Free Republic

For about a century, intellectuals, especially those who teach, have been looking for philosopher kings. When the objects of their affections turn out to be thugs, they rarely admit it. "In the twenty-first century, generalized affirmations of socialism, Marxism, and anti-capitalism remain widespread among Western intellectuals without anyone specifying when and where those ideas were, would or could be realized," Paul Hollander writes in his new book, From Benito Mussolini to Hugo Chavez: Intellectuals and a Century of Political Hero Worship. "It is difficult at the present time to find academics intellectuals ready to identify and locate such a system."...

UK: Over 100 Muslim “extremist speakers” invited to speak at universities SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 12:14 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS 7 COMMENTS British universities hosted 110 events featuring extremist speakers in the last academic year, 2016/17, with the highest proportion taking place in London institutions….The extremist events listed were overwhelmingly organised by Islamic societies and groups and speakers included former Guantanamo Bay detainees and Islamists The Henry Jackson Think Tank report authors “suggest that despite Prime Minister Theresa May’s claim that ‘enough is enough’, universities continue to be a vulnerable target for extremists promoting their messages.” All of the UK remains...

Two university professors are arguing white college students need robust diversity training confronting their “privileged identity” before embarking on extended trips to foreign countries. . . . “White fragility and the lack of critical pre-departure training in the areas of race and racism lead students to overlook or minimize racism as an important system of global oppression,” the article states.

This is a "whatever became of?" blog. When old established universities opened branch campuses abroad in the first decade of this century, the education press was full of glowing coverage generated by university press releases but the news from abroad has slowed to a trickle, and it’s not because nothing is happening there. Andrew Ross, in the latest issue of the Academe journal published by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) updates us on what happened when American academics decided to go international i n a big way. "The outcomes of this rush to go offshore were uneven," Ross...

At Berkeley, there are both unequivocal voices championing the importance of free speech, no matter how inflammatory, and professors who say lines need to be drawn on campuses. These professors argue that the First Amendment needs to be reassessed for reasons that include the rise of internet trolling and cyberbullying and that some scientific research now shows that hateful speech can cause physical pain.

A Bridgewater State University assistant professor is expressing regret after his post-election rant slamming President Trump and his supporters made headlines. . . . “F– Donald Trump,” and “F– ANYONE who voted for Donald Trump,” a now-deleted Nov. 10 post by Mr. Nichols read. A Nov. 11 post, which has since been deleted, featured a picture of the Ku Klux Klan and Mr. Nichols‘ comment that read: “Trump voters, you belong in this parade.”

New Book Release Date October 3, 2017 The consensus view of two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health. Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association’s “Goldwater rule,” which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to answer this question have shied away from discussing the...

The president of John Jay College said she was “shocked” to hear the “abhorrent” anti-cop statement spewed by a professor at her school and immediately suspended him. “I am appalled that anyone associated with John Jay, with our proud history of supporting law enforcement authorities, would suggest that violence against police is ever acceptable,” John Jay president Karol Mason said about professor Michael Isaacson. Police union wants professor fired over 'dead cop' tweets Police union wants professor fired over 'dead cop' tweets Mason said that threats were made to the members of the college in the wake of his comment...

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md) says he will introduce a bill that would require universities and colleges to define “acceptable speech” on campus. “On too many college campuses fresh-mouthed youths hide behind the First Amendment claiming that they have a right to air their unfiltered political views regardless of whether others might find them hurtful or outside the bounds of respectable opinion,” Brown said. “They openly flout the ‘free speech zone’ restrictions that school officials have imposed in an effort to protect students from hearing offensive remarks. We’ve got to put a muzzle on these free-speech abusers.” Brown’s proposed legislation would...

I have to say I was really shocked to see a lot of leftists come out against antifa (though of course not all-- Elizabeth Edwards). I'm shocked because the left always embraces and protects its extremists, no matter what they do (for example black lives matter thugs). This is the only time I have seen them do this, so what's the deal?

This weekend, leaders from Ole Miss Greek life convened upon Camp Hopewell in Lafayette County for a three-day retreat designed to build leaders and bring campus closer together. The retreat was cut short Saturday night, however, after three black students found a banana peel in a tree in front of one of the camp’s cabins. The students shared what they found with National Pan-Hellenic Council leaders, sparking a day’s worth of camp-wide conversation surrounding symbolism, intended or not. In the midst of the open and sometimes heated discussion, senior accounting major Ryan Swanson said he put the banana peel in...

