The National Association of Scholars (NAS) created a toolkit for helping citizens track legislation promoting civics education in their K-12 and postsecondary schools.The <a href="https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/tracking-american-civics-legislation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Civics Bill Tracker</a> is a project of the association&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/nas-announces-the-civics-alliance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Civics Alliance</a>, a group of scholars and activists &ldquo;dedicated to defending and restoring true civics education across the United States.&rdquo; As of April 9, the National Association of Scholars is tracking four federal bills and 142 state bills as they move through the legislatures.&nbsp;Members of the public can access a <a href="https://www.nas.org/storage/app/media/New%20Documents/civics-proposed-bills-april-12-2021.xlsx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chart of the Bills spreadsheet</a> including each bill&rsquo;s goals, sponsors, and current status, as well as analysis from National Association of Scholars experts.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17195" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Marco Rubio targets Confucius Institutes with new bill]</a>For instance, NAS is tracking <a href="https://legiscan.com/NH/text/HB319/2021">House Bill 319</a> in New Hampshire, which would require university and community college students in the state&rsquo;s higher education system &ldquo;to pass the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services civics naturalization test.&rdquo; The bill is sponsored by six Republicans and one Democrat.&nbsp;<a href="https://legiscan.com/NJ/text/S2012/2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senate Bill 2012</a> in New Jersey, which is sponsored by a lone Democrat, &ldquo;appropriates total of $160,000 from General Fund to Rutgers University-Camden and Rutgers University-Newark to establish Civic Leadership Summer Program.&rdquo;&nbsp;Campus Reform has reported on the advance of similar bills in Republican-dominated legislatures. Many exist to counter the historically dubious claims of the 1619 Project and the ideas of critical race theory and intersectionality.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Iowa bill targets colleges that teach New York Times&#39; &#39;racist&#39; and &#39;historically inaccurate&#39; 1619 Project]</a>National Association of Scholars Director of Research David Randall told Campus Reform that &ldquo;civics education is under serious threat from Action Civics, which would replace traditional civics education with thinly disguised community organization &mdash; progressive propaganda and vocational training in radical action.&rdquo;&ldquo;The information will allow citizens to get in touch with their own state representatives and convey informed opinion on the legislation under consideration,&rdquo; he added.Campus Reform reached out to the National Association of Scholars for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Civics education is under threat from "progressive propaganda and vocational training in radical action," said National Association of Scholars Director of Research David Randall.

Does your state have a bill to improve civics education?

Multiple universities are extending the deadline for dropping courses to the last day of classes.In a <a href="https://statements.cornell.edu/2021/20210413-students-supporting-student-mental-health.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letter</a> to the student body, Cornell University announced that students may &ldquo;drop a course without&nbsp;a W through the last day of instruction&rdquo; on May 14. This policy applies to full-semester and half-semester classes.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17185" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Theology prof: &#39;Dear God, please help me to hate White people&#39;]</a>University officials attributed the change in policy to the recent death of a student and the &ldquo;intersecting stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including xenophobia, health disparities, national reckonings related to racial injustice, political upheaval, and economic downturn.&rdquo; &nbsp;&ldquo;We recognize the impact of these acute and cumulative stressors on one&rsquo;s body, mind, and emotions and that each of you are navigating them through your own ways of coping,&rdquo; wrote Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Lisa Nishii on April 13, &ldquo;While it is both normal and understandable to have difficulty managing academics when concentration, memory, and sleep are compromised, we also know that some of you rely on your academic pursuits to provide a sense of structure and predictability in these uncertain times.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17079" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: ASU dean writes book alleging that grading students&rsquo; writing is &#39;white supremacy&#39;]</a>The new grading policy was instituted to benefit students who feel &ldquo;overwhelmed, utterly exhausted, and need more space to process their emotions and grieve.&rdquo;Weeks earlier, the University of Illinois <a href="https://publish.illinois.edu/englishadvising/2021/02/11/spring-2021-academic-policy-changes-new-drop-deadline-and-covid-grades/#sthash.MXGWZXpm.dpbs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unveiled</a> a similar policy.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16874" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA, fourth best public college in US, lowers academic standards for two more years]</a>On Feb. 11, the school announced that the drop deadline would be extended to the last day of the class in question. If students drop a course by this deadline, it is &quot;erased from your official transcript.&quot;The University of Virginia, for example, <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16874" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">extended</a> its test-optional admissions policy for two more years.Campus Reform reached out to Cornell University and the University of Illinois for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

These announcements come as leading universities across the United States trend toward relaxing their academic standards in response to COVID-19.

Ivy League university moves to allow students to drop classes on LAST DAY

A Johns Hopkins University medical professor said that closed schools are an &ldquo;American disgrace.&rdquo;Dr. <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/1565/martin-a-makary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marty Makary</a> &mdash; a professor at Johns Hopkins University&rsquo;s prestigious School of Medicine and a Fox News contributor &mdash; said during an interview with &ldquo;Coffee With Closers&rdquo; ripped public health officials&rsquo; response to the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WgEiYVbTuRw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>During the interview, Makary explained his thinking on herd immunity and his correct prediction that the United States would see a slowing of COVID-19 infections by April of 2021.&ldquo;What we&rsquo;re seeing is a divergence in the data right now. You&rsquo;re going to see two pandemics &mdash; one among at-risk people and the other is among young people who are healthy,&rdquo; he said. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17037"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17037" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Race-based COVID vaccine distribution is needed, profs say, because US is racist]</a>Makary also challenged Dr. Fauci&rsquo;s representation of herd immunity.&ldquo;When people say we need to vaccinate 70-85% of the population in order to reach herd immunity &mdash; which is a quote you&rsquo;ll hear again and again, especially coming from Dr. Fauci &mdash; that&rsquo;s not true,&rdquo; he remarked. &ldquo;Because half the country has natural immunity from prior infection. And some doctors &mdash; especially the old school doctors &mdash; have dismissed that.&rdquo;Makary was particularly critical of medical officials&rsquo; decisions to close schools and slammed groupthink in the medical community. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16952"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16952" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Students sue UT-Austin over COVID-era tuition]</a>&ldquo;Why do adults get their bowling alleys and restaurants, but kids are shut out of their livelihoods?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an American disgrace. And I think what we&rsquo;ve lost a little bit in the medical profession is to speak your mind. Too many people are worried about what folks are gonna think of you.&rdquo;Noting that self-harm claims among children have risen several hundred percent since the beginning of the pandemic, Makary said that &ldquo;from a medical standpoint, from a public health standpoint, kids need to be in school.&rdquo;Campus Reform recently reported that the editorial team of a student newspaper at Johns Hopkins retracted an article featuring a university study claiming that COVID-19 did not significantly increase the death rate in 2020. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16463"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16463" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Johns Hopkins newspaper removes study examining COVID death rate]</a>One editor said that the article was being used to spread &ldquo;dangerous inaccuracies&rdquo; online.Campus Reform reached out to Makary for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Zeisloft</a> on twitter.

He denounced officials’ decisions to close down schools and pointed out groupthink in the medical community.

Johns Hopkins doctor: Closed schools are an ‘American disgrace’

A Louisiana state lawmaker introduced a bill to ban schools from teaching the &ldquo;divisive concepts&rdquo; of critical race theory at state-funded schools.&nbsp;State Rep. Ray Garofalo (R-LA) filed the <a href="http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1211990" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">legislation</a>, which addresses &ldquo;certain concepts related to race and sex in elementary and secondary schools and postsecondary education institutions,&quot; on April 2.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17195" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Marco Rubio targets Confucius Institutes with new bill]</a>The bill bans a litany of &ldquo;divisive concepts,&rdquo; including the notions that &ldquo;one race or sex is inherently superior or inferior to another race or sex,&rdquo; that &ldquo;an individual should be discriminated against, favored, or receive differential treatment solely or partly because of the individual&#39;s race or sex,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;an individual, by virtue of the individual&#39;s race or sex, bears responsibility or is to be held accountable for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.&rdquo;Furthermore, teachers are disallowed from teaching that meritocracy or capitalism inherently originate with any particular race or sex. Educators are not to state that &ldquo;the concepts of capitalism, free markets, or working for a private party in exchange for wages are racist and sexist or oppress a given race or sex.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Iowa bill targets colleges that teach New York Times&#39; &#39;racist&#39; and &#39;historically inaccurate&#39; 1619 Project]</a>The legislation would also stop teachers from alleging that &ldquo;either the United States of America or the state of Louisiana is fundamentally, institutionally, or systemically racist or sexist.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rep. Garofalo&rsquo;s bill would apply to public postsecondary institutions and nonpublic postsecondary institutions that receive state funds. Lawmakers across the country are making similar proposals following the growing popularity of critical race theory and so-called &ldquo;diversity, equity, and inclusion&rdquo; trainings.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16254" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: University of Oregon promises to ignore Trump&#39;s critical race theory executive order]</a>Most recently, Iowa legislators proposed a bill that would defund any school forwarding the tenets of Nikole Hannah-Jones&rsquo; 1619 Project.Many such pieces of legislation stem from President Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,&rdquo; which barred federal agencies from instituting or funding diversity trainings that taught false narratives about race, sex, or the United States.&nbsp;Campus Reform reached out to Rep. Garofalo for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Other states are enacting similar proposals in the mold of President Trump’s 2020 executive order.

Louisiana introduces bill to ban teaching of Critical Race Theory topics like 'institutional racism'

In an essay <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/op-ed-give-californias-college-students-vaccine-priority-without-it-fall-campus-life-is-in-danger/ar-BB1dN7FQ">published</a> in the Los Angeles Times, two UCLA deans argued that <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">California&rsquo;s college students should have priority in getting the Covid-19 vaccine.Law school dean Jennifer Mnookin and music school dean Eileen Strempel argued that California&rsquo;s college students should have priority in getting the Covid-19 vaccine.&ldquo;Faculty, staff and students need to be given access to the vaccine sooner rather than later so that a full university life can resume in the fall,&rdquo; they wrote, recommending that &ldquo;students must also be part of the vaccine equation by summer.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17305" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UK universities could end up paying students back for services not provided during COVID]</a>Mnookin and Strempel do not think students necessarily need to be in line in front of the elderly, front-line workers, and those with an elevated health risk, but that the negative impacts of Covid-19 on college campuses provide enough reason to vaccinate them as soon as possible.The video conference teaching model does not, they said, allow for the usual &ldquo;high-density spaces where students and faculty interact inside and outside classrooms, laboratories, dorms and practice rooms.&rdquo; And the current &ldquo;low-density&rdquo; campus model &ldquo;cannot be the hub of intellectual intensity, the powerful collective place of invention and inquiry, nor fully inhabit its proven role as an engine of educational and economic activity.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17375" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: New &#39;G&#39; grading policy will allow Pitt professors to pass students who don&#39;t complete coursework by end of semester]</a>Online teaching has also been harder on minority communities than others, they said, arguing that the &quot;digital divide&quot; has become apparent throughout Covid-19, and will be more so if online learning continues.&nbsp;And they hope returning students to campus will reverse &quot;the estimated COVID-19 related economic losses through the end of 2020 (excluding the health system) topped $400 million.&quot;Neither Strempel or Mnookin responded when asked for further clarification on the op-ed.Follow the author of this article:&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/profile?pid=6097034" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Addison Pummill</a>

The professors argued that the Zoom classroom does not allow for much interaction.

