[ the news media says]

Cornel West has no shortage of battles in his path.

First, the Harvard University professor of African-American studies is fighting cancer.

Secondly, he is fighting for his reputation in the wake of a very public dispute with a new university president -- a spat that has rocked Harvard's hallowed halls with talk of racial insensitivity and inflated egos, and questions of where black activism fits into major university agendas.

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