Roel van Leeuwen is one of these people... which one? Any viewers care to take a guess? Bing?
Well, looks like someone didn’t like a little expose of their misogyny, and propensity for bullshitting in the production of their thesis, and I bet even moreso didn’t want people seeing his defense of Joel Hayward and Hans Kupka which claiming “Bolton is a holocaust denier”. Poor, poor, poor Roeltje. And to know that one of your friends tipped us off regarding your livejournal entries must be a real eye opener. Maybe it is time to come clean and admit you followed through and fudged your references and created a dodgy bollocky thesis, and then at least some of your friends may once again respect you.
If not, “watch this space” for the next revelations that come to light about the sad state of affairs that constitute Roel van Leeuwens academic career.
And remember, any female readers out there – go to the University of Waikato, where “academic rigour” involves the male tutors fantasizing about your breasts! Go Waikato!
(Oh, and for the people that email me all confused by my postings – this posting is in reference to the fact that Roeltje has deleted his LiveJournal where he was a braggin’ about being able to baffle his simpleton supervisors and muddled markers with his brilliant bullshit)
Tags: Hans Kupka, Joel Hayward, Roel van Leeuwen, Waikato University
July 16, 2009 at 4:19 am |
Hmmm. Doesn’t surprise me. I have had the unfortunate experience of meeting Roel on many occasions when I was involved with the pagan scene in NZ. He was known widely for his scarcity with the truth, so to see this debacle unfolding in the media is really not surprising. Karma bites.
July 16, 2009 at 7:34 am |
Thanks for the comment Talullah. What I find interesting is the change in attitude at the Waikato Times. I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest news items from Nicola Brennan which confirm the rumour of a second complainant (Mr Graeme Wilson – I am assuming the same person credited by Roel van Leeuwen in the acknowledgments section of the thesis, and noted in several footnotes for making disparaging comments about former members of group he was involved with). Also, it is surprising that Roel van Leeuwen readily admitted he wrote of “thinking” about faking his subject because it was so obscure. Seems he went a bit further than just “thinking” it. I guess he took the Nike approach of “Just Do It”. Funny thing is, another rumour circulating is that his own brother called him a liar and fabricator. Even funnier will be the red faces of his supervisors when the truth is finally revealed, not to mention the supposed eminent scholars who are apparently still saying that the piece of bog roll is a well researched thesis. To rip off a quote I heard the other day, toilet paper is more useful than Roel van Leeuwen’s thesis, as attempting to wipe one’s butt with it may cause paper cuts. So really, it has no redeeming features except to expose the utter rubbish that is passed off as “academic rigour”(tm) at the University of Waikato.
July 17, 2009 at 1:23 am |
Waikato has not fared well in the Chronicle of Higher Education:
http://chronicle.com/news/article/?id=5303
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It would seem that all the news articles are based primarily on the student newspaper article, which gives the impression the thesis hasn’t been read by anyone, and predictably the media has sided with a University student over a “neo-Nazi”. I have started too read through the thesis and am already surprised it would be passed at Masters level, with top marks. The introduction alone leaves a lot to be desired and it makes me wonder just how low the standards of scholarship are in New Zealand Universities.
— Bart Oct 9, 05:18 AM #
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The thesis has been removed while the complaint is being investigated—ie, it is a temporary measure. This seems a sensible response given the risks involved. The alternative is the university paying thousands of dollars to a Holocaust denier, which I expect most of us would not like to see happen. The fault here lies with whoever supervised this student. They should have realized the dangers involved at the outset, sought relevant advice, and advised the student accordingly. This clearly did not happen.
— Bonzer Oct 9, 09:24 AM #
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I was curious about the University of Waikato, so I went to its web site. To my amazement, it has a physical campus. With such low academic integrity, I figured it was a diploma mill. I am all the sadder for this discovery!
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I looked through the thesis two copies of the thesis as available online. If it is genuine and was edited as suggested then I am shocked that the University of Waikato has allowed this to be done after it was passed and the student awarded a Masters degree. The education standards in New Zealand must be incredibly low. After seeing this I don’t think I would be will to hire someone with a degree from a New Zealand University.
— Andy Oct 11, 03:14 AM #
TER, you write “I would welcome anyone to challenge the credibility and academic rigor of one over the other.” — well, check out http://www.freewebs.com/dreamers-of-the-dark/ where Mr. Bolton states the Universities “terms of reference” regarding the thesis. He says that it is “based on 1. procedural issues for the assessment of degrees; 2. legal issues.” If you actually bothered to read the thesis (which is back online) in view of Mr Bolton’s claims I think you will agree there are serious grounds for revocation of the thesis. Ignore Mr Bolton. Ignore the theme of the thesis. Look at the claims for instance regarding Mormonism, which a quick Google search shows has always included Maori in New Zealand, including in the Priesthood. A lot of the main points in this “thesis” are unreferenced. It is only the supporting “evidence” that is referenced. It is therefore hard to see how he makes some of the tenuous claims that he does.