Academic Research

I let things fall behind a bit here. Been a little busy.

There was something in a section of the local paper that I normally wouldn't have read, but then I saw the word "stripper" and had to take a look. It's a little story about some sociology/women's studies professor writing an academic tome about the life of strippers. I like strippers as much as the next degenerate male, but I came away with a reinforced belief about the lack of fiscal responsibility in higher education. Why? This woman interviewed 37 strippers and "a few bouncers, deejays, waitresses, and club owners, as well as "clients". Let's assume a few equals three of each. That's about 52 people. She's been working on this book for eight years. That less than seven per year. She's working real hard. I wouldn't think much about it if she was working on it a side project, but she's actually had academic grants for five of those years. It doesn't say how much she got, but I find another part illuminating. It mentioned that most of the interviews took place in Lexington, but she went to other cities for "perspective". Did she drive to Louisville or maybe Atlanta? How about Chicago? Bet you can find strippers there. Nope. She went to Hawaii and San Francisco. Am I the only one who thinks she was taking vacations on someone else's dime?

Now, it didn't say what kind of grants she had, so they could have been non-government, but my feelings just the same. That's money that could be used for other, better things. So, when anyone tells me that higher ed doesn't get enough funding, my first thought is that it gets plenty of funding. Unfortunately, it spends it too much of it on stupid things.

On a side note, I wonder if I can get a free lap dance if I say I'm doing "research".