grace Communion International) — described by one former adherent as a “white supremacist doomsday cult” that taught that God approved of slavery and wanted white people to rule the world — he recalls confronting Matkin privately, asking him about his attitudes to matters like interracial dating and evolution. 
 
According to Phillips, Matkin got upset. For Matkin’s part, he’d later complain that Phillips had “come to the conclusion the church was racist and that therefore I was racist.” 
 
In 2021, Kera News of North Texas said this concerning issues at Collins College over students begin sent back to class for face to face class in the midst of the pandemic: 


Amid controversies over COVID-19 and fired professors, some blame Collin College's president
Over the past year, several controversies have been swirling around the college system in Collin County, north of Dallas.

Some faculty say morale is low because of continued concerns regarding COVID-19 safety protocols. For a long time, the college didn’t post COVID case counts online. Matkin once wrote that the pandemic’s effects “have been blown utterly out of proportion.” Meanwhile, over the summer, the college’s dean of nursing died from COVID-19 complications.

National organizations have berated the school, blaming Matkin for speech and academic freedom violations. Professors who’ve been fired have sued the college.

Further down this article: 

Tensions began to bubble more than a year ago, after some faculty, like longtime professor Audra Heaslip, wanted the college to consider online-only classes during COVID-19.

“The board of trustees made the decision for the college to go back face-to-face during the pandemic. I did not merely accept that but I questioned it,” Heaslip said. “They told me that I put outside pressure on the college to go completely online, which is not accurate.”

Heaslip was fired. She wasn’t the only one. 
 
There’s history professor Lora Burnett, whose contract wasn’t renewed after she sent a negative tweet about then-Vice President Mike Pence. 
 
Burnett's Twitter post led to complaints from State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican, who tweeted that Burnett should go. He also sent a text message to Matkin asking if Burnett was paid with taxpayer dollars. Matkin responded, saying he would "deal with it."

Burnett said her free speech rights were violated. The school denied the accusation and said it doesn’t talk about personnel issues. 
 
In October, Burnett sued the college. 
 
The school fired another professor, Suzanne Jones, who taught at Collin College for 20 years. She told KERA it was because she questioned the college’s COVID health protocols. Jones, too, has sued the college. 

Matkin then got into trouble for mocking a Jewish member of the faculty by putting a bowl on his own head when talking about the faculty member mocking the yamalka he wore: 

The high-profile firings grabbed the attention of investigative reporter Michael Vasquez. In preparing a story for the Chronicle of Higher Education, he sought out former Collin College employees, and ran into problems. He learned many had signed nondisclosure agreements or NDAs. They’re rare for universities, but not Collin College, Vasquez said. 
 
“There were a number of former employees who I talked to who mentioned, 'You know, sorry, I wish I could talk to you, wish I could dish dirt or whatever, but I signed an NDA and I can’t,'” Vasquez said. “So I don’t have a firm grasp of how many, but I can tell you it’s not three, it’s not five, not seven. It seems like it’s considerably more.” 
 
Vasquez confirmed a story about the time Matkin put a bowl on his head, as if he were wearing a yarmulke. He was impersonating the college’s previous president, who’s Jewish. 
 
Matkin told Vasquez he was "going for a couple of laughs." 

Collin College history professor and writer Michael Phillips was shocked.
“I wonder how comfortable Jewish people feel at this institution where they think a symbol of their faith is a punchline?” Phillips said. 
 
Matkin, who’s not Jewish, told Vasquez he made a mistake, and would never do that again.

 


D - Lets Make Even Better had this to say about Matkin in March of 2021:

At Collin College, a Collision Over Free Speech

Matkin says he was caught off guard by the opposition to aspects of the reopening. “What I underestimated was that there are people who are scared beyond anything that I could imagine,” he says. “And they weren’t wanting to hear somebody talk to them about operating in the new normal. What they wanted to hear was the college is closing. And I didn’t say that. If I had to go back and do it over again, I wouldn’t try to bring logic to an emotional argument as I did.”

At the time, Matkin told faculty members in an email that the effects of the pandemic were “overblown,” and that Texans were “one hundred times more likely” to die in a car crash than from COVID-19. His math was wrong, Matkin now admits, but he stands behind his point that it was possible to mitigate the risks of the virus.

“I think early on it was hard to get good information. I do not believe [the effects of the pandemic] were overblown. In fact, it’s proven to be a worldwide tragedy,” he says now. “There were things that I did say early on that—would I say them today knowing where this thing was headed and what was going on? No. What I was trying to do was calm fears and trying to help, but I wasn’t terribly helpful at that point.”

News reports citing members of her family say that Iris Meda, the Collin College nursing instructor who died in November after contracting COVID-19, first thought she would be teaching online. Matkin disputes this.

“Iris Meda was planning to teach face-to-face nursing classes from the day that she was hired, and she knew that and had been excited about it, according to folks that knew her,” he says.

Matkin says that Meda and others in her classroom were wearing masks, and administrators do not know for certain whether she contracted the virus at Collin College. One of her students did test positive for the virus shortly before she began experiencing symptoms.