UCLA deans call for vaccine priority for California college students

Skidmore College in New York will <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/22/skidmore-college-says-progressive-zionists-for-peace-can-form-trial-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">allow</a>&nbsp;a student group called the &quot;Progressive Zionists for Peace&quot; to undergo a trial period as a student group on campus, reversing its previous <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/15/skidmore-college-students-denied-trial-period-for-progressive-zionists-for-peace-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">decision</a> not to recognize the pro-Israel group as an official club until it gained &quot;more diverse perspectives.&quot;&nbsp;As first reported by <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/15/skidmore-college-students-denied-trial-period-for-progressive-zionists-for-peace-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Algemeiner</a>&nbsp;on March 15, the <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Club Affairs Committee of the Student Government Association (SGA) at Skidmore College denied the group&rsquo;s application for trial status in March because of concerns &ldquo;that a dialogue focused club with one perspective being conveyed could be troublesome.&quot;The students could reapply to become a club, according to student government senator Sarah Baker, after they made efforts to gain &ldquo;more diverse perspectives&rdquo; or &quot;reframe the mission to be more advocate focused with a specific stance.&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16616" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Banning Israeli hummus and more anti-Semitic acts in 2020]</a>Progressive Zionists for Peace founder Nessa Goldhirsch Brown told <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/15/skidmore-college-students-denied-trial-period-for-progressive-zionists-for-peace-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Algemeiner</a> that she hoped to recruit &ldquo;pro-Israel, pro-peace students to organize to act together on behalf of a two-state solution and a more peaceful, secure, and democratic future for both Israelis and Palestinians.&quot;They were motivated, she said, by the Student Government Association&#39;s previously granting trial status to the Students for Justice in Palestine in New York.&nbsp;Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in New York City is a student group that <a href="https://nycsjp.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">describes itself as</a> &ldquo;a diverse group of students and community members in New York City organized on democratic principles to fulfill our role as solidarity organizers against U.S. imperialism and Zionist settler-colonialism.&quot;The subject has also been brought up in the state legislature, with <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S3712?utm_content=in_senate_comm&utm_campaign=bill_alerts&utm_source=ny_state_senate&utm_medium=email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senate Bill S3712</a> in New York being aimed at stopping universities from funding students groups that promote &ldquo;hate speech.&quot; This included groups like Boycotting, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS).&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17308" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia Tech soccer player who refused to kneel during anthem sues coach for alleged &#39;abuse and retaliation&#39;]</a>The college&#39;s reasoning for denying Progressive Zionists for Peace trial status &ldquo;was very hypocritical, confusing, and clear of a political bias against Israel. Zionism is an issue close to our hearts and we are enraged and disappointed that our school is clearly lenient towards some social/political issues but not others&rdquo;, Brown <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/15/skidmore-college-students-denied-trial-period-for-progressive-zionists-for-peace-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>.&nbsp;Jewish groups and free speech advocates also decried the decision. Stopantisemitism.org, a watchdog for anti-semitism, tweeted &ldquo;Skidmore College: Social Justice for Palestine has our full support. Also Skidmore College: Progressive Zionists for Peace. DENIED. Why is this discrimination being allowed at your school @skidmorecollege&rdquo;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Skidmore College: &#39;Social Justice for Palestine&#39; has our full support. Also Skidmore College: Progressive Zionists for Peace&#39; DENIED. Why is this discrimination being allowed at your school <a href="https://twitter.com/SkidmoreCollege?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SkidmoreCollege</a>?! <a href="https://t.co/lczL6Swmlx">pic.twitter.com/lczL6Swmlx</a>&mdash; StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) <a href="https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1371613758099972099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2021</a></blockquote> The college was also denounced in a scathing <a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-letter-to-skidmore-college-march-17-2021/">letter</a> by Sabrina Conza, a program analyst for the <a href="https://www.thefire.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)</a>.&ldquo;This viewpoint-based rejection is a form of censorship that violates Skidmore&rsquo;s commitment to its students freedom of association and expression,&rdquo; she wrote, noting that the university&rsquo;s student handbook guarantees &ldquo;freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, the press, and religion, and the right to petition, limited only by protection of property, safety, and mutual respect.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17252" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UMKC promotes &lsquo;Angry White Men and How They Ruined the World&rsquo;]</a>Sara Miga, the director of external relations and strategic communications for Skidmore College told Campus Reform&nbsp;that the decision was &quot;never an issue of religion or ideology,&quot; but said that the Progressive Zionists were granted a trial period after a &quot;follow-up discussion&quot; occurred.&ldquo;On Friday, March 19, the Club Affairs Committee and the students seeking to establish Progressive Zionists for Peace engaged in a follow-up discussion to clarify technical matters of definition and scope, and the Club Affairs Committee voted to move the club into a trial period. This was never an issue of religion or ideology. &nbsp;Skidmore does not and will not tolerate anti-Semitism or religious discrimination of any kind. Skidmore seeks to create a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for all, and there is no place for discrimination at Skidmore. Skidmore College is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community in which members develop their abilities to live in a complex and interconnected world. In line with this mission, thoughtful, spirited and sometimes challenging discussions are encouraged. We support our students in their efforts to work out student governance and organization.&rdquo;In a statement to&nbsp;Campus Reform, Rena Nasar First, executive director of campus affairs for <a href="https://www.standwithus.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">StandWithUs</a>, an international non-partisan Israel education organization, said while its they&#39;re happy the decision was reversed, it&#39;s &quot;unacceptable&quot; that the club was denied recognition in the first place.&quot;It is good that this decision was reversed, but unacceptable that it happened in the first place. The Skidmore administration should take action to ensure that something like this never happens again,&quot; First said. Follow this author:&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SamPaco2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@SamPaco2</a>

The Skidmore College student government denied a progressive Zionist student group from forming on campus until it gained "more diverse perspectives."  

In reversal of initial decision, college gives Zionist student group recognition on campus

Republican Representative Mo Brooks (R-Al.) introduced legislation Thursday that would require colleges and universities to report and disclose any gifts from foreign countries and entities.The <a href="https://brooks.house.gov/sites/brooks.house.gov/files/Zero%20Foreign%20Influence%20in%20Education%20Act%20of%202021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zero Foreign Influence in Education Act</a> amends Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 which states that higher education institutions are only required to report gifts from foreign sources amounting to $250,000 or more in a calendar year.The new<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3136?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr+3136%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;legislation</a> would &ldquo;require American universities to report any and all monetary contracts or gifts from foreign countries and entities,&rdquo; &ldquo;require universities to publicly disclose the names of all foreign donors,&rdquo; as well as &nbsp;&ldquo;require universities to list gift reasons, any gift conditions, and the department, college, or project the money is intended for,&rdquo; according to a press release.Cosponsors of the bill include Congressman Barry Moore (R-Al.), Congressman Daniel Webster (R-Fl.), Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Tex.), Congressman Brian Babin (R-Tex.), Congressman Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.).In an interview with Campus Reform, Brooks said that it &ldquo;probably&rdquo; will not gain bipartisan support because the &ldquo;socialist Democrats by and large have a great affinity for the communist Chinese party.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16857" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Multiple universities under the microscope for allegedly failing to disclose foreign ties]</a>In the <a href="https://brooks.house.gov/media-center/news-releases/congressman-mo-brooks-introduces-bill-exposing-foreign-influence-college" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">news release</a>, Brooks claims that Section 117 had &ldquo;historically gone unenforced until the Trump Administration started forcing schools to report.&rdquo; Because universities &ldquo;ignored&rdquo; Section 117, &nbsp;&ldquo;billions in foreign funds&rdquo; have been funneled to American universities in secret.&nbsp;When asked how this legislation would be enforced should it pass, Brooks told Campus Reform, &ldquo;Hopefully the universities of their own accord will obey the law out of fear that the penalties could have a significant, adverse effect on their universities. Ultimately, if universities are not obeying the law, then it comes down to the President of the United States or the Justice Department.&rdquo;&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have this law, you can&rsquo;t expect the president to be able to do anything of substanceThe news release highlights a 2020 U.S. Department of Education <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/institutional-compliance-section-117.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> which found that at least $6.5 billion in foreign money failed to be disclosed by universities and colleges.&nbsp;&ldquo;Universities already have to keep track of where their dollars come from and what gets spent where. Shedding light on which foreign countries influence American education via large cash donations is a basic transparency requirement not only for students and faculty but for general oversight and national security,&rdquo; the news release states.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16739" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: GOP lawmakers demand UPenn Biden Center release foreign donation records]</a>The release also points out that there is a potential loophole in the current legislation that America&rsquo;s adversaries take advantage of.&ldquo;Foreign enterprises more adversarial to the United States know about the $250,000 threshold currently required in statute so they space out their checks or keep them under the $250,000 bar so the schools do not have to report.,&rdquo; the news release claims.Brooks also brought up Confucius Institutes in America as the &ldquo;most glaring and egregious instance of a foreign power infiltrating American universities.&rdquo;&nbsp;For years, Campus Reform has <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14847" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> on the prevalence of Chinese Communist Party funded Confucius Institutes on U.S. college campuses. These institutes are marketed as Chinese language and culture centers; however, U.S. intelligence officials have warned that these centers are basically &quot;propaganda&quot; arms of the communist country.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not concerned much about whatever influence there is from other Republics, but I am greatly concerned about wrongful influence via the Communist Chinese Party,&rdquo; Brooks told Campus Reform.&nbsp;&ldquo;Because in their worldview, there is no place for America&rsquo;s Bill of Rights and there is no place for the citizenry electing the political leadership,&rdquo; he continued.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17195" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Marco Rubio targets Confucius Institutes with new bill]</a>&ldquo;Recent reports of academic espionage and foreign influence in American higher education highlight the need for robust transparency requirements for foreign gifts to universities,&rdquo; Brooks said.&ldquo;The American people deserve to know when foreign countries, many of whom are America&rsquo;s geopolitical foes, are attempting to buy access to research universities or covertly trying to mold young American minds by surreptitiously influencing curriculum or extracurricular activities,&rdquo; he continued.&ldquo;If universities, which are heavily subsidized by the American taxpayer, are going to take foreign money, they should have to show all of it,&rdquo; Brooks stated.&ldquo;Sunshine is the best disinfectant,&rdquo; he concluded.When asked what the next step is in ridding higher education institutions of foreign influence, Brooks said it is &ldquo;to cut off federal funding to any university that persists in engaging in joint ventures or partnerships or the like with undesirable foreign interests.&rdquo;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/redwave1776" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@redwave1776</a>

Brooks said that the next step in ridding higher education institutions of foreign influence is to "cut off federal funding to any university that persists in engaging in joint ventures or partnerships or the like with undesirable foreign interests.”

