Free Republic

The award for the worst public policy idea of the year goes to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo presides over a state with a rich diversity of educational institutions. But he also presides over a state, like all states, where many students don’t complete college and where many are unprepared for the information economy. For example, fewer than half of the African-American and Hispanic students in New York public colleges graduate within six years. Cuomo could have done many things to improve New York’s higher ed system. He could have poured all available money into the Tuition Assistance Program,...

Anyone who has been following the wires has no doubt heard about the program that was to take place at Princeton University featuring three ex-terrorists , two from the PLO and one from Lebanon, who were speaking in support of America and Israel after renouncing terrorism. As one of the organizers for this event, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with these guys before the event, and their personal life stories are fascinating for understanding the mindset and indoctrination that produces terrorists. How sad that Princeton students missed out on this important event that was forced off campus,...

SURVEY REVEALS PERVASIVE POLITICAL PRESSURE IN THE CLASSROOM Students: 49% Report Professors Preach Rather Than Teach Washington, DC (November 30, 2004) -- 49% of the students at the top 50 colleges and universities say professors frequently inject political comments into their courses, even if they have nothing to do with the subject. Almost one-third—29%—feel they have to agree with the professor’s political views to get a good grade. A survey commissioned by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni reveals the politicization of the classroom and the intellectual intolerance of faculty. According to the survey: * 48% report campus presentations...

What do you do when your seventh grader tells you that he has to dress up like a Bedouin nomad to get an A in his Islamic Studies class? If you are Alicia Rodriguez, you just say no."From the beginning, you and your classmates will become Muslims," the simulation directions that went with the course promised. "During your journey, you will travel in caravans, enact generosity and hospitality, engage in trade, dress up as a desert nomad or Bedouin, eat authentic food from the Islamic world, build Islamic structures, produce poetry, create works of art, and race to be the...