Free Republic

Students defied Columbia University's orders to vacate their pro-Palestinian protest by 2 p.m. Monday, despite warnings of suspension and after the school's president said it would not divest from Israel — a demand that has sparked protests on college campuses across the country. "We have begun suspending students," Ben Chang, vice president for communications and a spokesperson for the university, said around 5 p.m., about three hours after the deadline passed. The university had told student demonstrators to vacate by 2 p.m. or else “be suspended pending further investigation” and barred from completing the spring semester. At the encampment, now...

It looked like we finally had a return to cruising at the end of October when the CDC lifted the No-Sail-Order. The Conditional sailing framework’s implementation looked to be a hurdle, but not an insurmountable one; indeed, by December, we could be cruising again. In September, the major cruise lines fought with the CDC about lifting the No-Sail-Order, which director Redfield wanted to extend until February. It took an intervention from the White House to stop the CDC. How different it has turned out to be. Now we have cruise lines canceling voyages on their own until March, April, and...

[Catholic Caucus] Spanish Bishop Stands Firm: “No Need To Close Masses” Alcalá de Henares Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla, Spain, 72, has NOT suspended public Masses in his diocese, “Mass is heaven on earth, and without it man loses his soul,” Reig told LaNuovaBq.it(March 20), “There is no need to deny the Bread from Heaven to those who are able to attend Mass and desire God's comfort.” Reig was not pressured by the government to stop public Masses, although Spain is under heavy restrictions. Liturgies are allowed under preventive measures like keeping safe distances and disinfecting floors and pews. For...

Full title: Judicial Watch Obtains Records of 14 Referrals of FBI Employees for Leaking Sensitive or Classified Information (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it received records of 14 referrals of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees to the organization’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or classified information. The disclosure comes off the heels of Judicial Watch’s uncovering a FBI report detailing fired FBI Director James Comey kept FBI documents on President Trump at his house. Comey also admitted to leaking these documents. Although the FBI’s OPR does not have its own website,...

The Trump administration is being accused of racism for targeting an Obama-era directive compelling schools to ease up on discipline for minority students — even though the policy has made life more difficult for kids, including minorities, stuck in increasingly unruly classrooms. Ask Virginia Walden Ford, who runs a church-based after-school snack program in Little Rock. She was recently surprised when a young, fearful black girl turned up before the end of the school day and admitted she had skipped class. Why? She had been involved in a fight the day before with another girl, but the school had refused...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teachers in the nation's second largest school district say a new policy aimed at reducing suspensions is also having another effect: More unruly students in their classrooms. Los Angeles Unified School District was the first to ban suspending students for defiance in California and began instituting restorative justice policies that emphasize counseling and conflict resolution.

Purpose A large body of empirical research finds a significant racial gap in the use of exclusionary school discipline with black students punished at rates disproportionate to whites. Furthermore, no variable or set of variables have yet to account for this discrepancy, inviting speculation that this association is caused by racial bias or racial antipathy. We investigate this link and the possibility that differential behavior may play a role. Methods Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K), the largest sample of school-aged children in the United States, we first replicate the results of prior studies. We...

The state of Arizona is now investigating allegations of massive corruption among government officials in Quartzsite, Ariz., the town that's the focus of worldwide attention after police forcibly removed a woman from speaking at a town-hall meeting, and where the mayor today says he's not being paid and most local police officers are wrongly being fired and have been ordered not to leave their homes. "I'm no longer getting paid as mayor," said Ed Foster, the elected head of Quartzsite. "That's not a big deal, but it's in the town code that I get a stipend of $400. If they...

NEW YORK -- NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games Monday and six other players were penalized as commissioner David Stern came down hard on both teams after the Nuggets and Knicks brawled at Madison Square Garden. Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended. Stern fined each organization $500,000. But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night. [Snip] Mardy Collins, whose hard foul on Smith sparked the fighting, was...

Michael Barrett was suspended for 10 games and fined on Friday for punching White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski during Saturday's Cubs-Sox game at U.S. Cellular Field. Barrett immediately appealed the verdict from Major League Basbeall disciplinarian Bob Watson and was in the starting lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta. Sox outfielder Brian Anderson received a five-game suspension and fine for his involvement in the brawl, and Sox coach Joey Cora received a two-game suspension and a fine for fighting. Pierzynski received a fine but no suspension. Barrett would not reveal why he believed he should receive a lesser punishment for...

OCEANSIDE – Representatives of a national lawyers association are calling many of Oceanside Unified's 224 protest-related suspensions potentially illegal because they stemmed from students refusing to return to class when directed by school personnel. James Lafferty, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles chapter, which champions the rights of minorities and seeks to protect civil rights, said the state Education Code makes it illegal to suspend students for truancy. And Kate Yavenditti, a representative for the San Diego branch, agrees that students with complaints of unjust treatment may have a basis for challenging the suspension. “Really what they're...

Dear Mr. Robinson and Fellow Freepers, Moderating for FR may indeed be a "thankless" job, and in general I appreciate the job they've done over the years, but... In recent days I have been suspended twice -- once for posting to a certain well-known Freeper who has obviously been given preferential treatment by FR's Moderators; another for supposedly mentioning that same "elite" Freeper in posts to others. I'm not the only one this particular complaining Freeper has demanded he NOT be posted to -- though he often posts long rambling controversial rants and vanities about which he expects and savors...

BRAWL IN THE FAMILY by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher November 23, 2004 What in the world has become of sports these days? I'm not just talking about the athletes who have long been out of control, but now that venomous contagion has spread into the ranks of the paid attendance as well. Take for example the latest example of both athletes and fans behaving very badly, no; make that atrociously or rather, criminally.We begin with the granddaddy of all fights, the basketbrawl showdown (yes, you read correctly) between the Indiana Pacers and the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons where...

Parents of some second-graders at a Mount Pleasant Area elementary school are questioning whether a 10-day ban from school is appropriate punishment for youngsters accused of sexual harassment in the classroom. The suspensions were handed to five second-grade boys at Norvelt Elementary School after four girls accused the boys of touching them inappropriately, according to parents of some of the boys. Daniel Landy, Norvelt Elementary's principal, did not return phone calls seeking comment on Thursday. Superintendent Dr. Donald Tylinski would say only that an investigation is under way. Tylinski declined further comment, citing confidentiality concerns.