Republicans introduce legislation to require colleges to report all foreign gifts

The College of William &amp; Mary and the University of Southern will close their Confucius Institutes, Campus Reform&nbsp;recently learned.The College of William &amp; Mary wrote that its Confucius Institute, which was launched in 2011, will <a href="https://www.wm.edu/sites/confuciusinstitute/index.php">close</a> on June 30 &ldquo;at the completion of the current agreement with the university.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17199">[RELATED: Tennessee governor moves to end Confucius Institutes]</a>&ldquo;William &amp; Mary will continue to explore and strengthen its independent collaborations with Beijing Normal University (BNU) and other universities in China in order to maintain robust language, cultural and research opportunities for our students, faculty and the wider Williamsburg community,&rdquo; the school said.&nbsp;The school&rsquo;s Confucius Institute &ldquo;is a collaborative program in partnership with Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), a public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17016" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Senate passes bill to combat Chinese Communist Party propaganda on campus]</a>William &amp; Mary Director of News and Media Suzanne Clavet told&nbsp;Campus Reform that they will maintain their relationship with BNU &ldquo;in order to maintain robust language, cultural and research opportunities for our students, faculty and the wider Williamsburg community.&rdquo;According to the William &amp; Mary Confucius Institute <a href="https://www.wm.edu/sites/confuciusinstitute/wm-agreement-with-hanban_signed-2016_english-version.pdf">agreement</a>, the center has a mandate to &ldquo;increase mutual understanding among people in China and in the United States.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/?id=16758" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Calls to close CCP-funded Confucius Institutes grow louder. Here&#39;s what&#39;s fueling them.]</a>The University of Southern Maine likewise shuttered its Confucius Institute, stating that it &ldquo;reached too few students to be sustainable,&rdquo; as the <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/13/usm-cutting-ties-with-chinese-government-funded-program/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Press Herald</a> reported.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17189">[RELATED: Students at Tufts successfully organize to get their school&rsquo;s Confucius Institute scrapped]</a>Leading American officials consistently warn that despite these seemingly benign intentions, the Confucius Institute program functionally exists to propagate and justify the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party.Most recently, Sen. Marco Rubio proposed passing the Foreign Influence Transparency Act, which would officially recognize that Confucius Institutes are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and would require &ldquo;institutions that have entered into an agreement with a Confucius Institute to disclose the full agreement on its website and to the Department of Education or risk losing their Student and Exchange Visitor Program.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16882">[RELATED: House Republicans urge Biden to reconsider rule on CCP&#39;s Confucius Institutes]</a>Likewise, House Republicans asked the Biden administration to reinstitute Trump-era regulations that would compel universities to reveal their ties to the Confucius Institute.Under pressure from top lawmakers, other schools, like Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, shuttered their own Confucius Institutes in recent weeks.Campus Reform reached out to the College of William &amp; Mary and the University of Southern Maine for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.&nbsp;Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://@BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The College of William & Mary and the University of Southern Maine became the latest schools to shut down their Confucius Institutes.

William & Mary, U of Southern Maine become latest schools to close down Confucius Institutes

Oklahoma State University-Tulsa will join other campuses across the United States in creating &ldquo;racial healing circles.&rdquo;According to the university&#39;s <a href="https://tulsa.okstate.edu/trht" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a>, the new &ldquo;Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation&rdquo; is part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation&rsquo;s nationwide initiative to &ldquo;address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17333" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Prof tells Senate Judiciary Committee that election security laws &#39;target Black voters&#39; like &#39;Jim Crow&#39;]</a>According to the Kellogg Foundation&rsquo;s <a href="https://healourcommunities.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a>, each of the fourteen TRHT initiatives across the United States received between $1.5 and $4 million in funds that last between two and five years. In 2017, the organization committed $24 million to fulfill the projects.OSU-Tulsa Communications Coordinator Aaron Campbell told Campus Reform that the center&rsquo;s activities &ldquo;will be donor and grant funded.&rdquo; The center &ldquo;has applied for a Kellogg Foundation grant and is awaiting an award decision,&rdquo; while OSU-Tulsa &ldquo;is paying a small stipend to the acting director of the center, who is a faculty member.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16816" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: University of Kentucky promotes segregated &#39;racial healing circles&#39;]</a>Among the TRHT center&#39;s first initiatives will be &ldquo;racial healing circles&rdquo; &mdash; which involve &ldquo;conversations between participants to discuss experiences with race and conscious and unconscious biases.&rdquo;Racial healing circles &mdash; which are run by &ldquo;trained racial healing circle practitioners&rdquo; &mdash; provide &ldquo;opportunities to reflect and acknowledge the participants&#39; unquestioned assumptions and biases in a way that is non-threatening and encouraging.&rdquo;&nbsp;Participants become able to &ldquo;confront the historic and contemporary causes and effects of systemic racism while being empowered to promote equity and social justice.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16612" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Prof leading &#39;racial healing&#39; commission says &#39;racial reconciliation&#39; is &#39;not applicable&#39;]</a>Campus Reform has reported on several instances of colleges establishing &ldquo;racial healing circles&rdquo; and &ldquo;Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation&rdquo; groups.For instance, a University of Kentucky professor hosted a free six-week virtual series of racial healing circles to &ldquo;allow Black community members to discuss racial identity development, racial socialization and cognitive, emotional and somatic responses to racism.&rdquo;Participants were able to join sessions such as &ldquo;Surrendering Superwoman Syndrome,&rdquo; &ldquo;Healing While Black,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Family Matters&rdquo; &mdash; geared toward Black women, men, and families, respectively.<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17259" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: While spending millions on luxury homes, BLM co-founder told college students that capitalism is &#39;more tragic&#39; than COVID-19]</a>Likewise, a group of professors is attempting to launch an official &ldquo;United States Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation&rdquo; movement alongside a similar push from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).Campus Reform reached out to Oklahoma State University-Tulsa for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Other universities across the United States have been establishing similar initiatives.

OSU-Tulsa becomes the latest campus to run ‘racial healing circles’

Responding to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/derek-chauvin-trial-verdict" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">conviction</a> of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, American University announced that it will now offer &ldquo;Black Affinity Housing.&rdquo;&ldquo;The murder of George Floyd and the many other acts of violence against Black people and communities of color are horrible reminders that racism still exists in many forms&rdquo; the university <a href="https://www.american.edu/president/announcements/april-20-2021.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> on Tuesday. It stressed the importance of creating &ldquo;the space to process these events and care for ourselves and one another.&rdquo;In accordance with this goal, it is &ldquo;working to open Black Affinity Housing in the fall and advance a sense of belonging for the community.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17241" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Chico State president will lead university in &#39;antiracist&#39; journey after reading book by Critical Race Theorist]</a>American University says on its 2021-2022 room selection <a href="https://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/room-selection.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a> for returning students says that &ldquo;the Black Affinity Housing located in Roper Hall provides an intentional residential community dedicated to celebrating, exploring, and affirming black student experiences at AU and beyond.&rdquo;&ldquo;The live-in experience encourages dialogue and community building that is mindful of the diverse social, cultural, and academic needs of Black and multicultural students,&rdquo; the university continues. &ldquo;Black Affinity Housing will enrich all of campus life by promoting solidarity among students of all backgrounds and identities.&rdquo;Campus Reform recently covered an op-ed written by American University freshman Kayla Kelly, who argued that welcoming White students back to campus after COVID-induced shutdowns &ldquo;could evoke similar effects of settler colonialism and negatively impact&rdquo; the Black community of Washington, D.C.<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16917" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Student newspaper publishes op-ed criticizing return of &#39;invasive species&#39; White peers to &#39;Chocolate City&#39;]</a>&ldquo;Settler colonialism is a form of colonialism that replaces the original population with a new invasive species,&rdquo; Kelly wrote, &ldquo;the settler system stakes over the space, resources and culture of the environment it encompasses, displacing the original population.&rdquo;&nbsp;Other prominent universities across the United States have also experimented with segregated housing and events.&nbsp;The Executive Director of Residential Life at the University of Nevada-Reno, for example, said on April 1 that racially segregated dorms &ldquo;are a national best practice in university residential life and housing communities.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17167" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;A national best practice&#39;: University employee doubles down on defense of racially segregated housing]</a>Campus Reform reached out to American University for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

In its letter about the Derek Chauvin verdict, American University announced that it would institute “Black Affinity Housing.”

American University announces 'Black Affinity Housing'

The University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business sent an email to students on April 7 announcing the creation of &ldquo;identity spaces.&rdquo; According to an email obtained by Campus Reform, &ldquo;The Program Office [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] DEI Team across all platforms are facilitating open identity spaces for students to meet, network, and socialize with other students across all programs that share the same identity.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17045" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17045" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17045" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Berkeley &#39;Black Graduation&#39; under fire for bringing back &#39;Democrats&#39; segregationist history&#39;]</a> There are 11 different &ldquo;communit[ies]&rdquo; for students to join, with those being first-generation students, women, veterans, Black/African-American, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Native American, religious minorities, international students, Asian Americans, and disability. The &ldquo;identity spaces&rdquo; will be held until the end of the spring semester, according to the email. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17001" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17001" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UC-Berkeley unveils plan for racial quota]</a> Communications Director for the California College Republicans Dylan Martin told Campus Reform, universities should &ldquo;not be pushing anything that encourages segregation of students into racial, sexual, and religious groups.&rdquo; &ldquo;Instead of forming &#39;identity space&#39; cliques, our universities should focus on bonding us around things everyone has the potential to take interest in, not fixed racial, sexual, and religious backgrounds. Our students should &#39;meet, network, and socialize&#39; with people from all walks of life. They should bond on ideas, on sports, on campus events, on music, on art &mdash; not on things like the color of their skin. If students choose to pursue creating identity groups on their own accord, then they have the freedom to do so. However, our universities should not be pushing anything that encourages segregation of students into racial, sexual, and religious groups,&rdquo; he said. Martin went on to say how this decision was not surprising following UC Berkeley&rsquo;s decision to host a separate &ldquo;Black Graduation ceremony for students.&rdquo; Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to UC-Berkeley, but did not receive a response. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ashleyecarnahan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ashleyecarnahan</a>

Students are to use these spaces to “meet, network, and socialize.”

