Free Republic

The University of Michigan said Saturday’s emergency alert may have stemmed from the sound of popping balloons on campus. At 4:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security (DPSS) and local law enforcement received about 20 calls reporting shots fired on the second floor of Mason Hall on the Ann Arbor campus. During these reports, a vigil was being held for those killed in the mosque attacks in New Zealand.

A University of Michigan professor refused to help a student study abroad in Israel because of an academic boycott against the country — and claims he’s getting death threats for his decision. John Cheney-Lippold, an associate professor in the American culture department, told student Abigail Ingber he couldn’t write her a letter of recommendation to study in Israel, citing an academic boycott of the country. “As you may know, many university departments have pledged an academic boycott against Israel in support of the Palestinians living in Palestine,” Cheney-Lippold wrote in an email, a screenshot of which was posted to Facebook...

A University of Michigan professor has come under fire for declining to provide a recommendation letter, citing his support for an Israel boycott.

The University of Michigan is one of our nation’s premier institutions of higher learning. Young people from all over the country move to Ann Arbor every year to obtain an education, and to have their ideas challenged by exposure to fellow students from many walks of life. Or maybe not. Last Thursday afternoon a number of anonymous chalk messages appeared on campus. But because these chalk messages read “#Stop Islam” and “Trump 2016,” these innocuous messages elicited 911 calls and apology from the president of the university. Apparently such statements constitute “hate speech.”

Eight people were arrested at a protest that disrupted a University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting Thursday. Protesters — arguing that the school should admit more minorities — rushed the tables, causing a disturbance similar to one that took place last November. “Several people from the audience swarmed the tables,” said Campus Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown. “The police officers were able to control them in the middle of the room.” At least four tables went flying, along with multiple chairs, the Detroit Free Press reported; and several police officers tackled protesters, who fought back, shoving and kicking. Photos...

I once asked my late father if he had any experiences with anti-Semitism. There weren't many. Although that was probably in part because of his scoring methodology. The Irish kids who beat up the Jewish kids in his Bronx neighborhood didn't do so because they were anti-Semitic, but because "they had to fight somebody," as my dad put it. Today, such behavior would probably be called a hate crime. So I suppose that's progress. He did tell me that the first time someone said to him "Don't Jew me" was during his freshman year at the University of Michigan. He...

Around 2 a.m. on December 12, four students approached the apartment of Omar Mahmood, a Muslim student at the University of Michigan, who had recently published a column in a school newspaper about his perspective as a minority on campus. The students, who were recorded on a building surveillance camera wearing baggy hooded sweatshirts to hide their identity, littered Mahmood’s doorway with copies of his column, scrawled with messages like “You scum embarrass us,” “Shut the **** up,” and “DO YOU EVEN GO HERE?! LEAVE!!” They posted a picture of a demon and splattered eggs. This might appear to be...

In 2007, newspapers around the state trumpeted Google’s announcement that it was opening its AdWords office in Ann Arbor. Then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm came down to Ann Arbor for the press conference and former University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and several high-ranking state officials all commented on Google’s arrival. This week, MLive reported that the owner of the buildings Google currently inhabits will be leasing out that space in 2016, raising questions about Google’s future in Ann Arbor. Google was projected to bring in 1,000 jobs within five years of moving into its Ann Arbor offices. A company spokesperson...

Paul Christensen cast his line deftly into the water. Seconds later, the line went taut and he went to work to reel in his catch. The outcome was never in doubt, but the fish was not giving up without a fight. After a couple of minutes, Christensen showed off his catch, a carp of about 5 pounds (more like 3 pounds), hooked on the soccer field at Fuller Park in Ann Arbor Friday. That’s right, a soccer field. “It’s sort of a making lemonade out of lemons situation,” said Dirk Fischbach of Saline, who came out with Christensen Friday to...

Air Force Research Laboratory-funded researchers at the University of Michigan invented a new type of magnetron that may be used in defeating enemy electronics. A vital component of military radar systems since World War II, a magnetron is a kind of vacuum tube that serves as the frequency source in microwave ovens, radar systems, and other high-power microwave circuits. The newly devised technology--which is more compact, exhibits faster start-up, and demonstrates higher peak and average power than current devices--should enable higher-power, higher-frequency operation and, thus, improved potential for jamming and defeat of adversarial systems. While basic magnetron design has changed...