“Her death is tragic,” Matkin says. “It’s unfortunately become a symbol for some [faculty members]. My response to them just recently was, ‘Friends, we have a lot of faculty members that pass away for a lot of reasons.’” (In response to calls that the college memorialize Meda, Matkin has suggestedhonoring “all of our fallen colleagues.”)

Matkin attributes his seemingly callous announcement of Meda’s death—deep in an email about other college updates and news around Thanksgiving—to something of a clerical snafu. He intended that another email with more information on Meda, including details on funeral services, would be sent out first. But it was held up while he waited for word from her family, he says. (The Thanksgiving email did not include Meda’s name.)

One of the most damaging articles about Matkin came from The Chronicle of Higher Education. 



‘That Man Makes Me Crazy’ How one president shattered norms, played down Covid-19, and sent his critics packing.

There is a lot more out there about Matkin, almost none of it flattering.

Academic Association Opens Investigation into Collin College over Fired Professors

After four months of stonewalling, Collin College reveals the ‘contacts from legislators’ over Pence critic

Collin College doesn’t renew contract of noted historian, author who was critical of school

Collin College Settles With History Professor Fired Over Tweets

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lot of people who are caught up in their own side's agenda do not realize is that in being the fierce enemies that they are, the left and the right really pretty much mirror each other, but with different rationales supporting censorship. The left wants to censor speech in one way, and the right, much the same, but for their own opposing reasons. The net effect is that whichever side you take, censorship is part of the agenda. It is not as if one party is for freedom of speech, but the other is not. Activists on one side want body cams on police, monitoring all interactions which are part of law enforcement. Activists on the right want cameras in the classrooms of public schools to make sure that children are not being indoctrinated with liberal ideas regarding climate change, sexuality, and critical race theory.

Censorship and authoritarianism are on the upswing as the major parties attempt to control what they cannot if matters are left to the voters. We see this through the ridiculous and previously unthought of laws that blue states and red ones are attempting to enact in order to give their political party a grossly unfair advantage. This is very dangerous in a climate where there is pretty much a 50-50 split between attitudes held by the general public. Neither party is willing to govern from a centrist position which would be equally fair or equally unfair to all. Both sides are perfectly willing to go all the way ahead and strike that match! There are going to be many situations just like what is happening at Collin College, and worse, unless people once again ratchet down the rhetoric and relearn their compromising skills.

Anonymous said...

Armstrongism has always leaned on the conservative side so this is nothing new. Look at the absurdities out of CGI lately. It's shocking that they preach this stuff from the pulpit, especially considering they are so anti-voting.

Just like in the world, COG groups are filled with conservatives and liberals in their congregations, and never the twain shall they meet. One side always keeps their mouths shut because they know they will be treated like dirt by the other. CGI is a prime example of this.

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix said...

Which came first - the chicken or the egg? The British Israelism of Armstrongism was/is racist in nature. The widespread conviction that the United States is modern Israel - that we are God's chosen people obviously plays some role in this mindset. Is it the source of these kinds of attitudes and viewpoints or has it simply encouraged and supported it? If I had to guess, it is probably a little of both. Most of the folks who were/are attracted to the headline, politically conservative messaging of the ACOG's probably were predisposed to this kind of messaging - or, at the very least, more receptive to it than the average Joe. Even so, for people of faith, hearing this stuff from the pulpit is obviously going to have a powerful effect on the sheep - it gives them permission to think this way - gives it legitimacy.

Bottom line, I agree with the first two commentaries recorded for this post about the dangerousness and pervasiveness of this phenomenon. Folks like Neil Matkin are confident in the righteousness of their positions on these issues and are ruthlessly determined that their views prevail. For them, the other side is evil, and all is fair in love and war - the end justifies any means.

Anonymous said...

Eh, sounds like he's refusing the play the globalists' game and the snowflakes are trying to create some sort of outrage to get him cancelled.

Anonymous said...

I think this article is blowing shit out of proportion! Even the ones commenting here act as though the world revolves around them and nobody else has a right to a different opinion!!

Anonymous said...

"..the Worldwide Church of God, described as a “white supremacist doomsday cult

That sums it up neatly

Tonto said...

Just another reason to keep any past association with the WCG in the closet, (even if you had different ideas at the time, or if you have moved past those paradigms of the past).

It is why so many on here have to post as Anonymous, as we now live in an era where ANYTHING you ever did in life, will and can come back to bite you or be used to tar paper you, often times whether it was your fault or not, and regardless if you are a far different person now.

As i understand it, ALL Ambassador degrees are accredited now "ex post facto" , so that accusation against Malkin is unfounded.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 9:22 wrote, "Armstrongism has always leaned on the conservative side so this is nothing new."

It is difficult to fit Armstrongism into either a liberal or conservative model. I would call it a blend or maybe a disarray of liberal and conservative think. The default view seems to be that Armstrongism is conservative. This is encouraged by the fact HWA always spoke pejoratively of liberalism. But what was liberal to HWA was change originating with anyone but himself. He could change theology and this was conservative and constructive, I assume. But if someone else suggested the need for change, that was liberal and egregious. It would be better to term this approach centralized/decentralized rather than liberal/conservative.