Berkeley Haas School of Business creates 11 different 'Identity Spaces' for networking

Over 226 students and 43 organizations at Harvard University signed a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NtNoEeGoHUFPhUJJxhw0EXKJTpC0n9fi_bXrx3YbVYU/edit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">petition</a> calling on the university administration to condemn Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians.&rdquo; The petition, created by the Palestine Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee, and more organizations, states that Israel is committing &ldquo;ethnic clensing.&rdquo; &ldquo;We, as the Palestine Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Harvard Palestine Health Initiative at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Divinity School Students for Palestinian Rights, and the Middle East and North Africa Student Organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Design write to firstly acknowledge and express our outrage at the latest wave of Israeli state-sanctioned violence against Palestinians,&rdquo; the petition reads. &ldquo;The current escalation of violence against Palestinians in Palestine and in Israel follows years of systematic oppression and ethnic cleansing committed by the State of Israel.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15905" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: CSUN professor runs &#39;Boycott Israel Resource Page&#39; on university website]</a> The petition goes on to state that the violence is &ldquo;right-wing&rdquo; and &ldquo;Israeli state-sanctioned,&rdquo; also claiming that Israel &ldquo;has erected a web of discriminatory laws that pervade every aspect of Palestinian life.&rdquo; Additionally, the petition calls on the Harvard University administration to divest from all companies who are &ldquo;involved in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise.&rdquo; &ldquo;We call on our university to end its complicity with Israeli apartheid policies and occupation by removing its investments in companies that are involved in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise until equal rights are guaranteed for all citizens in Israel and Palestine,&rdquo; the petition states. The student groups state that Israel has enacted &ldquo;the most intense aerial bombardments of Gaza since 2014&rdquo; this week, but fail to mention the rockets being fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, with targets including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and more, according to <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/gaza-israel-diverts-flights-rocket-barrage-palestinians-death-67-1.9796891" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Haaretz</a>. Making multiple demands, the students who signed the petition want Harvard to make a &ldquo;public statement rebuking Israel&rsquo;s excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16441" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: San Francisco State University passes BDS resolution against Israel]</a> The Executive Director for Campus Affairs for SandWithUs, a pro-Israel education organization, Rena Nasar First told Campus Reform that they are &quot;appalled&quot; by the efforts of Harvard students to spread &quot;misinformation and hate against Israel.&quot; &ldquo;We are appalled by the efforts of Harvard University student groups to spread misinformation and hate against Israel. Israel has the right to defend itself from the constant barrage of rockets targeting Israeli civilians by Hamas, a terrorist organization,&quot; First said. &quot;Such misinformation and hate will only serve to harm innocent Israelis, Jews and Palestinians. We call on Harvard&rsquo;s administration to condemn this misinformation and hate and, the terrorism inflicted against innocent Israelis by Hamas. It is imperative that Harvard&rsquo;s administration brings communities together in pursuit of accurate education and peace building to ensure a campus environment free from hate.&rdquo; The petition also calls on students to call the U.S. State Department and Deoartment of Defnse to &ldquo; Demand the end of Israel&rsquo;s forced displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem,&rdquo; write to their congressperson and ask them to support H.R. 2590, the <a href="https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/mccollum-introduces-historic-legislation-defending-human-rights-palestinian" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act</a>, and speak out on social media. &ldquo;Educate yourself and your community about human rights abuses in Palestine. Write, tweet, and share on social media platforms, but above all, reach out to your representatives at the federal and local levels,&rdquo; the petition states. As of May 13, the petition has gained 226 signatures from students at Harvard, and 43 signatures from student organizations. Campus Reform reached out to Harvard University for comment. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/asabes10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@asabes10</a><a href="https://twitter.com/asabes10" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600;" target="_blank"></a><strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a href="https://twitter.com/asabes10" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600;" target="_blank"></a>

The petition also demands the university make a “public statement rebuking Israel’s excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians.”

Harvard students demand university to 'condemn' Israel’s 'excessive use of force'

A senior fellow at Yale University&rsquo;s China center wrote an article explaining why Confucius Institutes should not be removed from American university campuses.&nbsp;<a href="https://law.yale.edu/jamie-p-horsley" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jamie Horsley</a> &mdash; senior fellow at Yale Law School&rsquo;s Paul Tsai China Center and a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution &mdash; wrote in a Lawfare&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/its-time-for-a-new-policy-on-confucius-institutes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a> reposted by Brookings that &ldquo;the U.S. government should increase funding for Mandarin language and China studies courses, but also stop forcing cash-strapped universities to choose between federal funding and properly managed CI programs.&rdquo;As Campus Reform&nbsp;has frequently <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15448" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a>, &nbsp;Confucius Institutes have drawn suspicion from American lawmakers as a &ldquo;foreign mission&rdquo; closely tied with the Chinese Communist Party.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15448" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: US designates Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes as &#39;foreign missions&#39;]</a>Horsley discussed &ldquo;a decline of American student interest in China studies and learning Mandarin Chinese&rdquo; &mdash; a trend which, combined with &ldquo;inflammatory rhetoric&rdquo; about Confucius Institute programs &mdash; exacerbates &ldquo;a national foreign language deficit at a time when training Mandarin speakers familiar with an ever more consequential China should be a national priority.&rdquo;She also recommended that the Biden administration &ldquo;lift, or provide necessary waivers of, federal funding restrictions on universities that demonstrate appropriate academic freedom and institutional safeguards around their CIs, which are no longer directly funded by the Chinese government.&rdquo;&ldquo;It should also consider authorizing the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS) to serve as a visa sponsor to assist Chinese teachers and staff of CIs obtain the proper visas, as well as enable CIUS to serve as a clearinghouse for information on such PRC personnel for relevant U.S. government agencies,&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17168" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: A Stanford researcher was recently indicted for China ties. As new China center opens, has Stanford learned its lesson?]</a>Later in the article, Horsley admitted that Confucius Institutes generated &ldquo;legitimate concerns about academic freedom and independence due to their direct support from, and admitted role as a &ldquo;soft power&rdquo; instrument for, China&rsquo;s party-state.&rdquo; Though she also acknowledges that &ldquo;The CI project is intended to promote a favorable understanding of China,&rdquo; she notes that the program does not &ldquo;enjoy a monopoly over information available on campuses.&rdquo;The <a href="https://law.yale.edu/china-center/about-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Paul Tsai China Center</a> &ldquo;works collaboratively with a broad range of top experts in the Chinese government, universities, and civil society on concrete projects designed to have a positive practical impact.&rdquo;In 2016, Taiwanese-born <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/joseph-tsai/?sh=2848bf137b32" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joseph Tsai</a> &mdash; son of Paul Tsai and co-founder of Chinese e-commerce business Alibaba &mdash; funded the center with a $30 million investment. The center was subsequently named after his father.Campus Reform reached out to Horsley for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.&nbsp;Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Zeisloft</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

The China center is funded by a co-founder of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba.

Senior fellow at Yale’s China center explains why Confucius Institutes should stay

JACOBSON: If we defund police on college campuses, 'we will certainly see an increase in violent crime' in academic institutions  

Stanford University&rsquo;s student newspaper sent a controversial tweet about two Black students. Now, it is suspending its Twitter account and requiring the entire masthead to take anti-bias training.As editor in chief of The Stanford Daily&nbsp;Erin Woo explained in a <a href="https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/04/05/letter-from-the-editor-regarding-saturdays-tweet/?fbclid=IwAR1b3Y47rLbXVJUotQps8DHeoLrjPsN_HtHQpWuO7jmaw5rnVvY4zGyZVB0">letter</a>, t<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">he paper&#39;s humor section,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/theoccasionally?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Stanford Occasionally</a>, sent a tweet linking the student government elections to the movie &ldquo;Godzilla vs. Kong,&quot; which was at the time a popular recent release.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17168">[RELATED: A Stanford researcher was recently indicted for China ties. As new China center opens, has Stanford learned its lesson?]</a>Woo said the tweet was riffing off an alleged conflict between &ldquo;two candidates, both of whom are Black, as a conflict between Kong and Godzilla&rdquo; &mdash; a move that was deemed racist due to &ldquo;the anti-Black history of the King Kong figure as a hyper-sexualized caricature of Black men.&rdquo;&ldquo;I am so sorry for the harm it has caused the Black community and the students referenced in the tweet,&rdquo; she wrote. &ldquo;I also apologize that it took students from the Black community to raise concerns before The Daily took action on the tweet, and that our initial response to the community member who flagged the tweet was hasty and insensitive.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17308" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia Tech soccer player who refused to kneel during anthem sues coach for alleged &#39;abuse and retaliation&#39;]</a>Woo took &ldquo;full responsibility&rdquo; for the incident, making it clear that the tweet &ldquo;was not written by humor writers or editors.&rdquo; Nevertheless, the &ldquo;entire editorial team&rdquo; will undergo &ldquo;anti-bias training&rdquo; to &ldquo;address the ignorance that was at the root of the tweet&rsquo;s creation.&rdquo;In addition to &ldquo;working to draft clearer humor and social media policies,&rdquo; The Stanford Daily&nbsp;&ldquo;suspended the Twitter account the tweet was posted on.&rdquo; The students &ldquo;will not bring this account back at least until new policies are in place and all staffers have undergone training.&rdquo;Campus Reform asked Woo to clarify why the entire editorial team will undergo anti-bias training if they were not responsible for the incident. Woo declined to provide comment beyond her statement.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17213">[RELATED: Narrative shattered: &#39;KKK,&#39; &#39;White power&#39; graffiti on campus written by Black student]</a>The Stanford University College Republicans noticed irony in the situation.&ldquo;Last summer, @StanfordDaily told us that they would not publish an op-ed critical of Black Lives Matter because somehow criticizing BLM is &lsquo;anti-blackness,&rsquo;&rdquo; they remarked on social media. &ldquo;Last week, The Stanford Daily published a satirical tweet comparing a black student government official to a gorilla.&rdquo;&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Last summer, <a href="https://twitter.com/StanfordDaily?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StanfordDaily</a> told us that they would not publish an op-ed critical of Black Lives Matter because somehow criticizing BLM is &quot;anti-blackness.&quot; Last week, The Stanford Daily published a satirical tweet comparing a black student government official to a gorilla. <a href="https://t.co/w8VEPZiq9t">pic.twitter.com/w8VEPZiq9t</a>&mdash; Stanford College Republicans (@Stanford_GOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stanford_GOP/status/1381365320196222976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote> &nbsp;&nbsp;Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Though editors were not responsible for the tweet, the entire editorial team will undergo “anti-bias training.”

