Free Republic

Controversial figure Lawrence Summers is due to speak at Tufts next month. The question is, will anyone listen? The former Harvard president, whose alleged views on race and gender have sparked controversy, is scheduled to deliver this semester's Richard E. Snyder Presidential Lecture. His speech will be entitled "Rethinking Undergraduate Education." The speech will come on the heels of Shelby Steele's fierce criticism of affirmative action in last semester's Snyder Lecture and the nationally-publicized parody in The Primary Source that condemned affirmative action while using language that many considered racially insensitive. This combination of events has led many to oppose...

Every morning, I sit down with a delicious Dewick breakfast, coffee and the Daily. As of late, every morning, I make it to the Viewpoints page and read a heart-warming article about tolerance, diversity and community. Then every morning, I roll my eyes, shut the Daily and reach for a newspaper from the real world. This morning, after reading that not enough white people came to the town meeting and that intro-level English classes should be turned into race relations classes, I have had enough. As a senior, I have sat through four years of listening to people opine over...

Secret U-M society did well to change Secrecy's out, diversity's in. More than 100 years after Michigamua was born, the secret honor society at the University of Michigan has changed its name and, more importantly, its mission. Now called The Order of the Angell - a reference to James Angell, U[niversity of]-M[ichigan]'s president from 1871 to 1909 and a Michigamua founder - the group hopes to overcome its controversial past. Michigamua came under fire for its use of rituals and artifacts that critics said mocked Native American culture. For much of its past the senior society admitted only males, primarily...

There's an unsettlingly prosaic quality to "Texas Death Row: Executions by Lethal Injection'' that's bone chilling and distressing. The exhibit, at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities new Exhibition Space, consists of 370 mug shots of executed convicts, as well as a chronological list on a gallery wall of these convicts and their victims. As the gallery's curator, author and producer Bill Crawford, tells us in his introduction, "At midnight on Dec. 7, 1982, the state of Texas conducted the first execution by lethal injection in the U.S. In the 25 years since that time, Texas has conducted...

The state Judicial Conduct Board has filed administrative charges against Monroe County Judge Mark Pazuhanich, who was arrested for allegedly fondling a 10-year-old girl at a teen pop concert. The board wants Pazuhanich suspended without pay, pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.

For months he said it couldn't be done. Then he did it. Joseph Massa Jr., chief counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board, completely reversed course Wednesday when he filed formal charges against Monroe County Judge Mark Pazuhanich. Since Jan. 5, the day Pazuhanich was privately sworn in by a notary, Massa maintained that the Judicial Conduct Board had no authority to discipline Pazuhanich because the charges against him were misdemeanors, not felonies. Massa said repeatedly that the Judicial Conduct Board could not take action until the criminal charges against Pazuhanich were resolved, and that Pazuhanich could not be suspended...

Mark Pazuhanich has violated Pennsylvania laws, damaged the reputation of the judiciary, and should be suspended without pay immediately while awaiting action to have him removed from office, the state's Judicial Conduct Board says. The board filed charges with the state's Court of Judicial Discipline on Thursday morning, asking that Monroe County's newest judge, already on administrative leave, be removed from his elected position permanently.

What school rules? by Dave Perks 'You touched it last. Pick it up and put it in the bin', says a grumpy teacher. 'No I won't. It's not my rubbish', retorts a sullen boy. This skirmish, on the playing fields of a south London state school, is nothing out of the ordinary. But before you draw your conclusions as to the victor, consider the ammunition each party has to draw upon in resolving the conflict. The teacher can call on a library of classroom management books, not forgetting the government's national behaviour and attendance strategy launched in December 2002 as...

Mark Pazuhanich is on administrative leave from his duties as a Monroe County judge until criminal charges [of sexually molesting a ten-year-old girl at a Hilary Duff cincert]against him are resolved, but he will apparently be a factor in local politics for the foreseeable future. The Monroe County Republican Committee once again has a leadership fight on its hands, and Pazuhanich is going to be an issue. Those who actively supported him in his election campaign are going to be called upon to defend their judgment in backing a candidate who was charged shortly after the election with child molestation...

Charged with child molesting after a ten-year-old girl bravely testifies in open court, judge on leave, but what about that $124,000 salary?

We were not appalled by what took place on the Super Bowl stage. What's truly appalling is that their actions reflect our inaction. And our children saw for themselves who we really are when nobody's looking.

The top law enforcement official in Monroe County on Tuesday formally asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to remove Judge Mark Pazuhanich from office. The attempt to unseat Pazuhanich, who has been under attack since he was charged with public drunkenness and fondling a 10-year-old girl at a Hilary Duff teen pop concert in Wilkes-Barre, came in a civil suit in Harrisburg brought by District Attorney E. David Christine Jr.

Pennsy Taxpayers give ACCUSED child-molestor a $124,000 Vacation"We handle the payroll function," -- "We have not been issued an order to stop his pay."