MUM Student Petition

When I went to college (Berkeley and UCLA in the early 60s) it was still Parsons College back there in Fairfield. In college we were taught, among other things, to think about and question the assumptions concerning the material presented. Not to simply take in what's given as "divinely inspired from on high". From what I gather, much of what's presented at MIU these days (I could never wrap my surviving brain cells around "MUM") is not how to think but what to believe. I'm referring to all the lifestyle do's and don'ts that a student encounters there, among other philosophical and "theological" givens. Questioning all that is very strongly discouraged, sad to say. Don't get me wrong; I've been a TMer almost 50 years and revere Maharishi beyond what words can express and how it's enriched my life. But there's the teaching, and then there's the movement. And I think MIU would attract more intelligent, energetic and capable students if it would ramp down the movement dialectic and offer a rigorous, challenging and rewarding academic curriculum that one could really bite into. There, that's my two cents worth.

I grew up attending MSAE from 1st to 7th grade and I agree with all of these issues. It's the reason I had to switch to public school (which was terrible, but a better alternative at the time). This is so needed.

I don't agree with everything in the petition but I can see that many changes are necessary and therefore support the overall discussion.

I graduated in 2014 and these exact issues were raised and ignored before. The shift of consciousness needs to come from the school in being more relaxed and open.

I have never attend MUM,but I have had many friends that have attend.I have always felt that MUM was very pushy about what students did or did not do.I think it's about time for people attending this college to be able to run they're on life.

I went to the school from 1978-1981. I wholeheartedly agree with this petition

I am an undergraduate and I hope this petition actually works for once

MUM is a very different school from the MIU I attended. There were pros and cons even then, of course, but it was a fantastic experience, and the academics were strong! It was a wonderful "low stress" way to get a true liberal arts education, from some great teachers with real chops in their fields. In our private MIU Facebook group, it appears universal that we appreciated our education and our teachers and much about the experience. Even those people who are now outside of, and skittish of the Movement. My daughter went for a trimester, and by-and-large, I felt like her college fund had been robbed. Like the current students, I have lots of opinions about the school.

It's unfortunate I feel I need to keep my name anonymous, for the fear of be internally and unspokenly "black listed" from MUM and the TM Movement. I know I'm not the only one who feels dis-empowered to even consider speaking openly about my student experience and my perception. This alone speaks for itself. Though we need to be grateful for where we are today, as they say in the scientific world, "Science advances one death at a time (scientist death), so will MUM. i.e. MUM will advance when the current older (1st generation) administration continues to age and pass onto another life.

I think you should be able to get more than 100 signatures.

Being in the Film Program on campus, I am understanding that my education truly is what I make it. And I am truly interested in all of the consciousness and spiritual-based learnings that the university offers. With that said, at times it feels like the only part of consciousness that has remained in my class is the Meditation, and I feel I am not given enough time to explore the research of consciousness on my own. I'd like to see the film program adopt a more consciousness-integrated curriculum, that really guides us to make conscious films. While the faculty has made strong efforts, I do believe it can be much much stronger.

I agree with every word. I didn't graduate from MUM for some of the reasons outlined here.

Yes!

I love MIU....but then I also always did my own thing....These students also love MIU - they just want their spiritual experience and especially their college experience to be more OPEN AND FUN......College is a place to discover yourself and your preferences not to be "spoon fed".............TM and the TM movement offer so much goodness and spiritual revelation....BUT IN COLLEGE....they need to just OFFER... AND NOT DEMAND......TM movement just needs to relax and BE MAHARISHI instead "teaching" Maharishi... PS. or MIU should just accept students that are deeply involved in TM and the movement....and find college a secondary goal.

A few more comments: For many years, MUM had 'automatic students' in the form of TM teachers, and then their children. Now that this is no longer the case, MUM is getting a handle on what our whole country and world need to get a handle on - the relationship of science, and religion, and spirituality. I've found MUM profs pretty smart. One of them reminded me a few weeks ago: "Define terms." And MUM (and the Movement) needs to clearly define those three terms (not in a parochial memorized definitions, but as flexible working definitions). Otherwise, science, religion, and spirituality, and communication about them, get mixed up. Their definitions and relationships need to be sufficiently clear among most people involved. Venturing to bring in Maharishi, he said that periods of religion and science alternate over the millennia, and that truth and knowledge and more evolved experience gradually reduce during periods of religion, and relatively quickly increase during periods of science. We're in a period now that science is replacing religion as the dominant paradigm or collective personality. Religion will still be there, but not as dominant. Faith dominance will give way to the scientific attitude and method but faith can never go away. Due to the observer changing the observed in quantum mechanics, even science can be seen as a form of faith and subjectivity, or involving them. In his Gita (if you don't mind), Maharishi said faith is required to gain higher states of consciousness - faith in God, faith in the teacher, and faith in oneself. That is true in general of success in life, experienced by everyone in different ways. Faith in oneself means one can think on one's own, and take one's own creative initiative, not just do what one is told. Maharishi used to say, "Don't be anyone's most obedient servant !" and "Don't go by others' opinions." Both the Self/oneself and respect for others and teachers are needed, and balance is needed between t

What is said above.

This is consistent with my experience as a former (MIU) student. I feel that improvement on many levels is needed and is achievable.

I agree with many of these points, not because I am against the movement in any way, but because these things need to be recognized and acknowledged by administration if they'd like to see more growth and retention with incoming undergrads. I'm grateful for my experience here, but many of these points have negatively affected the overall quality of my experience, which is unfortunate. Nonetheless, this town holds great potential for helping people find their purpose and ultimately, themselves.

10 years ago Featured

As a MFA Film student, I expected to come to a David Lynch program, a man all about no censorship, and have received a lot of push back in regards to my art. I give the program a C-

Heck yes, and this school has demonstrated some extreme sexism against women.