Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mediation, meditation. Whatever

Gotta love the OC Register. I opened the Reg website this morning and read the headline:

UCI wants $8 million for place to meditate

To meditate? Well, OK. So I clicked on the link, and that took me to an article entitled,

UCI wants $8 million for place to mediate

To mediate? Well, that’s very different, isn’t it? And mediation does seem to be a need over there. Meditation? Not so much.

Then I read the story. It was back to “meditate,” I guess. (Or is it “mediate”?):
UC Irvine is proposing an “unmatched” plan to help students of different religious, racial, cultural and political backgrounds to interact more peacefully — construction of an $8 million Center for Awareness, Reflection and Meditation.

The privately and publicly funded center, says a university document, is “among the highest priorities” of (UCI) Chancellor Michael V. Drake, M.D.

“The mission of the center will be to foster contemplation, self-reflection, and quiet thought and, in the process, promote awareness of and conscientious action by discovering common ground and communicating in an open and respectful manner while practicing good citizenship on campus.”
. . .
The planning document says the proposed center would “build on the strong foundation laid and the lessons learned through such programs as the Olive Tree Initiative. Founded in 2007, the Olive Tree Initiative was established by UC Irvine students working closely with Chancellor Drake and Vice Chancellor (Manuel) Gomez to discuss constructively and respectfully conditions and issues in Israel and Palestine.”….
The comments are all that we’ve come to expect from Reg readers. For instance, “chris zierer” says:
You just can’t make stuff like this up! Only with a liberal uh I mean progressive world view could you find a more asinine way to waste private and more importantly public resources!!!!!
“Cheryl” says:
Unbelievable. These people need a job in the “real” world. They have obviously been lost in academia.
Some readers referred to the planned “meditation” center. Others referred to the planned “mediation” center.

I don’t think they know the difference.

And I’m wondering about this Drake fella too.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...