Free Republic

Editor’s note:Since the barbaric Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7th, American universities have become an undeniable locus of Jew hatred within our nation. Much attention has deservedly been paid to the radical campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine who call for the genocide of the Jews and cheer the terrorists of Hamas. What has received less attention—but should in fact rank as the universities’ worst offense—is the Jew hatred promoted by official departments and institutes of the universities themselves. In the case of our campuses, Jew hatred is “the call coming from inside the house.”The Freedom Center...

If you are up on the latest trends in academia, you’ll know that “institutional neutrality” is in the news as more universities consider or adopt it. In my view, this is a good thing, as it maintains the role of the university as a neutral arena in which faculty and students can freely express and debate a wide range of viewpoints constructively rather than feel stifled when their university takes a public stance on a political or social issue. However, there is confusion within academia on what institutional neutrality means and how to implement it. The free-speech organization FIRE (Foundation...

During the last dozen years or so, one of the more common higher-education stories has been a college or university rushing to judgment against a male student or faculty member over an allegation of misconduct with a female. The Obama education department encouraged schools to “get tough” by employing procedures that were grossly unfair to the accused individuals, usually resulting in their suspension or expulsion. Subsequently, many lawsuits were filed against colleges for having violated the rights of those who were disciplined. In most instances, the school lost, with the judges frequently denouncing the “kangaroo court” nature of the proceedings...

If I, a graduating senior, were to give one piece of advice to an incoming UNC student, it would be to research prospective classes diligently. Search online for syllabi, survey professors’ CVs and academic work, and read students’ course reviews. Far too often, one signs up for a class simply because it fulfills a general-education or major requirement, only to spend a semester subjected to a shallow display of advocacy and a denigration of what once provided the basis for a rigorous liberal education. Unfortunately, the number of truly rigorous and enlightening courses available to UNC students continues to dwindle....

The University of North Carolina system oversees 16 state universities. Campus locations include Chapel Hill, Wilmington, Charlotte, Asheville, and Greensboro. UNC-Chapel Hill, originally called the University of North Carolina, was founded in 1789 and is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. According to Wikipedia statistics, some 245,000 students attended UNC system universities in 2021. One of the schools in the UNC system, UNC-Greensboro, is in the news these days because of a decision by Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam Jr. to cut undergraduate and/or graduate programs in physics, mathematics, computer science, anthropology and nursing, citing “university direction,...

The UNC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) doesn’t have a great track record on free speech and civil discourse. Its members have occupied university administrative buildings, attempted to shout down speakers, and used intimidation tactics on Jewish students. So it’s unsurprising that SJP shows equal disdain for the university’s commitment to institutional neutrality. The Chapel Hill student organization has shared a list of “demands” for university action in an online petition and in a letter to UNC administration. The list of demands, if met, would be the equivalent of UNC taking sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On October 17, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), students taking a communications class were told:“The majority of Palestinians are children. They are seen as legitimate targets of violence.”“Israel and the United States do not give a shit about international law or war crimes.”“White nationalists like Richard Spencer see Israel as a model to be emulated.”“The attack by Hamas was not senseless, there is context.”These are just some of the things that professor E. Chebrolu said during a class titled, “Rhetoric and Public Issues” (COMM 170).Chebrolu told students, “What has been happening in Gaza and the...

Student organizations play a major role in shaping a campus environment outside of the classroom. Students’ participation in athletics, activism, extra-curricular learning, events, and other activities is typically organized by student-run clubs that work to supplement formal academic instruction. Many such organizations are funded by their respective universities, which means that close scrutiny of potentially discriminatory funding practices is merited. Indeed, there are drawbacks to using mandatory fees to subsidize student organizations at all. UNC-System schools provide substantial funding to registered student organizations by allocating revenues collected through mandatory student fees. UNC-Chapel Hill states that its required student-organization fee “supports...

Digital-reporting systems on college campuses are not a new concept. Yet they are currently being manipulated, even exploited, to fuel a campus culture in which peers and even faculty patrol each other for “biased” speech and activities. In recent years, colleges and universities across the United States have proven that maintaining free speech, academic freedom, and the pursuit of truth is low on their list of priorities. Instead, allegedly “inclusive” and “diverse” university environments regularly fall prey to a single political narrative, often accompanied by the silencing of those who do not agree. As colleges and universities have pursued this...

"Mental health" has become a catchphrase of our time. In 1976, Raymond Williams, the British literary scholar, published Keywords, in which he analyzed nearly 200 words that, in his view, comprised the core vocabulary of modern Western societies. Among the terms that Williams identified were “democracy” and “capitalism,” “utilitarian” and “unconscious,” “reform” and “revolution.” If a new edition of Keywords were to appear, it would almost certainly include an entry on “mental health.” The term “mental health” seems to have become mainstream after the Second World War, when the first International Congress on Mental Health was held in London in...