Stanford newspaper tweeted movie reference deemed racist; will now subject ENTIRE STAFF to 'anti-bias training'

The University of California-Santa Barbara is using federal taxpayer dollars to create a &ldquo;feminist studies&rdquo; degree program.An April 13 <a href="https://t.e2ma.net/message/ccwytm/kubd4ib">letter</a> from the Office of the Chancellor explains steps that UC Santa Barbara will take &ldquo;to make sure that anti-Blackness, which is at the core of all such tragedies as George Floyd&#39;s death, does not have a place on our campus and in our community.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17244">[RELATED: &#39;Anti-racist journey&#39; prompts UNR lecturer to apologize for teaching &#39;Jingle Bells,&rsquo; &lsquo;Baa Baa Black Sheep&#39;]</a>Among these steps is the use of a $3 million Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grant to create a new &ldquo;4+1&rdquo; program. The program grants students a bachelor&rsquo;s degree in ethnic studies or feminist studies, and later, a master&#39;s degree and teaching credential in the <a href="https://education.ucsb.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gevirtz Graduate School of Education</a>.UC Santa Barbara will spend money on a new degree program despite being previously <a href="https://chancellor.ucsb.edu/memos/2020-07-17-covid-19-update-addressing-budget-impacts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">concerned</a> that the COVID-19-recession and reductions in state funding could cause the university to lose between $160 million and $210 million by June 30, 2021 &mdash; a projection that led to salary freezes and a voluntary pay cut of 10 percent for top administrators like Chancellor Henry T. Yang.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17204">[RELATED: Georgetown shells out $1M for racial equity]</a>According to the Department of Education <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/hsidivision.html">website</a>, the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Division &ldquo;provides grant funding to institutions of higher education to assist with strengthening institutional programs, facilities, and services to expand the educational opportunities for Hispanic Americans and other underrepresented populations.&rdquo;Campus Reform asked the Department of Education whether an HSI grant can be properly used on a feminist studies program. This article will be updated accordingly.Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Months ago, the school implemented pay cuts and salary freezes to stay solvent through COVID-19.

UC Santa Barbara unveils new ‘feminist studies’ degree program

The Pennsylvania State University&rsquo;s faculty senate passed &ldquo;inclusive language&rdquo; reform legislation. As Penn State News <a href="https://news.psu.edu/story/657788/2021/05/05/academics/senate-passes-diversity-and-equity-resolutions-final-meeting-year" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">detailed</a>, the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs passed a <a href="https://senate.psu.edu/senators/agendas-records/april-27-2021-agenda/appendix-c/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resolution</a> for the &ldquo;Removal of Gendered &amp; Binary Terms from Course and Program Descriptions.&rdquo; &ldquo;The University, as with most all academic institutions world-wide, has grown out of a typically male-centered world,&rdquo; reads the resolution&rsquo;s introduction. &ldquo;As such, many terms in our lexicon carry a strong, male-centric, binary character to them.&rdquo; The resolution asserts that &ldquo;terms such as &lsquo;freshmen&rsquo; are decidedly male-specific, while terms such as &lsquo;upperclassmen&rsquo; can be interpreted as both sexist and classist.&rdquo; Terms such as &ldquo;junior&rdquo; and &ldquo;senior&rdquo; are supposedly &ldquo;parallel to western male father-son naming conventions, and much of our written documentation uses he/she pronouns.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17310" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: University of Montana student government unanimously passes bill to require &lsquo;anti-bias&rsquo; training among leadership] </a> The resolution recommends that the university make &ldquo;editorial updates to our course and program descriptions, which appear in the course catalog and bulletin, to remove gendered terms.&rdquo; &quot;We suggest that the University consider changes to all written materials, including recruiting materials, admissions materials, scholarship information, housing materials, other outward-facing documents, internal documents, and websites,&quot; the resolution states. For instance, individuals at the university should &ldquo;move away from the use of gendered pronouns when referring to students, faculty, staff, and guests in course descriptions and degree program descriptions.&rdquo; Such changes would take the form of replacing &ldquo;he/him/his&rdquo; and &ldquo;she/her/hers&rdquo; with &ldquo;they/them/theirs&rdquo; or &ldquo;non-gendered terms such as student, faculty member, staff member.&rdquo; The resolution also suggests departing &ldquo;from the use of academic grouping titles that stem from a primarily male-centric academic history in course descriptions and degree program descriptions.&rdquo; For instance, &ldquo;freshman/sophomore/junior/senior&rdquo; would be replaced with &ldquo;first-year,&rdquo; &ldquo;second-year,&rdquo; &ldquo;third-year,&rdquo; and &ldquo;fourth-year.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17310" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: RIT student gov loses its mind over request to discuss BLM somewhere else]</a> However, the resolution clarified that &ldquo;concerns have been raised that numbering years beyond the fourth (4th) would perhaps negatively reflect on students who, for various reasons, are taking longer to complete their (typically) four-year programs, and are also referred to as &lsquo;super-seniors.&rsquo;&rdquo; In these cases, the resolution suggests the term &quot;advanced-standing&quot; be used. &ldquo;The committee recognizes that there may be places where these terms, especially gender terms, may need to remain intact, for example in the case of courses or degrees that delve into gender studies,&rdquo; the legislation further stipulated. &ldquo;In such cases, efforts shall be made to clearly delineate between the &lsquo;academic&rsquo; study of these gendered terms, and the newly established nomenclature as it would apply to faculty, staff, students, and guests.&rdquo; Students and faculty at universities across the United States have implemented similar changes in the interest of inclusivity. The University of Virginia student government, for instance, offered a referendum to scrap all gendered pronouns from its constitution in favor of gender-neutral terminology. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17256" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA students scrap gendered pronouns from constitution]</a> 88.75 percent of students at the university approved the change. Campus Reform reached out to Penn State and the faculty senate for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow this author on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: var(--red); text-decoration: none !important; user-select: auto; font-weight: 600; font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The resolution urges the university to change all written materials with the "junior/senior" label because it is "parallel to western male father-son naming conventions."

Penn State faculty cancels 'male-centric' 'Junior' and 'Senior' labels

The University of Michigan Central Student Government released a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dddnormjttp3f8K1UCjw1lREzUbU5P2h/view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">scathing statement</a> in support of Palestine and against Israel, prompted by the ongoing conflict in Jerusalem. The letter accuses Israel of &quot;settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We aim to do whatever is in our power to ensure that we remain in lockstep with [the Palestinians] and their fight against oppression,&quot; the student government said in an open letter.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16940" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UMich &lsquo;Liberation Front&rsquo; demands removal of Sabra hummus and end to Israel trips]</a>Signers of the letter include the student government&#39;s President, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator. The Arab Student Association and Muslim Student Association also signed the letter. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">[Press Release 05.10.2021] If you have any questions regarding the following statement or if your organization would like to sign in support please fill out this form: <a href="https://t.co/CJi3xHUUHp">https://t.co/CJi3xHUUHp</a> <a href="https://t.co/wk1LrFY6uR">pic.twitter.com/wk1LrFY6uR</a>&mdash; Central Student Govt (@umcsg) <a href="https://twitter.com/umcsg/status/1391931412371197953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2021</a></blockquote> &quot;In an effort to further suppress Palestinians, Israeli police and settler militias are currently targeting Muslims during the holiest month of Ramadan at the third most divine site in Islam; Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem,&quot; the letter states. &quot;Israel threatens Palestinians of all religions, from those displaced in diaspora all over the globe to Palestinians in Palestine.&quot;The letter blames the University of Michigan for not doing enough to cut ties with Israel. &quot;The University of Michigan remains complicit by choosing not to divest from Israeli companies profiting off of the settler state&rsquo;s occupation.&quot; The student government also laments its own organization&#39;s &quot;prior complicity with Israel&#39;s violence through participation in events such as yearly trips to Israel that supported the settler-state in its apartheid and occupation.&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14893" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: GW hires BDS loving dean with history of &lsquo;antisemitism&rsquo;]</a>The letter recommends that like-minded readers follow pro-Palestinian social media accounts, including several that support BDS.&nbsp;A university spokesperson told Campus Reform,&nbsp;&quot;U-M&#39;s Central Student Government does not speak for the University of Michigan.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;A core value of the University of Michigan is freedom of speech and respect for diverse ideas and viewpoints,&quot; the spokesperson continued.The Central Student Government did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaLMorabito" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600; font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">@AngelaLMorabito</a>

A letter issued by the student government accuses Israel of "settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid."

