oh, grow up Katie. The reason so many people are commenting is because she’s obviously one player short of a team. The only correct response for anyone in this situation would be to forfeit their title, but to cry foul, even after injecting their academic contributions with the steroids of dishonesy, makes her fair game in my book. The case is clearly a slam dunk; a “hole in one” if you will. I don’t know what her goal was, but I hope it was worth ten minutes in the penalty box. Let’s play ball!

Katie, dear:

Whether you think she was a good prof or not, she has been proven a plagiarist by an outside arbitrator. This is breaking a cardinal rule of scholarship. And, whether she deserved her position or not, she was employed through a social program and hasn’t been shy about calling attention to her race, so I think it’s fair to call her a [self and university-appointed] representative of her race, at least in the eyes of the press and the University community. I doubt she’d disagree. Her behavior has been disgraceful, therefore she’s a disgrace to her race.

I don’t consider her race disgraceful because of what she’s done. But she has disgraced her highly-influential position as a mentor and role model to African American students… I realize the standards are low at Teacher’s College, but you guys really can’t be serious about defending this woman?

@c’51:
Mentor? Who in the h*** said she HAS to be a mentor to all of the Black students? White profs can be mentors too. H*** ALL professors should be MENTORS regardless of RACE. That’s part of the d*** problem. Arguing with you people is simply pointless. Yes, I am defending Dr. C., because I know she is innocent. This whole academic system and this country is twisted when it comes to race and gender. I have heard the comments about Blacks from my family and friends. I do not buy into all of this racist YES racist bull****. NO, I am not being sarcastic, just realistic.

The argument put forth by advocates of social promotion, i.e. the people who Madonna C. so brazenly ripped off, is that students do better with educators from a similar social class/gender/race, especially at the graduate level with networking, recommendations etc. I think it’s a fair assumption. Whatever- Suffice to say that there is an expectation on the part of the people who hired her that she help minority students.

As to her innocence, if you mean the noose, I think she probably did it, but she certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty; but if you can’t accept that she’s a plagiarist, I don’t know what else to tell you. You’re certainly out of the bounds of ‘realistic’ as far as this argument goes.

BTW: You can say hell on this blog if you want. Even shit.

You know she’s innocent? Okay… so who DID write the plagiarized text?

Completely irrespective of her race, gender, or anything else, it’s pretty clear that this wasn’t original work. If you know something that can clear her name, you probably should be a bit more specific than “I know she is innocent.” Otherwise, it just comes across as wishful thinking and/or willful ignorance.

Chad and Katie are the same poster. So obvious. So clear. Just look at the way they “asteriks out” their profanities and the tone and use of language structure. SAME POSTER. And who might that poster be? It’s, quite obviously, “Prof.” Constantine herself, posing as a “white student” to garner sympathy and additional attention. This woman has a mental disorder. Clearly dysfunctional. Amazing stuff to watch happen, huh?

I wish i were a dude and a White dude at that. Perhaps my life would be a lot easier. Screw off, i am Katie not Chad. Chad must be a smart dude though. Well at least he is open minded. PROFESSOR CONSTANTINE IS NOT GUILTY. Why would she need sympathy. She will never get it from some of you White boys even if she is proven innocent and I DO believe she is innocent. I am not really White just Irish(:

I was desperately hoping that this was a parody. People like this little clown make you root for the bully jocks. I can’t believe that this is what the Ivy League is producing. What a pathetic little weenie. Oh, and Katie, calm down little white girl, you sound like a stark raving bitch.

but ‘oh please’ might be on to something. What white girl refers to herself a White girl? Answer: a black girl who is prone to thinking white is a proper noun.

I agree that ‘Oh please’ is probably right. ‘Katie’ blew it with ‘I wish I were a dude’ and ‘not really White just Irish,’ among other things. However, I think our poster is more likely to be our columnist friend Anthony than Ms. Madonna Constantine herself

C’51 is right about everything so far, including point that Katie and Chad are the same person, most likely Anthony “special ed” Kelley. (who posts on ivygate using a first name pseudonym?) I am beyond positive that this woman put that noose on her door just because of her attention seeking behavior and propensity to find incidents of racism (where none exist) in order to advance (or save) her career.

Anthony, that truly was a terrible article. Please do us a favor by a) not being batshit, b) not weakening your argument by first debating about ontological and epistemological truths– ‘What really happened? Can I really KNOW what happened? Who am I?”.

This was just as bad as your “I was too dumb to get into Columbia, but here I am. Oh shit, I got a D at Howard,” entry.

They’re different people. Katie’s dumb ass capitalizes “Black” and “White”, while Chad’s dumb ass does not.

It would be a whole lot easier (and eliminate all this speculation he said she said stuff) if someone would post the articles or passage in question.

TO Ms. Constantine:

One of the most important life lessons we all have to learn as we move through life is: Move on.

When you began work at Teachers College there were many problems at Teachers College and in your department that festered long before your first day. Some were financial. Others included ideological and personality clashes among faculty and a pointless collage of courses that do not prepare students for actual work in their field. The most misleading and deceptive was the “appearance” of an enlightened, mature and evolved staff and curriculum that supposedly reflected this. The problems were several. These problems needed to be resolved from the top down. But, when school leadership and administration do not know how to resolve problems, and do not listen to what needs to be changed to the benefit of all tied to a program or school, things get uglier and can take a turn for the worst.

Perhaps the most important thing you have to share with others is that no matter how many hurdles you jump and how hard you work in any work setting, someone will always conspire against you. This may be due to jealousy, inept, incompetent leadership, a grudge at having you around, or about the game of being in an environment where the rules are constantly changing to the benefit of those who hold the power and the cards. I am sure that in your work toward your credentials that you were told indirectly if not directly that plagiarism is not allowed and could cost one one’s credibility, reputation and career. One’s hard work and sacrifice to get to a certain point could become lost and destroyed. The funny thing is that TC’s supposedly open outward message of diversity does not reflect TC’s actual nature. The old guard has the power and is intent on keeping the power it holds.

Teachers College has a casual concern for development of students into skilled, knowledgeable professionals. Its objective is to stay afloat financially, which is every schools’ objective. Your old department, the Counseling department’s main purpose and point is to be an additional source of revenue for the school. Period. Point blank. Pity for past, present and future students who do not see this at the door. It showed a “tolerance” for “diversity initiatives” provided that some money could be made from them. Again, the point was money. Revenue. You might have come to know this as the years passed and your own eyes opened.

Despite the distress and sheer aggravation in your experience at TC, there is a bright side: you no longer have to deal with the fraud, sabotage, and hypocrisy that is Teachers College. Your eyes are now open. Good for you.

I believe that C’51 and “Dartmouth against plagiarists” are correct, and that “Chad” and “Katie” are both Anthony Kelley. However, I strongly suspect that Madonna Constantine has finally appeared, in the person of “anonymous,” on October 17th, 2009 at 1:48 am. An alternative scenario would be that the commenter is a member of the Madonna Constantine Brigade of racist, lying black students and alumni, however, all MCB posters whom I have so far encountered were semi-literate, and the post in question is both perfectly written, and exactly expresses Constantine’s self-serving story, according to which racist whites have “conspired” against her, and she is a black martyr.

Nicholas Stix