So, let me cite some examples of liberalism in the theology of Classical, pre-1995 Armstrongism. Some of this could be adjudged to be "radically" liberal:

1. Following Rabbinic Judaism instead of Biblical Temple-based Judaism.

2. After declaring belief in certain parts of the Law of Moses, observing only select laws within those parts.

3. In the doctrine of "loosing and binding", arrogating the power of this principle to a human and fallible ministry.

4. Altering the Biblical way in which the holy days are kept (Hotels instead of brush arbors for the FOT, for example.)

5. Arrogating to the Armstrongist leadership the right to place God's name in certain locations in contravention to the Biblical decree that God himself placed his name in Jerusalem.

The theme is that Armstrongists liberally interpret the scripture, but once it is interpreted, they meticulously pursue the interpretation with conservative zeal. So, is this a liberal model or a conservative model? I believe we must conclude that it is both.

But when it comes to politics, the liberal-conservative mix of Armstrongist theology is mapped by its adherents into an array of right-wing positions. (Also, many Trumpian positions. The Donald is not a conservative purist - he is a populist autocrat with some right-wing and some left-wing positions.)

The upshot is that it is easy to bandy about the terms liberal and conservative, but often their precise application is a conundrum. As for Neil Matkin, the last time I spoke with him was last century. I don't know anything about his beliefs. I think we yet need a fair presentation of his side of the story.

******** Click on my icon for Disclaimer

Atheist And Republican said...

Anonymous 6:57, if you don't like it here GO AWAY. 🙄

Earl said...

Collin College is doing well and gains high reviews from both students and faculty. If some professor wants to claim Pence has a little demon mouth and should shut it and, more importantly, opposes the opening of the school to live classes (as many colleges did), she seems a good candidate to let go.

My understanding is that back in the day at Ambassador College, Neil was very popular with the students. He is no longer a member of the cogs and seems to have created a good learning environment for most.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:57 pm yes I know anyone who stands for the plain truth, they act like they're the bad guy liberals like to claim tolerance for, but if you don't agree with their ideas, they get mad. This blog is right about many things, but there are still some things the HWA was right about, such as the laws of success.

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix said...

Once again, considering the ramifications of our former association and their potential impact on the present and future, I completely understand the need/desire for anonymity. Because of family members and friends still inside one of the splinters, I began here using a pen name (Miller Jones). Even so, it would make communication in these threads so much easier if everyone would simply employ some kind of moniker or avatar to differentiate themselves from the many other anonymous commentators who regularly post here. It wouldn't take very much imagination or effort to do this, and it would make following conversational threads so much easier to do!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Mr. Hendrix, it would help if people knew who the person speaking is, what your identity is and what you stand for, but I think people should be able to give their honest opinion to whoever they want. I like your posts and I also think you are an excellent writer.

Anonymous said...

Free speech is dead, and nobody on the left cares, until it happens to them.

Anonymous said...

"nobody on the left cares..."

Wrong, Bubba! There has been outright consternation as language in official government publications was systematically transformed to expunge any reference to anthropogenic climate change. Scientists (not the bought and paid for ones) were totally throttled. The voices of those who are sick of history being censored to suppress the truth about minorities' contributions, and the persecution and injustice they endured because "things like that are not patriotic" have also been suppressed. And, these are truths which should not even be political, but have been made into dog whistles to pander to white nationalists. Real incisive reporting which proves damaging to the right is labeled as "fake news", and hard right politicians and talking heads rail against the fact-checking to which their disinformation is subjected.

The only impingement against so-called free speech with which the right must deal is that they get cancelled for using nasty ethnic terms such as the "N" word, and they aren't allowed to make fun of the LGBTQ+ community! And that's stuff that your Mama tried to teach you that you shouldn't do anyway!

G the RBOB4HWA said...

Miller/Hendrix wrote:
"Once again, considering the ramifications of our former association and their potential impact on the present and future, I completely understand the need/desire for anonymity"
and:
" Even so, it would make communication in these threads so much easier if everyone would simply employ some kind of moniker or avatar to differentiate themselves from the many other anonymous commentators who regularly post here. It wouldn't take very much imagination or effort to do this, and it would make following conversational threads so much easier to do!"

Out of respect to you and others of similar wisdom, I will again give what you requested a try.
However, I believe doing so is extremely risky.
Obviously, I lack wisdom and do live too dangerously.
I kinda like it because it's an insult to my COG overlords, yet I'm very scared.
Last week, Dennis wrote that he knew who some of the anonymous posters are.
I could be completely wrong, but I challenged Dennis with my thought that his comment was a threat to out the anonymous.
Dennis did not respond directly to that comment, so my premises remains inconclusive.
I realize it is not hard to use clues and technology to figure out the identity of anonymous posters.
Nevertheless, I'm honoring your request.

Tonto: thanks for your comment - you stated, very well, one of the reasons for posting anonymously that has not received much play on this blog.
Solidarity with all who must be masked!

Anonymous said...

Who really cares who the anonymi are? Unless they show up at your home with their gun and Bible. There are things to love about the anonymous ones. Like that there's no such thing as an ad hominem attack on an anonymous poster.