Free Republic

A professor at a public university in North Carolina forbade his students from thanking God in personal statements that will be delivered during their departmental graduation ceremony on Friday. In an email obtained by Campus Reform, Assistant Professor Eli Hvastkovs, who teaches chemistry at East Carolina University (ECU), instructed his students to prepare a “family friendly” 35­ word personal statement that mentions future plans or “thanks someone.” The students, however, were explicitly forbidden from thanking God. “I've had some submissions that needed to be edited. so [sic] here are some guidelines,” the email reads. “1. You can't thank God. I'm...

Diversity and tolerance is a one way street Via The DC Students in a California school district will not be allowed to wear American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo, due to concerns that such displays of patriotism would inflame racial tensions by offending Mexican students on their holiday. The district’s policy concerned many free speech advocates, but was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In response, Tea Party groups plan to protest outside Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill. And they will be wearing American flag T-shirts. “They silenced a symbol of patriotism and freedom in...

Students who graduate from the University of California-Berkeley can expect to spend roughly $120,000 for a four-year degree. This year, they still must pay an extra $10 to attend their own graduation ceremony, where they will also listen to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Students who do not cough up the cash before Wednesday, April 30 for the campus-wide commencement ceremony have been told they will not be able to attend on May 17 at California Memorial Stadium.

Michelle Obama has rescheduled a high school graduation speech after the students complained that her appearance would prevent many of their friends and relatives from attending the ceremony. The First Lady was scheduled to speak at a combined graduation ceremony for five high schools in Topeka, Kansas, on May 17 but will now be speaking at a different 'senior recognition day' ceremony the day before. 'Once we learned about the concerns of some students, we were eager to find a solution that enabled all of the students and their families to celebrate the special day,' said the First Lady's communications...

Nearly 40 children have been found with guns on school premises over the last three years, a shocking new national survey has disclosed. Figures obtained from police forces across Britain showed guns and air weapons had been confiscated on 37 occasions by officers—including two hand guns. The other guns included 27 ball bearing guns and seven other air weapons. The figures showed almost 1,000 pupils in total were caught by police with weapons in schools, including a Taser stun gun, a meat cleaver, three axes and a cut-throat razor. The total is likely to be only the tip of the...

WASHINGTON -- Spring is in the air, and one senses that it is again time for the college students of the land to engage in protest. It all began in the late 1960s, and one of the legacies of that period is that the campuses are evacuated as soon as possible. By May, the student body will be vamoosing. Administrators have discovered that that soft, gentle, spring-like weather breeds discontent among the students, drunken carousal, violence and criminality. It is best to return the inmates to their parents. An early sign of this seasonal discontent came a week ago at...

President Barack Obama on Monday announced more than $100 million in grants for two dozen schools across the country that are helping students gain work experience for what he called the “in-demand jobs of the future.” The money, which comes from fees that companies pay for visas to hire foreign workers for specialized jobs, is the result of an executive order Obama signed last year to better prepare high school students for college or for careers. Students are working on “cooler stuff than when I was in high school,” Obama said as he announced the grants before cheering high school...

Parents and students are fighting back against the war on Christmas and there is evidence that in some states they are winning the battle. Help has come from recently passed legislation that allows celebrations of the holidays in school rooms once again.

Common Core indoctrination has become an issue in coming elections as parents target politicians who support the Federal government imposed program on school districts.

Today, I write with some good news some of you may have already heard. On March 20, in Greenville, N.C., a federal jury unanimously sided with me in my claims that the University of North Carolina–Wilmington (UNCW) violated federal law in a 2006 promotion decision. Specifically, the jury found that my First Amendment–protected speech was a “substantial or motivating factor” in the defendants’ decision not to promote me to full professor. They also found that defendants could not prove they would have made the same decision in the absence of my speech activity. The case now moves to the judge...

HARTFORD — Mary Jo Andrews, Carol Poehnert and several other West Hartford mothers of children with mental-health problems had quietly met for eight years, usually over dinner, to share their experiences and frustrations, and to trade tips and shortcuts learned while navigating the treatment system. Then the Sandy Hook School tragedy happened in December 2012. "And we decided we needed to get out and do some advocating,'' Andrews told 70 parents and health care professionals at a forum at the Institute of Living Wednesday evening. It is the first of a handful of planned sessions — part of an effort...

Pop Quiz: We ask college students - Can You Name One U.S. Senator? How Many U.S. Senators for Each State?

The University of Michigan would not explain how it is responding to death threats and racial epithets that were reportedly issued by pro-Palestinian activists at students who oppose a resolution to divest from Israel. University of Michigan police were first contacted last week after two pro-Palestinian activists shouted “threats of violence” at a student who refused to support their boycott initiative during a “sit-in” at the student government’s headquarters. The Washington Free Beacon has further learned that the pro-Israel student received death threats and that others have allegedly been called “kikes” and “dirty Jews” by backers of the virulently anti-Israel...

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. - Middle school students moved their lesson from the classroom to the shooting range. It wasn’t your typical field trip. A group of students in Pueblo County was firing live ammo and learning about gun safety. "I'm very excited, today we're going to come out here on the gun range and shoot a little bit. The past week we've learned about the revolutionary war," said Jonah Statezny, a Craver middle school student. "My favorite part is shooting guns. When I was little we used to go to the shooting range," said another student, Danielle Cooper. ... Appleseed...

There is growing evidence that charter schools are empowering parents, pioneering fresh teaching methods, encouraging state and local innovation and help students escape underperforming schools.

Amy Chua, the "Tiger Mother" who launched a thousand panic attacks among ambitious but lenient parents, is back with an almost-great book about why some groups achieve spectacular success in America while others languish. Written with her husband Jed Rubenfeld (both are law professors at Yale), "The Triple Package" examines a number of groups who've succeeded in this country and advances a thesis about why groups (and nations) prosper or decline. The success of Asian-American immigrants (this principally includes people from China, Japan, Korea and India) is legendary. Less familiar is the bounding achievement of Nigerian immigrants. Though they account...

The federal government has lost track of tens of thousands of foreign students who came to the U.S. to study and then took jobs, often in violation of the terms of their visas, according to a new internal audit. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn’t even consistently collect information or have the tools to monitor all of the foreign students who take part in the optional practical training (OPT) program, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report released late Friday. “The problems with OPT are extensive and serious. The report not only calls into question the department’s oversight...

Students and parents rejecting costly college loan burdens Higher education accompanied by student debt is losing its appeal for many college-age Americans and their parents. The result could be a move by many colleges and universities to find ways to cut costs and even offer tuition discounts.

Cancel the philosophy courses, people. Oh, and we're going to be shuttering the political science, religion and pre-law departments too. We'll keep some of the English and history folks on for a while longer, but they should probably keep their resumes handy. Because, you see, they are of no use anymore. We have the answers to the big questions, so why keep pretending there's anything left to discuss? At least that's where Erin Ching, a student at Swarthmore College, seems to be coming down. Her school invited a famous left-wing Princeton professor, Cornel West, and a famous right-wing Princeton professor,...

"BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said."