Modern Day Gandhi? I think not.

Racial issues are, unfortunately, still, very visible in today's society, in all shapes and forms. Our current administration has fueled a new uprising of the "white power" mentality that exists in the conscious, or even subconscious, of many.

But I am hard pressed to believe that within the education system, especially in such a forward-thinking, academic area as Boston, MA, a respected professor and recipient of presitigious grants would be denied tenure because he is black.

After two hearty bowls of Chex and a two-year battle to reverse the rejection of his tenure bid, James Sherley, a stem cell researcher at MIT, began a hunger strike yesterday outside the provost's office. While the administration cited outside reasons for the rejection, flat-out denied that the decision was racially motivated, and explained that less than half of junior faculty at MIT have their tenure bids accepted, Sherley is convinced that his continuing status as a junior faculty member has something to do with his skin color.

Now, as much as I respect the guy for the revolutionary work he's done and for his conviction, I am disinclined to believe that race plays a role in this case. However, someone who garners so much respect for his professional work would not normally draw such intimate attention to himself without some sort of motivation. In any case, this whole situation made me very curious, and I'll be sure to follow up when I learn more.

Here's the CNN link.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/06/professor.hunger.strike.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us