Amid violence, UMich student government pledges to be in ‘lockstep’ with Palestinians in their ‘fight against oppression’

Louisiana State University <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2021/05/06tate.eb.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chose</a> Dr. William F. Tate IV to serve as the new university president. Like those lauding LSU for their choice, Tate has a long history of focusing on race as evidenced by his Critical Race Theory <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=sljOiL0AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">publications</a>. Tate previously <a href="https://www.sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2020/06/meet_william_tate.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">served</a> as provost of the University of South Carolina where his focus was to &ldquo;support and to advance the access and affordability agenda.&rdquo; After an open interview process, Tate was <a href="https://lsu.edu/president-search/candidates/index.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chosen</a> over fellow finalists President Donald Trump&rsquo;s science advisor Kelvin Droegemeier and the president of the University of Louisiana System&rsquo;s nine public colleges Jim Henderson.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17241" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17241" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17241" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Chico State president will lead university in &#39;antiracist&#39; journey after reading book by Critical Race Theorist]</a> In Tate&rsquo;s 1995 article titled &quot;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Tate/publication/279676094_Toward_a_Critical_Race_Theory_of_Education/links/569803e908aea2d74375dba0/Toward-a-Critical-Race-Theory-of-Education.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education</a>,&quot; he argues that &ldquo;savage inequalities&rdquo; exist in the United States due to its &ldquo;racialized society in which discussions of race and racism continue to be muted and marginalized.&rdquo; Throughout the article, Tate and his co-author make the case that African American students are academically, economically and socially disadvantaged in the United States education system. &ldquo;Indeed, there is some evidence to suggest that even when we hold constant for class, middle-class African-American students do not achieve at the same level as their white counterparts,&rdquo; Tate and fellow CRT theorist <a href="https://news.wisc.edu/gloria-ladson-billings-daring-to-dream-in-public/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gloria Ladson-Billings</a> write. The pair attribute this alleged disproportion to &ldquo;institutional and structural racism.&rdquo; &ldquo;While some might argue that poor children, regardless of race, do worse in school, and that the high proportion of African-American poor contributes to their dismal school performance, we argue that the cause of their poverty in conjunction with the condition of their schools and schooling is institutional and structural racism,&rdquo; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Tate and his co-author state. Not only are racial minority students disadvantaged, but also are gender minority students according to the article. &ldquo;Issues of gender bias also figure in inequitable schooling. Females receive less attention from teachers, are counseled away from or out of advanced mathematics and science courses, and although they receive better grades than their male counterparts, their grades do not translate into advantages in college admission and/or the work place,&rdquo; the article states. Explaining his definition of &ldquo;racism,&rdquo; Tate and his co-author refers to the author of Portraits of White Racism, David Wellman&rsquo;s working definition which states that racism is &ldquo;culturally sanctioned beliefs which, regardless of the intentions involved, defend the advantages Whites have because of the subordinated positions of racial minorities.&rdquo; Tate and his co-author believe that &ldquo;today, students of color are more segregated than ever before.&rdquo; &ldquo;Although African Americans represent 12 percent of the national population, they are the majority in twenty-one of the twenty-two largest (urban) school districts. Instead of providing more and better educational opportunities, school desegregation has meant increased white flight along with a loss of African-American teaching and administrative positions,&rdquo; they conjecture.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17359" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17359" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17359" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Pepperdine student gov hands out free copies of Critical Race Theory handbook &#39;White Fragility&#39;]</a> Offering an explanation of Critical Race Theory, Tate and the co-author points to the features of the &ldquo;critical race movement&rdquo; written by professor of Critical Race Theory at University of Alabama School of Law Richard Delgado. Delgado insists that racism is &ldquo;endemic&rdquo; in America and &ldquo;deeply ingrained legally, culturally, and even psychologically&rdquo; in the nation. Because of this, he calls for a &ldquo;reinterpretation of civil-rights law&rdquo; due to its current &ldquo;ineffectuality.&rdquo; A goal of the movement is to &ldquo;challenge&rdquo; the &ldquo;&lsquo;traditional claims of legal neutrality, objectivity, color-blindness, and meritocracy as camouflages for the self-interest of dominant groups in American society.&rsquo;&rdquo; As one of his three key points in the publication, Tate and his co-author argue that since the United States&rsquo; founding, its society has been &ldquo;based on property rights rather than human rights.&rdquo; He cites the &ldquo;seizure&rdquo; of Native American land and slavery as examples of his claim. Tate and the co-author also support the notion that &ldquo;whiteness&rdquo; can function as property. &ldquo;But, more pernicious and long lasting then the victimization of people of color is the construction of whiteness as the ultimate property,&rdquo; Tate and his co-author alleges. &ldquo;Legally, whites can use and enjoy the privileges of whiteness,&rdquo; the article continues. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Tate and his co-author&nbsp;contend that in today&rsquo;s society, &ldquo;to call a white person &lsquo;black&rsquo; is to defame him or her.&rdquo; &ldquo;In the case of schooling, to identify a school or program as nonwhite in any way is to diminish its reputation or status,&rdquo; he continues. The article also affirms that &ldquo;whiteness is constructed in this society as the absence of the &lsquo;contaminating&rsquo; influence of blackness.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Biden administration signals intent to push critical race theory as American history and civics education]</a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Tate focused on the teaching of mathematics in the United States in a book chapter he co-wrote, titled &quot;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ggU3AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA299&ots=UbeE_hZkEJ&sig=6h3MUWekPh3FsifGLfXrNBkLlxk#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Still separate, still unequal</a>.&quot; A central claim of the chapter is that the education system &ldquo;does not yet provide equal access to the resources that could support a more powerful mathematics education for all students.&rdquo; To accomplish this, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Tate and his co-author&nbsp;suggest math teachers of African American students to &ldquo;take into consideration students&rsquo; participation in the larger communities or cultural groups of which they are a part&rdquo; because &ldquo;&lsquo;participation in out-of-school practices can influence their activity in the classroom.&rsquo;&rdquo; In another publication called <a href="https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/stable/20405144?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Race, Retrenchment, and the Reform of School Mathematics</a><a href="https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/stable/20405144?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>, Tate calls for a &ldquo;new beginning for mathematics education.&rdquo; He says that it depends on teachers &ldquo;build[ing] and expanding[ing] on the thinking and experiences of African American students.&rdquo; Because math is regarded as a &ldquo;colorblind&rdquo; subject, there has been &ldquo;very little consideration&rdquo; to the &ldquo;cultural appropriateness of mathematics pedagogy&rdquo; according to Tate. He also notes that African American students are not &ldquo;centered&rdquo; in school curriculums as &ldquo;almost all the experiences discussed in American classrooms are approached from the standpoint of white perspectives and history.&rdquo; Tate argues that attention to the &ldquo;lived realities of African American students&rdquo; would &ldquo;creat[e] equitable conditions in mathematics education.&rdquo;&nbsp; This would be accomplished by mathematics teachers paying attention to &ldquo;how students&rsquo; linguistic, ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds influence their learning of mathematics.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17227" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: California draws from Critical Race Theory profs for K-12 &#39;ethnic studies&#39; curriculum]</a> LSU senior David Walters told Campus Reform that &ldquo;it&#39;s refreshing to see a new face in the position.&rdquo; Former student body president and current student member on the Board of Supervisors, Stone Cox used a similar tone when he told Campus Reform that he is &ldquo;very excited&rdquo; that Tate will be the new president.&nbsp; &ldquo;As the student member on the Board of Supervisors I was able to interview and ask questions to all 3 candidates that came before the Board for consideration. While they were all talented I believe Dr. Tate will ultimately be able to take our University to another level,&rdquo; Cox continued. When asked if he thinks Critical Race Theory should be implemented at LSU, Cox said it is &ldquo;merely a tool for academics to study and examine the world in which we live in.&rdquo; &ldquo;While some shared concerns for Dr. Tate&rsquo;s past research, I ultimately believe that critical theory and by extension critical race theory is merely a tool for academics to study and examine the world in which we live in, and should not disqualify Dr. Tate from the position of LSU President. In the same way, conservative views should not disqualify anyone from a place in higher education either,&rdquo; Cox said. Walters did not share this outlook as he told Campus Reform that he &ldquo;absolutely do[es] not think critical race theory belongs in the curriculum, especially at LSU.&rdquo; &ldquo;Implementing something so contentious would be thoughtless, irresponsible, and a mistake considering the ongoing and expanding investigations. It&#39;s irrelevant and focus should be on current problems,&rdquo; he continued. Walters told&nbsp;Campus Reform that he hopes Tate will &ldquo;focus on cleaning up the University&#39;s act, clearing the corruption, and gaining the student body&#39;s trust back.&rdquo; When asked if the university was aware of Tate&rsquo;s previous publications, media relations director Ernie Ballard III told Campus Reform. &ldquo;Based on the response since Dr. Tate was announced, campus, Louisiana and the region are excited to welcome him to LSU as the next president.&rdquo; Tate did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s request for comment in time for publication. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/redwave1776" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@redwave1776</a>

The new president has written extensively in favor of Critical Race Theory.

LSU names new president who has long history of Critical Race Theory publications

California educators are considering a new mathematics instruction framework that purposefully de-emphasizes calculus, though calculus is required or heavily encouraged for applicants to several of the nation&rsquo;s top colleges and universities. The framework, which is still under consideration, proposes eliminating advanced math classes in middle school and eliminating a &ldquo;push to calculus in grade twelve,&rdquo; which it calls &ldquo;misguided.&rdquo;The framework prioritizes equity and instructs teachers to &ldquo;teach toward social justice.&rdquo; It argues against beginning advanced math classes in middle school, saying, &ldquo;Many students, parents, and teachers encourage acceleration in grade eight (or sooner in some cases) because of an incorrect conclusion that Calculus is an important high-school goal.&rdquo;This setup would &ldquo;enable all students to engage in a common pathway in the first two years of high school,&rdquo; thus eliminating advanced classes prior to junior year. Calculus could be a possible option in 11th or 12th grade, but there would be no path created intentionally to lead to calculus.Virginia is <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-accelerated-math-courses-equity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">considering</a> a similar framework, which would abolish advanced math courses before the 11th grade. Virginia&rsquo;s draft framework also emphasizes equity, much like California&rsquo;s.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14316" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Prof wants &#39;social justice content&#39; in math books]</a>Though some K-12 leaders want to deemphasize calculus, several top colleges either recommend or require a student to take calculus in high school. <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/highschool/">MIT</a>, <a href="https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/apply/first-year-freshman-applicants/academic-preparation">California Institute of Technology</a>, and <a href="https://www.stevens.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-apply/first-year-students">Stevens Institute of Technology</a> all require calculus for admission. So does <a href="https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/first-year-applicants">Cornell Engineering</a>, both <a href="https://admissions.northwestern.edu/apply/requirements.html">Northwestern University</a>&rsquo;s Integrative Science Program and its Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences Program, <a href="https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/academic-preparation">Princeton University</a>&rsquo;s engineering track, <a href="https://www.olin.edu/content/what-were-looking/">Olin College</a> of Engineering, and <a href="https://admissions.duke.edu/apply/#requirements">Duke University</a>&rsquo;s Pratt School of Engineering. Most of <a href="https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/academic-requirements">Carnegie Mellon University</a>&rsquo;s undergraduate schools require high school calculus for admissions.&nbsp;<a href="https://admissions.rpi.edu/undergraduate/high-school-preparation">Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</a> recommends a year of calculus. The <a href="https://admissions.upenn.edu/learning-at-penn/undergraduate-schools/penn-engineering">University of Pennsylvania</a>&rsquo;s engineering school says, &ldquo;We would like to see&hellip;strong preparation in physics and mathematics, particularly calculus.&rdquo; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17070" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Profs help push program that claims math is &#39;racist&#39; because it requires a &#39;right answer&#39;]</a>Calculus is not a prerequisite for many educational and career paths, but it can be nearly impossible to avoid for anyone who wants to pursue a professional STEM career. <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/calculus-is-the-peak-of-high-school-math-maybe-its-time-to-change-that/2018/05">EdWeek</a> reports that only 15 percent of U.S. high schoolers take a calculus class. Not every high schooler has the opportunity to do so: According to <a href="https://ocrdata.ed.gov/estimations/2015-2016">Department of Education data</a>, only 50.4 percent of U.S. high schools offer a course in the subject; California is slightly below the norm at 45.7 percent. (Students may have access to dual enrollment programs that allow them to take a course at a local college, though it is unclear how many of those programs offer calculus classes and how many students have the opportunity to participate.)The framework also has implications for teachers: It instructs them to &quot;teach toward social justice&quot; and advises that they &quot;<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">share with students examples of women and people of color who are successful mathematicians,&quot; because &quot;mathematics has developed in such exclusive and elitist ways.&quot;<strong style="outline: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaLMorabito" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; color: var(--red); font-weight: 600; font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">@AngelaLMorabito</a>

A proposed mathematics framework would de-emphasize calculus and would end advanced math classes before 11th grade.