Administrators at The Evergreen State College have announced that the embattled school faces a massive $2.1 million budget shortfall due in part to a drop in enrollment, and the institution has already handed out some temporary layoff notices as officials grapple with balancing the books.

Reporting confrontation between PFP and students in Oaxaca The cordon of federal agents fell back about 200 meters and they returned to the starting point, the terminus of University Avenue Jorge Octavio Ochoa, Alejandro Torres & David Aponte/Correspondents El Universal (Mexico City) Oaxaca City, Oaxaca Thursday 2 November 2006 11:20 a.m.   A confrontation between students of the Benito Juarez Autonomous University of Oaxaca (UABJO) and elements of the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) is being reported. The uniformed officers are being practically bombarded by a rain of stones, sticks, molotov cocktails, and fireworks, from the interior [of the University] to...

newsletter posted on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) campus started to make the rounds on social media Thursday. It states veterans should be banned from four-year universities. Several viewers asked 11 News to look into the origin of the newsletter. The letter states military veterans should be banned from classes and compares the military culture to white supremacist groups. The newsletter is titled "Social Justice Collective Weekly" and says it is the first issue. A spokesperson for UCCS said the newsletter has nothing to do with the school and does not represent the institution's views. However, it was...

A newsletter posted on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) campus is starting to make the rounds on social media and it states veterans should be banned from four-year universities. Several viewers asked 11 News to look into the origin of the newsletter. The letter states military veterans should be banned from classes and compares the military culture to white supremacist groups. The newsletter is titled "Social Justice Collective Weekly" and says it is the first issue. A spokesperson for UCCS said the newsletter has nothing to do with the school and does not represent the institution's views. However,...

On Thursday, the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs shared an article written by the school's Dean, Reuben Brigety, entitled "Donald Trump is a Nazi Sympathizer." In the article, published by Foreign Policy and promoted by the university, Dean Brigety explicitly calls the President of the United States "America's first Nazi-supporting president" and the "Nazi-in-chief." "For the first time in our history, a Nazi sympathizer occupies the Oval Office," Dean Brigety writes. "His comments during a press conference on August 15 in which he spontaneously reiterated his support for white supremacist protesters left the world slack-jawed in disbelief...

There is a distinction between color blindness and absent mindedness. The former is a worthy goal consonant with Dr. King's desire that we judge each other "by the content of our character not the color of our skin." The latter is too frequently on display in academia. "As a white assistant professor of mostly white graduate students who will become higher education leaders, I work to dismantle whiteness in my curriculum, assignments and pedagogy," Jodi L. Linley writes. "I make meaning of my own white identity through my commitment to reflexivity as a constant activity." "Equally salient are my identities...

The Higher Education Establishment insists that its mission is just that. Academic insiders know better. "Activism in this broad sense rules the day in contemporary higher education," Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John’s College in Annapolis, writes in the summer 2017 issue of Modern Age. "The core purpose of the University of Texas, according to its mission statement, is 'to transform lives for the benefit of society.'" "Education is for the sake of 'social transformation,' says Harvard College--or 'the improvement of the world today,' according to Yale University." Yet and still, conservatives ready to high five each other and...

Guess who doesn't like the Trump Administration's attempt to investigate whether colleges and universities practice racial discrimination in their affirmative action programs? “The Department of Justice has as yet declined to provide details about the new effort,” Hank Reichman of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) averred. "While we hope that any prosecutions will be consistent with current Supreme Court precedents upholding the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions programs, the AAUP will join with other organizations and individuals in higher education to vigorously defend the value of diversity and the rights of faculty and institutions to determine for themselves appropriate...

NEW BRUNSWICK-- Undergraduate students at Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus will see a 1.85 percent increase in tuition and fees this fall, or an extra $266 on their annual bill. The average in-state undergraduate on the New Brunswick campus will pay $14,638 in annual tuition and fees in the 2017-2018 under a plan approved by the school's Board of Governors. Rutgers is also hiking the cost of room and board by 1.5 percent. Including housing, the total bill for the average New Brunswick undergraduate from New Jersey will be $27,090, a 1.7 percent increase from the previous year.