He was undoubtedly the tragic victim of an openly racist attack dog and a baying mainstream media.
However, maintaining that Jason Arday was not guilty of plagiarism is worse than useless. We need the truth about him and, more importantly, the whole neoliberal university system.
There is a general commotion to answer the question, ‘Who killed Jason Arday?’
On one level, this is a bit silly. Though we await confirmation from a coroner or some such authority, it seems abundantly clear that he killed himself. Weeks into a media feeding frenzy, in which public allegations of plagiarism fed into a detailed examination of the spectacular life story he had retailed in his career as a celebrity academic, he had already resigned from his post at Cambridge University, and it had become clear that most of the grandiose claims he had made about his biography were false.
He had not been a non-verbal autist until the age of 11, nor illiterate at 18. He had not played for Crystal Palace, or been a pro snooker player, or run 600 miles in six days, or miraculously recovered from a brain tumour.
There is a general commotion to answer the question, ‘Who killed Jason Arday?’
On one level, this is a bit silly. Though we await confirmation from a coroner or some such authority, it seems abundantly clear that he killed himself. Weeks into a media feeding frenzy, in which public allegations of plagiarism fed into a detailed examination of the spectacular life story he had retailed in his career as a celebrity academic, he had already resigned from his post at Cambridge University, and it had become clear that most of the grandiose claims he had made about his biography were false.
He had not been a non-verbal autist until the age of 11, nor illiterate at 18. He had not played for Crystal Palace, or been a pro snooker player, or run 600 miles in six days, or miraculously recovered from a brain tumour.
Continue @ Weekly Worker.
Simon comments
ReplyDeleteUnverified or contested stories isn't the same as lying.
On 16 June 2010 the Richmond and Twickenham Times, a London newspaper, reported that Arday, an "energetic lecturer", was set to "push his body to the limit by running the London Marathon route every day for 15 days followed by a run from Piccadilly to Teddington and back again for the second part of the challenge."
He was raising money for two charities, Shooting Star Children's Hospice and homeless charity Shelter.
At the time Karen Peffer, Shooting Star’s challenge events fundraiser, said: “Jason is such an amazing person, it is a real privilege to have someone so unique and inspirational fundraising for our charity.
“This has been an exceptional challenge and we are so proud.”
A Your Local Guardian story on 13 August 2010 then reported that the "end is in sight for an energetic lecturer who has nearly reached his target of running 30 marathons in 35 days."
An old friend of Arday's said 'In 2010, I was with Jason on the last of the 30 marathons he ran in 35 days...And these runs were true. He wasn’t an ordinary person. He was extraordinary'.
On 25 August 2010, according to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, Arday completed his marathon "after enduring daily ice baths and a hairline fracture to his leg".
There are many reports and photos of this feat. If he wasn't such a successful super marathon runner maybe the 500/600 miles in 6 days would purely be a thing of fantasy.
Another claim derided online was that Arday played semi-professional football. He played for two semi-professional clubs, Walton and Hersham FC and Lewisham Borough FC. Crystal Palace don't hold records for under-18 players that far back so there's no proof he didn't play for them.
Fellow ex-pupils remember Arday "not speaking and being regularly removed from class for additional support".
Has the author of this piece read Arday's medical records? How does he know he didn't have brain tumours? Many people recover from brain tumours, it's not necessarily "miraculous". 95 out of 100 people (95%) survive their pituitary brain tumour for 10 years or more. Hardly miraculous. The 95% who do survive don't suddenly all keel over at the ten year mark.
No evidence to say the pigs head or the knife stories are untrue.
The writer seems to find humour in writing "Though we await confirmation from a coroner or some such authority, it seems abundantly clear that he killed himself." He uses his undisguised dislike of Arday to colour his writing and conclude conclusively that "most of the grandiose claims he had made about his biography were false."
There were many accusations of lying and plagiarism. Those accusations that can be challenged successfully are the ones where there's evidence to do so. Absence of evidence one way or another is not proof of lying.