E-mailed to James Randi via randi@randi.org.

Previously submitted to Trustees of Washtenaw Community College via
http://www.wccnet.edu/trustees/contact.php

Previously submitted to Governor Jennifer M. Grandholm via
http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995-65331--,00.html

16 February 2004

Dear Trustees of Washtenaw Community College in Ypsilanti, Michigan,

I am writing you as a citizen of Washtenaw County regarding your
offering of extensive courses and certificates in Feng Shui and other
nonsense, as so boldly advertised on the cover of your latest course
catalog. Will you also be offering courses in entrail-reading?

The use of county funds for this purpose is a slap in the face and an
insult to the intelligence of the good citizens of Washtenaw
County. Not one of the faculty teaching this subject knows anything
about the world which is true other than common sense--and if any of
them claim to, I want to see them--or you--apply for and win the
one-million-dollar prize offered by the James Randi Educational
Foundation (http://www.randi.org). Until that time, I will not be
satisfied unless you terminate these classes, refund all tuition fees
paid for them, close the program, and fire all the faculty for
perpetrating fraud against Washtenaw County--or PROVE that the subject
matter is real.

Your own web site
(http://www.wccnet.org/lwl/atoz.php?course=HEC+1115&search_term=200401)
declares regarding Feng Shui: "There is no fixed right or wrong way."
In other words, the authors of the course descriptions have already
acknowledged that there's no reality in Feng Shui! So that option
appears meaningless. You could do more to impress me by winning the
Randi challenge--and it would bring a free million dollars into your
coffers, which surely would help out.

You are perpetrating fraud against the citizens of Washtenaw County,
and I am prepared to say so and keep saying so until you stop it.

Dr Matthew H. Fields
Composer
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Cc: Governor Jennifer M. Grandholm; James Randi



UPDATE 2006 JANUARY 12

They're at it again, though I have complained in letters to the
governor and messages within my web site. The local county college,
Washtenaw Community College, has expanded its offerings in Feng Shui,
now offering a "Feng Shui Certificate Program".

The community colleges have a mandate to help the population become
more industrious and educated in the useful arts.

Here's what Washtenaw Community College's latest missive says about
its certificate program:

      Feng Shui is the Chinese art of analyzing and using
      universal properties (heaven, earth, and human energy)
      to achieve balance and harmony. Upon successful completion
      of this 42-hour program, students can establish a small
      business, work as a Feng Shui consultant, and experience
      personal enhancement in everyday life.

My translation into plain English:

      Feng Shui is a lot of malarky couched in sweet-sounding
      words. Finish this program and you can make a comfortable
      income fleecing the naive.

UPDATE 29 March 2006: 

      No response from Washtenaw Community College, but a course
      catalog with the following cover (I include it as a government
      document not protectable by copyright law, and, should that
      argument not be accepted by a court, I present this cover for
      purposes of criticism protected by the Fair Use doctrine).

      This cover is symptomatic of the fact that Washtenaw Community
      College has systematized fraud. From an initial offering in Feng
      Shui, they have expanded their fraudulent offerings to a Feng
      Shui Certification Program, plus courses in Flower Essence
      Therapy and Chinese Herbal Medicine.