California math framework would discourage calculus, potentially hurt students' college admissions chances

The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of North Texas is being &quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/UNTPrez/status/1279428294316826624" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">looked into</a>&quot; by the university president, <a href="https://president.unt.edu/meet-president-smatresk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Neal Smatresk</a>, after a student <a href="https://twitter.com/asapkor12/status/1279236191188062209" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a> that she feels &quot;unsafe&quot; and &quot;harassed&quot; by the group&#39;s affiliation with the university. After multiple instances of tweets and bake sales from the group were deemed &ldquo;offensive&rdquo; by some students, a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/removal-of-the-young-conservatives-of-texas-from-unt-for-hateful-actions?redirect=false" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">petition</a> was started to have the group removed from campus. The petition, signed by UNT Democrats, highlights the incidents from the YCT <a href="https://twitter.com/YctUnt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter account</a> and accuses them of &ldquo;racism, transphobia, and homophobia.&rdquo; <center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are looking into this.&mdash; Neal Smatresk (@UNTPrez) <a href="https://twitter.com/UNTPrez/status/1279428294316826624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">July 4, 2020</a></blockquote></center> &quot;UNT made a huge mistake reinstating YCT in 2019, even after the last chapter&#39;s actions. In order for a safe campus climate to be strengthened, YCT must be removed from UNT as an officially registered organization,&quot; the petition reads.&nbsp;The petition, which has 2,700 signatures, highlights YCT being removed from campus in 2005 for similar reasons.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14361" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Conservative group compared to Hitler, labeled a &#39;direct threat&#39; to democracy]</a>The Texas online newspaper <a href="https://texasscorecard.com/metroplex/is-university-of-north-texas-covering-up-plans-for-conservatives-on-campus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Texas Scorecard</a> has sent multiple requests for information to the school, and each time, it responded citing laws that say that it isn&#39;t legally required to give that information.&ldquo;The university is releasing the complaint. However, section 51.971(c)(1) of the Texas Education Code expressly provides that &ldquo;[i]nformation that directly or indirectly reveals the identity of an individual who made a report to the compliance program office of an institution of higher education, sought guidance from the office, or participated in an investigation conducted under the compliance program&rdquo; is confidential. For this reason, the university submits that the name of the complainant is excepted from public disclosure under section 552.101,&rdquo; the <a href="https://s29017.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Requestor-Notice-with-Enclosure-00362381xC146B.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">response</a> reads.The UNT College Democrats recently sent a <a href="https://twitter.com/UntDemocrats/status/1284503640309477376" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweet</a> which, while condemning recent threats of violence towards YCT, said it plans to ignore YCT in the future, in order to &ldquo;elevate the voices of those most vulnerable to right-wing hate groups such as YCT.&rdquo; &ldquo;What this means regarding the current situation with YCT is that UNT Democrats - for the foreseeable future - is taking a hands-off approach to dealing with YCT and their supporters. It&rsquo;s clear that no petition or any amount of student outrage will remove them from campus unless UNT is liable for whatever potential damage their hate speech and bigoted campus events cause,&rdquo; the statement read. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13817" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: UF students plot to silence Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle in leaked messages]</a> However, YCT is not too concerned about the investigation.&nbsp;Chairman Kelly Neidert said her organization is safe, but that UNT is being quiet in order not to &ldquo;create an uproar with the other side.&rdquo; &ldquo;As of now, I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any chance that we will be removed over the situation that happened in July. I do believe that we&rsquo;re kind of under a microscope now, so if the leftist students catch us breaking some UNT policy, they will take it and run with it,&rdquo; Neidert said. &ldquo;The attention that we got did bring in a lot of new members and supporters, so I would say that the petition completely backfired.&rdquo; UNT College Democrats and Smatresk did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s request for comment in time for publication.Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Dean_Barker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Dean_Barker</a>&nbsp;

The university College Democrats started a petition to have the group removed from campus.

University of North Texas president says he is 'looking into' conservative group after student says she feels 'unsafe' 

The University of Texas has eliminated its free speech zones, confining free speech to certain spaces, after the Texas legislature passed a major piece of free speech legislation in the spring.UT Austin President Gregory Fenves said that the university made the policy changes in order to conform with the new state law, in an August 30 <a href="https://president.utexas.edu/messages/speech-and-expression-on-campus-2019" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">statement</a> addressed to the campus community.&ldquo;For generations, the University of Texas at Austin has thrived because of its commitment to free speech and an open exchange of ideas,&rdquo; Fenves said. &ldquo;Our campus is a hub for people to gather and share different perspectives and experiences.&rdquo;Another provision of <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB18/2019" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">SB 18</a> forces universities to create &ldquo;disciplinary sanctions&rdquo; for those who interfere with others&rsquo; right to free speech.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13546" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: Pence SLAMS colleges over free speech zones, safe spaces]</a>UT Austin spokesman J.B. Bird said that the policy still permits the school to regulate expression that disrupts the campus learning environment.&ldquo;A good example that makes it easy to understand is that you can&rsquo;t just have a rock concert...because that would disturb the daily activities of the campus,&rdquo; Bird said, according to the <a href="https://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/09/02/university-announces-new-free-speech-policy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Daily Texan</a>.Additionally, SB 18 prohibits universities from discriminating against organizations due to religious, political, philosophical, or academic viewpoints.&nbsp;UT spokeswoman Shilpa Bakre told Campus Reform that while &quot;the law went into effect Sept. 1, 2019 thus ensuring compliance by that date,&quot; but that &quot;it allows universities until Aug. 1, 2020, to finalize specific rules for implementation. The interim policies and procedures that UT Austin has introduced at this time will be finalized and recommended for approval by the UT System Board of Regents by that date of 2020.&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13677" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: UW official tells conservative student with &lsquo;free speech ball&rsquo; to move or face the cops]</a>However, the University Democrats are not pleased with the bill and argued that organizations could use it to make some students feel unsafe.&ldquo;What [some organizations] are currently doing is making students feel unsafe and unwelcome,&rdquo; University Democrats President Joe Cascino, according to the Daily Texan. &ldquo;I believe that universities should be able to step in and keep people like [Richard] Spencer or useless incendiary protests like [Young Conservatives of Texas&rsquo;] or Turning Point&rsquo;s from happening.&rdquo;Texas state Republican Rep. Briscoe Cain told Campus Reform that &quot;only time will tell whether UT&#39;s new policies are in conformity with the commands of the legislature and the constitution.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13299" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: Judge tosses out UT-Austin free speech lawsuit]</a>The move to change the free speech policies at the University of Texas at Austin comes merely a few weeks after the free speech nonprofit Speech First filed an appeal for its lawsuit against the university, which alleges that the school&rsquo;s speech codes are unconstitutional.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/asabes10" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">@asabes10</a>

The University Democrats president is not happy with the new law.

University of Texas eliminates free speech zones...and leftist students are not happy

Campus Reform analyzed the 2017-2018 political donation records of employees at the University of Texas (UT), using publicly available records from the Federal Election Commission, in order to determine the political leanings of faculty and administrators at the college.According to the Campus Reform analysis, 96.1 percent of all UT system administrators who donated to political candidates or causes gave a total of $36,852.20 to Democrat politicians or Democrat organizations, such as Texas Senate candidate Beto O&rsquo;Rourke and New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11425" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: VIDEO: Beto O&rsquo;Rourke supporters can&rsquo;t name any of his accomplishments]</a>In total, UT employees donated $642,693.43 from 2017-2018. Of that amount, 94.7 percent went to Democrat politicians or Democrat organizations, while just 5.3 percent of the donations were made to Republican politicians or Republican organizations.In total, 917 faculty members, specifically, donated a total of $481,853.56 to politicians or political organizations. They contributed 93.5 percent of the money to Democrat politicians or organizations, such as the Texas Democrat Party and End Citizens United. Just 6.5 percent of donations went to Republican politicians or Republican causes.Of 140 UT administrators, 137 donated $36,852.20 to Democrat political candidates and politicians. Three UT administrators gave a total of $1,500 in donations to Republican politicians or organizations from 2017-2018.Act Blue and It Starts Today received the highest amount in donations in the Democrat and Democrat category while Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Ted Cruz for Senate received the highest amount in donations in the Republican category.<img src="//s3.amazonaws.com/campusreform/11450/t_DBCUniversityTexasSystem.JPG" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">For the purposes of this data, Campus Reform defined &ldquo;faculty&rdquo; as employees of the college that have direct instructional contact with students, such as professors, teachers, and instructors. &ldquo;Administrators&rdquo; were defined as employees who manage programming or are responsible for students and faculty, such as department chairs, deans, presidents, and provosts.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11432" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE REPORT: 100 percent of SMU administrators, 98.8 percent of faculty donate to Dems]</a>Campus Reform sorted individual donors using their self-stated position at the college. For example, if the individual donor noted that they were a &ldquo;professor of literary theory,&rdquo; they were designated as a faculty member. If an individual noted that they were employed as an &ldquo;executive director,&rdquo; they were designated as an administrator.&nbsp;In the event that an employee&rsquo;s title was ambiguous and could not be confirmed, they were marked as a general employee, but not sorted into faculty or administration categories. Campus Reform did not account for retired UT System employees who made political donations. Campus Reform used 180 variations of keyword searches to cull data specific to UT employees at all 14 institutions listed on the University of Texas System&#39;s <a href="https://www.utsystem.edu/institutions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a>.&nbsp;Campus Reform used the most recent FEC donor records from Jan. 1, 2017 to Oct. 22, 2018.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/grace_gotcha" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Grace_Gotcha</a>

