The most painful speaker to listen to at the University of Judaism (AJU) speaker series was board chair Dena Schecter.
She tortures the English language.
Why would someone who is such a poor communicator force herself on an unwilling public?
As I wrote so eloquently in April 2003:
Tonight’s program begins 20-minutes late as usual. But what’s most painful each time is the long ponderous pompous speeches before the main speakers. Dena Schechter, dean at University of Judaism, leads out with a five-minute promotion of UJ. But her talks are like nails scratching on a blackboard. She’s a poor public speaker. Her speeches read like they are written by a government bureaucrat. She’s painfully boring and pompous. She will not inspire anyone to attend UJ unless they have fascist bureaucratic tendencies.
What’s particularly painful is that there is no other way to spend your time during her torture sessions. If I had my druthers, I bring in a Sony Walkman and listen to a book on tape but such electronic devices are banned. And you can’t read, because the lights are dimmed.
Dean of Continuing Education Gady Levy is a partial exception to these boring talks. With his thick Persian accent, he injects some humor. Tonight he thanks the nine women working under him for making him happy. No kidding. If I had nine women working under me, I’d be happy too.
If the UJ truly wanted to inspire people to study at its institution, it would have its most eloquent professor give one introductory speech, instead of the ponderous three-person gangbang they use now.
As I wrote so eloquently in April 2004: "UJ dean Dena Schechter (married to former congressman Mel Levine) is unbearable. She praised fellow dean Gady Levy for his "programmatic growth" and "pedagogical abilities.""
Dena Schechter is on page five of this week’s Jewish Journal in the full page ad "Why I am a Democrat."
She writes: "We must also address the information age as both a powerful tool and as a potential threat to the individual."
Gee, I wonder who she’s referring to?
She also writes: "Poverty and injustice still are blights to be eradicated."
Earth to Schechter: Poverty and injustice will never be eradicated.
She writes: "A political agenda that encompasses and furthers repairing the world must be mine. It is a Jewish ethical and moral imperative to pursue justice and a corollary that justice cannot be selective. In a vibrant democracy there must be inclusiveness and so I am a Democrat not because I am a partisan but because I am a patriot."
Oy ve. Didn’t anyone have the balls to edit her?
Here is her self-description from her website mediate.com: "Dena Schechter is a successful problem solver and consensus builder used to dealing with complex issues. Through effective communication and sensitivity to the parties as well as the issues she creates a basis for settlement. Her style is flexible, initially facilitative, but evaluative where necessary and transformative given the appropriate circumstances. Her goal is to have the parties actively participate in the settlement process, thus making the result as mutually rewarding as possible. Her neutrality as a mediator advances the possibility of settlement. Over 100 hours of training in Alternative Dispute Resolution."
If this is effective communication, then please kill me now.
