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[wet_blanket]

I agree with MG and Lyndonparker.  Disappointingly, that didn't stop me reading the emails. 

[profreader]

I admit that I was also curious, and read the e-mails. She has a paper posted online which seems to be very recent: "Shakespeare and Dante: Demonic Agency as Literary Theory."

Although I'm in theater, I have to admit there's likely much that I'm not understanding in her work. However, it seems to be written in the same tone as her e-mail; in the last section, "Satanic Magic", she begins referencing Aleister Crowley/the Antichrist/the Beast. It's disturbing.

I know I should look away and not support this kind of publicizing of a personal meltdown ... but I found it fascinating.

[marigolds]

I know I should look away and not support this kind of publicizing of a personal meltdown ... but I found it fascinating.

She is the one who posted the series of emails on her blog, and the last undergraduate we discussed in terms of crazy emails published the emails on her Facebook page.

They're certainly not seeking privacy.  Maybe I'm a jerk, but if they put it out there, I'm not going to feel too bad about reading it. 

[betterslac]

Just came across this and I think some of the speculation here is off base.

From what I have seen, this woman is not crazy. Rather, she is a very conservative Catholic (the references to the Mother of God being real and not a symbol and to the TA who referred to MoG's boobs in particular, along with the freemason and witchcraft stuff).

There was a divide at Yale when I was there (and I assume there still is, given my infrequent viewing of newsletters) between students who go to Thomas More (which is basically the Yale Catholic student center) and tend to be liberal, and those who go to St. Mary's (also on campus) which is a much more traditional and conservative Catholic parish and goes all the way form fairly mainline "smells and bells" liturgy to a hangout for the Opus Dei groupies. I would wager she is part of the latter and feels threatened in her faith both by the very cosmopolitan crowd of grad students at Yale, and the fact that she may not be supported in her conservative beliefs by all members of her larger faith community at Yale. Add to that the general pressures of being a grad student at Yale (which is not always the most supportive of grad students) and you have the recipe for overreaction.

[tenured_feminist]

The people for whom I feel sorry are the faculty and administrators involved in this mess. Having been in one of these situations, I'm guessing that there have been many hours of emergency meetings and many more hours of individual worry and anxiety on their parts before the whole thing got to this point. And if they conclude that they do have to kick her out of the program, they will probably have to go through a full-dress judicial hearing, for which they will have to collect and organize reams of evidence to have any chance of success.