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: 96.1 percent of University of Texas administrators, 93.5 percent of faculty donated to Dems

The University of Tampa announced Tuesday that it has fired a professor who said that Texans deserved Hurricane Harvey because of their support for Donald Trump.
In <a href="http://www.ut.edu/Statement-Regarding-Kenneth-Storey.aspx">a statement</a> sent to the university community, the school strongly condemned the comments made by Professor Ken Storey on Twitter, underscoring that the remarks &ldquo;do not reflect UT's community views or values.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=9660">[RELATED: Prof suggests Texans deserve hurricane for supporting Trump]</a>
&ldquo;We condemn the comments and the sentiment behind them, and understand the pain this irresponsible act has caused. Storey has been relieved of his duties at UT, and his classes will be covered by other sociology faculty,&rdquo; the university wrote.
&ldquo;As Floridians, we are well aware of the destruction and suffering associated with tropical weather,&rdquo; the statement concluded, adding, &ldquo;Our thoughts and prayers are with all impacted by Hurricane Harvey.&rdquo;
On Sunday, Storey <a href="../?ID=9660">tweeted</a> that the devastating storm that caused massive flooding and extensive property damage across Texas was &ldquo;instant Karma&rdquo; for the state&rsquo;s support of the GOP.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe in instant Karma but this kinda feels like it for Texas,&rdquo; the professor wrote. &ldquo;Hopefully this will help them realize the GOP doesn&rsquo;t care about them.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=9154">[RELATED: Prof: House GOP &lsquo;should be lined up and shot&rsquo;]</a>
Storey later elaborated that his comments were only intended for Republican supporters and that the GOP voters in Florida also deserve bad karma.
&ldquo;Well, the good people [of Texas] need to do more to stop the evil their state pushes. I&rsquo;m only blaming those who support the GOP there,&rdquo; he said in a comment, later adding that Trump supporters in Florida &ldquo;deserve it as well.&rdquo;
The following day, the professor voiced &ldquo;regret&rdquo; for making his remarks, insisting that he &ldquo;never meant&rdquo; to wish harm on Texans.
&ldquo;I deeply regret a statement I posted yesterday,&rdquo; Storey tweeted. &ldquo;I never meant to wish ill will upon any group. I hope all affected by Harvey recover quickly.&rdquo;
Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/nikvofficial">@nikvofficial</a>

University fires prof who called hurricane 'karma' for Texas

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/30/supreme-court-will-once-again-consider-affirmative-action-college-admissions" >Fisher v. The University of Texas-Austin</a>, a case on affirmative action, for the <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/062915zor_4g25.pdf" >second time</a>.
In 2008, Abigail Fisher <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/08/affirm" >filed suit</a> against the University of Texas-Austin, after she was denied admission. In Texas, students falling into the <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/imperfect-10" >top 10% of their class</a> are automatically offered admission to the university, while the remaining applicants go through the traditional admissions process.
Fisher missed the top 10% deadline, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/abigail-fisher-profile-2012-10" >placing 62nd in her class, with a 3.59 GPA</a>. She claims that non-white students were admitted to the university with fewer extracurriculars and worse grades than her.
This will be the second time SCOTUS will hear the case after its initial decision in 2013.
The first time the Supreme Court heard the case, it <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-345_l5gm.pdf" >reversed the Fifth Circuit&rsquo;s decision</a> and ordered it to revisit the case with strict scrutiny. Even under strict scrutiny, one of the more demanding judicial inquiries, the lower court still rejected the case in <a href="http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C09/09-50822-CV2.pdf" >July 2014</a>.
Fisher and her lawyers <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/30/supreme-court-will-once-again-consider-affirmative-action-college-admissions" >argue</a> that the top-ten percent program creates diversity and renders affirmative action unneeded.
Many <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/30/supreme-court-will-once-again-consider-affirmative-action-college-admissions" >legal observers</a> are worried about what the case could mean for affirmative action throughout the country. It is unusual for the court to take up a case on an issue recently decided on unless there is a desire to change things.
The primary issue the Supreme Court will address with this case is the amount of discretion that is allowed by university officials in deciding what is adequate diversity for incoming classes.
Judge Emilio Garza, a dissenting judge from Fifth Circuit court <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/vp/irla/Documents/11.12.2014.Rehearing.En.Banc.DENIED.pdf" >stated</a> that &ldquo;the majority continues to defer impermissibly to the University&rsquo;s claims. Proper strict scrutiny would give no deference to UT&rsquo;s assertion its program is narrowly tailored. It must show that before turning to racial classifications, available, race-neutral solutions didn&rsquo;t work.&rdquo;
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to take a closer look to see if there is any justification for race-based policies&rdquo; stated <a href="http://www.pacificlegal.org/staff/Meriem-Hubbard" >Meriem Hubbard</a>, principal attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, in an interview with <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2015/06/29/supreme-court-takes-up-texas-affirmative-action-case-for-second-time/" >Forbes</a>, &ldquo;or whether there are colorblind strategies that can accomplish the same goals.&rdquo;
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SCOTUS to again hear case against University of Texas's affirmative action

Students at the University of North Texas are outraged with the school&rsquo;s chosen commencement speaker for next month&rsquo;s graduation and more than 2,400 students have signed a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/university-of-north-texas-neal-smatresk-provide-a-new-keynote-speaker-for-unt-s-inaugural-university-wide-commencement-ceremony?recruiter=218828416&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=autopublish&amp;utm_term=mob-xs-no_src-no_msg&amp;fb_ref=Default#petition-letter" >petition</a> to have him replaced.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is set to speak at the ceremony in May, but students who have signed the petition argue that he is unfit to speak because they disagree with his political stances.
Kimberly Williams, a student who signed the petition, wrote that, &ldquo;[h]e is not the appropriate person to lead our young leaders into the world,&rdquo; and continued on to list specific incidents of his alleged anti-feminism.
Allyson Nophsker said, &ldquo;I'm signing because I want to attend my own graduation ceremony, but cannot due to my moral disagreements with Abbot's [sic] policies.&rdquo;
The petition reads:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;The University of North Texas&rsquo; student body is made up of students from all walks of life. Therefore, it is pivotal that our keynote speaker be someone who reflects not only our student population but our views on equality and representation. Governor Abbott is an advocate for immigration reform, border patrol, and anti-equal marriage laws. This does not align the spirit of the University of North Texas which prides itself in providing equal opportunities for their students. While Governor Abbott's story is inspirational, his views on inequality cannot be overshadowed by this. Our Mean Green Pride comes from being heard and respected. Which is why we ask University President Neal Smatresk to find a new keynote speaker for graduation.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
Libby Goins, a 2013 graduate of UNT, told Campus Reform that she &ldquo;absolutely&rdquo; supported Abbott as the commencement speaker, &ldquo;not just because of his political views&mdash; [but because] he&rsquo;s the governor of the state.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor for UNT to have any governor visit their campus,&rdquo; Goins said. &ldquo;He is congratulating them on their accomplishments,&rdquo; and &ldquo;doing UNT a favor.&rdquo;
Goins said the petition is disrespectful and childish and that the students should be ashamed. According to Goins, students weren&rsquo;t upset when liberal public figures like Wendy Davis or Ellen Degeneres spoke on campus at past events.
&ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t have this disrespect at UT Austin, Texas A&amp;M, or Texas Tech,&rdquo; she said.
According to the <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/North-Texas-students-say-no-to-Greg-Abbott-6189372.php" >Houston Chronicle</a>, University President Neal Smatresk would not budge on the school&rsquo;s selection.
"He's a new governor, he's supportive of higher education. Why wouldn't we want to celebrate the success of our institution in its 125th year with him?" Smatresk said.
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University of North Texas students outraged with Republican commencement speaker

A rifle allegedly used in the 1966 tower massacre at the University of Texas (UT) is being sold in an online auction.
Bids open at $25,000 for the Remington 700 bolt-action rifle, <a href="http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/4734d54819f746a9b59722d5b2f1e274/TX--Tower-Sniper-Rifle/" > according to</a> the Associated Press, and the current owner&rsquo;s identity is being kept a secret.
The rifle was used by Charles Whitman, a former Marine and UT student, who climbed the University of Texas clock tower on Aug. 1, 1966, and spent an hour murdering 16 people, reportedly hitting victims at a distance of up to 500 yards. The shooting claimed a 17th victim, who died in 2001 from injuries sustained during Whitman&rsquo;s sniping.
Whitman&rsquo;s rampage ended after police climbed the tower and gunned him down on the tower&rsquo;s observation deck.
The gun was sold soon afterward, along with other weapons from Whitman&rsquo;s arsenal, to a Wichita Falls gun dealer. Ownership has reportedly changed several times in the ensuing decades.
Donald Weiss, a Dallas man who is aiding the sale, denies that it is cashing in on &ldquo;the horrific part.&rdquo;
&ldquo;This is strictly for collectors, for its historic value,&rdquo; he told the AP.
The sale is taking place on the <a href="http://texasguntrader.com/index.php?a=19&amp;b%5bsearch_text%5d=Remington%20700&amp;b%5bsearch_by_field%5d=all_fields&amp;b%5bsearch_location%5d%5b0%5d=0&amp;b%5bsubcategories_also%5d=1&amp;order=2" > Texas Gun Trader</a> website according to the <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20140925-rifle-used-by-charles-whitman-in-deadly-1966-ut-rampage-up-for-sale.ece" > AP</a>, though several auctions appear on that site claiming to offer the gun; it is unclear which of them is legitimate.
The shooting was the deadliest on a university campus until 2007, which saw Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho <a > shoot and kill</a> over 30 people and injure many more.
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Murder rifle used in 1966 University of Texas rampage on sale for $25k

A federal court has ruled that the University of Texas (UT) can use race as a factor in admissions in order to increase diversity.
&ldquo;To deny UT Austin its limited use of race in its search for holistic diversity would hobble the richness of the educational experience,&rdquo; Judge Patrick Higginbotham said in the 2-1 opinion for the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
&ldquo;Universities may use race as part of a holistic admissions program where it cannot otherwise achieve diversity,&rdquo; he wrote, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-affirmative-action-ruling-20140715-story.html" target="_blank">according to an article</a> published in The Los Angeles Times.
But the dissenting judge, Emilio Garza, said the university never &ldquo;defined its diversity goal in any meaningful way.&rdquo;
The U.S. Supreme Court the lawsuit back to the appeals court last year.
The original case was filed by Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission in 2008.
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