UNC-Chapel Hill UNC-Chapel Hill students were urged to shelter in place Monday afternoon after reports that an "armed and dangerous" gunman was on campus. According to local reports, a faculty member was killed by the alleged shooter, who is now in custody.Those reports also identify Tailei Qi, seen here in an undated UNC-CH Applied Physical Sciences student profile photo, as the man arrested and taken into custody. Information from that profile shows that he also studied at Wuhan University:Person of interest Tailei Qi studied at Wuhan University, according to a website run by UNC-Chapel Hill, which collaborated with the Wuhan...

This session, the North Carolina legislature has taken aim at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) trainings on UNC-System campuses. On March 14th, Senate Majority Staff Director Derrick Welch sent a letter to the UNC System requesting a list of all employee trainings on that topic from 2023 and the previous three years. Since DEI in higher ed is a matter of continuing interest for the Martin Center, we promptly sent public-records requests to the UNC System and its 16 constituent institutions, requesting all responses sent to Welch and the legislature. At the time of this article’s publication, 12 of the...

In the past several years, the Martin Center has exposed and reported on numerous diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at UNC-Chapel Hill. Since late 2021, we have uncovered DEI plans that pose significant threats to academic freedom and free speech in at least three schools. In November 2021, John Sailer exposed “The UNC School of Medicine’s Quiet ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ Revolution.” In December 2022, Shannon Watkins wrote about the School of Journalism’s “Plan of Action on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).” And just last month, Harrington Shaw documented Chapel Hill’s latest DEI push in the College of Arts and...

The University of North Carolina (UNC) has shared an ‘inclusive’ language guide, laying out guidelines for what students and staff are and are not allowed to say.The guide essentially wipes the word ‘man’ out of existence, and discourages the use of the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’.A statement from the university claims “Carolina is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for every Tar Heel. To fully represent the diversity of our students, faculty, staff and everyone in our community, it is important to use language that supports these values.”It continues, “This inclusive language guide can act as a...

In January 2023, UNC-Chapel Hill launched its “DEI Strategic Plan” for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). The DEI Strategic Plan is an offshoot of Chief Diversity Officer Leah Cox’s “Build Our Community Together” initiative, itself part of a 2020 program entitled “Carolina Next.” That initiative outlines plans to align admissions, hiring, and retention policies with administrators’ diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Objectives include “​​prioritiz[ing] diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, research and service, and in hiring, evaluation, retention and promotion of under-represented faculty and staff.” This is in addition to “explor[ing] innovative approaches to admissions” focused on DEI....

Conservative activist Kenny Xu, who’s fighting what he says are harmful diversity, equity and inclusion practices at US medical schools, says he’s notched another anti-DEI win at the University of North Carolina — with the help of a renowned, African-born, US-based heart surgeon. Xu persuaded Harvard-trained Dr. Nche Zama, 66, who was born in the Republic of Cameroon and immigrated alone to the US at age 14 with just $20, to speak at one of the anti-DEI events Xu organized in Chapel Hill in February aimed at getting the UNC medical school to back off its policies. Now UNC’s medical...

The University of North Carolina (UNC) medical school disbanded its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) task force without implementing its recommendations, just months after banning DEI statements from admission, hiring, promotion and tenure. UNC said it plans to disband its DEI Task Force, without implementing its recommendations, including integrating social justice into the school's curriculum. The UNC DEI document also included recommendations that were partially based on the DEI protocols of the Association of American Medical Colleges that requires students to study topics like "Unconscious Bias Awareness," "Understanding and Responding to Microaggressions," and "Understanding that America's medical system is structurally...

Last month, UNC-Chapel Hill faculty penned an open letter airing criticism of both the North Carolina General Assembly and the UNC Board of Trustees. Among their complaints was the allegation that the proposed new School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL) is a “clear violation” of governance principles. But the faculty don’t have the full story. More of the truth is finally coming out about the proposed school at UNC-Chapel Hill, my alma mater, where I am a member of the Board of Trustees. The idea for the new school’s pro-democracy curriculum goes back years—and has involved faculty input from...

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the University of North Carolina this past week which, according to the student paper, resulted in some students leaving campus out of fear for “their safety.” The Daily Tar Heel reports that Pence spoke on April 26 about “a range of issues” at the “Saving America from the Woke Left” event sponsored by the Young America’s Foundation and the campus College Republicans. The UNC Young Democrats and members of 15 other student groups joined for a pre-Pence speech protest (pictured), dubbed “Saving America With the ‘Woke Left.’” Freshman Sawyer Husain, who’s from Pence’s...

Hundreds of professors at the University of North Carolina signed a public letter Tuesday opposing legislation that would require university students to take courses on America's government and founding documents. The 673 UNC Chapel Hill professors revealed the public letter Tuesday, arguing the new courses and another bill in the North Carolina House of Representatives would constitute an infringement on the university's "academic freedom." The first piece of legislation, House Bill 96, would require students to take a 3 credit-hour course covering America's founding and history. Required reading for the course would include the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence,...