Geoffrey Miller Fat Tweet Follow Up: UNM Prof Claims ‘Social Experiment’
Professor Geoffrey Miller of UNM is visiting NYU this summer, but he embarrassed both universities this week with a rapidly deleted tweet mocking obese grad students and insinuating that he judged students’ work on their appearance as well as the work itself — a comment that got the evolutionary psychology academic roundly mocked on Twitter and chastised by fellow academics.
In the aftermath, New York University and the University of New Mexico released statements about Geoffrey Miller’s tweet, and the professor himself made the outlandish and seemingly immediately dismissible claim that his publicly stated anti-fat views were part of a “social experiment.”
Sound familiar? Miller’s “social experiment” claim is one that’s frequently trotted out when an individual is caught engaging in terrible behavior on social media. One might think the professor’s excuse is a bit ill thought out — after all, if he was fully aware of what he had said and the implications, would he have immediately deleted the tweet and apologized?
And if not, how well considered could his social experiment really be? Could it actually be plausible he planned to say he does not respect obese grad students without having considered that such a public admission could place both the man and the institutions with which he’s affiliated in a dicey legal spot?
Geoffrey Miller wants you to think so. As for NYU? The University said in a statement:
“What Geoffrey Miller, a University of New Mexico professor who is a visiting professor at NYU, saidon Sunday on his personal Twitter account was regrettable. Professor Miller apologized for the Tweet and deleted it. NYU considers the matter closed.”
UNM is a bit less publicly accepting of Geoffrey Miller’s fat shaming tweet, and the institution responded with a more in-depth statement, beginning:
“The University of New Mexico administration and faculty were surprised by Dr. Geoffrey Miller’s tweet. We are deeply concerned about the impact of the statement, which in no way reflects the policies or admission standards of UNM. We are investigating every aspect of this incident and will take appropriate action.”
The statement continues:
“When UNM’s Department chair learned of the tweet, she contacted Professor Miller, who is currently on unpaid leave from UNM while at NYU. He told her that his comment on Twitter was part of a research project. We are looking into the validity of this assertion, and will take appropriate measures. As members of the UNM community, we are all responsible for demonstrating good judgment when using social media or other communications vehicles.”
It should be noted that while the word “discriminatory” is used in the YouTube video itself, the link itself describes Miller’s comments as “provocative.” A provocative statement is one thing, but potential evidence that students spending tens of thousands of dollars on a graduate degree are being deliberately held back academically due to their “hotness” is another animal entirely and one that should not be tolerated in any worthwhile institute of higher learning.
(A recent Wired profile of Miller gives some insight into what may be his frame of mind, quoting the professor:
“Today’s dating scene has become an experiment in competing strategies. Science-minded singles have new levels of self-consciousness — not just as people, but as fitness displayers, mate choosers, gene replicators and social primates. People are locked in an arms race of male sexual-escalation tactics versus female commitment-escalation tactics. ”
Sigh.)
If it’s found that Geoffrey Miller’s “research project” claim does not bear out, one might think there should be some consequences for essentially saying that a student who happens to be overweight won’t be judged by the same criteria academically as a thin counterpart with the same or lesser quality of work.
Do you think Geoffrey Miller should be disciplined at work for such an insinuation, not to mind insulting much of the schools’ student bodies?
