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Just goes to show that brilliance (she was an MIT grad in engineering) does not equal wisdom, peace or knowing right from wrong.

Her own desire to fill her life with "things", her selfish, manipulative lover and her spiritual depravity caught up with her. What a sad end to what could have been a promising life. God help her.

Nobody.....and I mean NOBODY knows how to fuck the system better than a Liberal. But you give that Liberal money and power and a fucking turns into an all out rape.

Unlike Jael, I didn't know Ms. Denton well enough to know exactly why she took her own life. I'm doubtful it was to celebrate Gay Pride, though.

I can see it now, the conspiracy theory that Denton didnt really jump but was thrown off the roof by Pat Robertson (since he claims he can leg press 2,000 pounds due to massive doses of vitamins; either him or Jerry Falwell. Fits in with the 9-11 conspiracy kooks.

When Denton hit the ground did she leave a "dent in" the sidewalk?

I'm trying to muster up pity. I'm trying.

She had a huge impact on the community...not to mention on the sidewalk.

Wow. You folks are true assholes. Take a bow. Douchebags.

Let's now be clear about one thing. The Chancellor's house is not just a residence, but also a space for entertaining academic, community, and potential donors. Conservatives talk a good game about the need for private contributions, but here they are really missing the point. The (Gov.) Reagan-era building had sufficient public space, but the residential space was tiny (one bedroom, no living room) and divided by the public space (you had to cross the public space to use the microscopic laundryroom). Moreover, there was no adjacent yard space that was not accessible to any passers-by. The fence for the "dog run" was also a fence for a private area yard. The house -- a standard ranch-style, wood frame building -- was also around 35 years old, looked its age, and was in need of major renovation. That Denton's arrival package coincided with these renovations was unfortunate, and it's more unfortunate that no one in the system-wise administration was willing to make these points clear.

Further, her sexuality aside, it is far from clear that Denton was a leftist Chancellor, or even particularly liberal on any issues beyond diversity. Her positions on growth, investment, academic focus, and labor relations should have been largely embraced by conservatives. But no, the lesbian was too easy a target.

Creating a academic post for Denton's partner seemed impolitic at the time, only by dent of the genders involved. In fact, this is common practice for academic couples where one or both members of the couple have national reputations. I have read a lot of complaints about the Denton "package", but conservatives are definitely failing to make the case -- should one be made -- that the practice in general should be ended.

Finally, let us not forget that she was an engineer, and rose to national prominence as an engineering researcher and administrator. Engineering departments are hardly the places where one expects to find hotbeds of left-wing radicalism, and there is nothing in her academic career to suggest that she should be so indentified.

Here here, Gabor. Dancing on the barely-cold body of someone you know almost nothing about is truly tasteless. Clearly, her "real residence" was an apartment in S.F., not a piece of UCSC-owned property, and schools usually do things for significant others that would look shady in the "real world." Why is she to blame for her compensation package, while a CEO's hundred-fold compensation is always justified by the free market?

As an engineer, people are likely wrong to assume she was a stereotypical "lefty prof." Ironically, she was labeled as such for questioning the pomposity of another professor – a former Clinton cabinet member to boot! May none of you ever suffer the physical, societal, and mental torment that this poor woman had to endure.

Yes, I know it's "hear, hear." By the way, a more appropriate remembrance of Denton would be to read her body of work, much of it available at http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Denice+Denton. Of course, I doubt that terribly many of the mocking readers have the brainpower necessary to grasp her field, but it would be entertaining to watch you all try.

As a graduate of the UCSC Psychology Department (College 8--1974), I was naturally upset to learn of Dr. Denton's dramatic suicide--a selfish act which adversely affects not only the Banana Slugs, but the entire University Community of America. There is no excuse for suicide--especially over material things. This is just another example of a person living in the spiritual vacuum of a material world who was caught up in a web of self-deceit and secular delusionism. A part of me feels compassion for her plight, and I'm not one to judge another--I have too many faults of my own. But my advice to those who consider following in her footsteps is this: when you you feel compassed about by the minions of the spirit of darkness, and you're peering over the edge of the precipice and feel there is nowhere else to go but over the edge and into the abyss, try Jesus! What do you have to lose?----Dennis ✝ ✟ ✝

The comment by the psych grad reminds me of something from my campfire days:

jesus saves - why don't you?

a sign on a bank

to come out of psych and be able to do only the religious babble drivel, now that could drive me to suicide. really bad psych department if they did not teach you that hypnosis = prayer = spirituality = reverie = revelation = epiphany = all the same shit, if your psych dept. had known anything about brain processing. guess not.

Gloating over a suicide is low, mean, and pathetic.

Nobody's gloating. Denton's suicide put her in the news, which presented an opportunity to shine a light on her activities. All corrupt public figures are fair game; suicide doesn't turn them into saints.

There is a touch and more of gloating on the blog, saddened. dd was a profoundly talented and accomplished woman. i loathe the twisted directions that so-called diversity in academia has taken, and denton and her partner kalonji did more than their part in advancing that radical agenda while doing great things at the same time. it is possible to advance good and bad at the same time, no? for moral, social, economic strength, we need women, lesbians, puerto ricans, american indians, and every other group that is shut out of so many professions like engineering. even having to say that is embarrassment to the country. We should be way past the diversity debate. denton was a pioneer, but unfortunately the agenda for healthy and accomplishment-driven diversity has been hijacked, and she did her part in that. That is another story. On this story, I would encourage my fellow conservatives to understand that they cannot understand the turmoil that led to suicide. Your conclusions about materialism and spiritual depravity just sound judgmental and foolish.

wow, if ignorance is bliss, the author of this article must be on cloud nine...

seriously, your spitting hatred isn't in line with what i assume are your christian values.

jesus said love your enemies, not call them degenerate czarinas.

grow up and start living by the bible or stop calling yourselves christians...you do a disservice to a good religion

Where did I call myself a Christian? I notice libs don't dispute the facts about Denton. They just call me names for drawing attention to them.