Free Republic

Students at Le Moyne College in upstate New York are calling on the school to cancel the upcoming commencement speech by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. More than 600 people have signed the Change.org petition, which criticizes the leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for, among other things, his stance on “sexual violence.” The petition states that Le Moyne “does not, in any way, support sexual violence.” …

An army veteran and graduate student at Le Moyne College in upstate New York who was expelled from his degree program because of his conservative philosophy of education is back in the classroom and speaking out. Last year Le Moyne College, a Jesuit school located in Syracuse, dismissed Scott McConnell from its masters of education program for writing a paper in which he advocated the use of corporal punishment and criticized multiculturalism (see earlier story). The head of the school's education department told the "A" student his expulsion was the result of a "mismatch" between his personal beliefs and the...

Other group helping in Iraq not prosecuted Friday, March 07, 2003By Renee K. Gadoua The same federal act used to indict three Central New Yorkers accused of illegally sending money to Iraq has not been enforced against at least a dozen local residents who openly violated U.S. law by traveling there. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorizes U.S. sanctions against Iraq. Four Muslims, including three Onondaga County residents, were indicted Feb. 26 on charges that include violating the act by using the Syracuse-based charity Help the Needy to send money to Iraq without a license. About 600 people have...

MANASSAS, Va., April 26 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Sen. Hillary Clinton and others whose public positions run contrary to Catholic teaching have been invited to deliver commencement addresses and receive honorary degrees at Catholic colleges, despite the U.S. bishops' ban on such honors. "We are blowing the whistle on any Catholic college that blatantly disrespects the bishops by defying their clear command and teaching," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), a national organization dedicated to the renewal of Catholic identity at America's 220 Catholic colleges and universities. "After decades of scandal at secularizing colleges, last June...

Mainstream higher academia claims to worship "academic freedom" and "free speech" as its highest goods. Alas, Larry Summers is probably preparing his resume while Ward Churchill hits the speaking circuit. Now comes Scott McConnell, an Army veteran and until recently a graduate student in education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. For advocating a conservative policy, he has learned firsthand where academic freedom draws the line. On paper, McConnell performed well at Le Moyne. Last March, he was conditionally accepted in the Master of Science for Teachers program, grades 7 through 12, for the summer and spring semesters....

SYRACUSE, N.Y., February 15, 2005—Administrators at New York’s Le Moyne College, which claims to protect academic freedom, have summarily dismissed an education student for writing a paper advocating strict discipline for students. The chair of Le Moyne’s education department expelled master’s student Scott McConnell because of a “mismatch” between his personal beliefs and the goals of the college’s graduate education program. “Le Moyne College says it respects academic freedom, yet it has dismissed a student purely for expressing personal beliefs that are different from those espoused by administrators,” stated David French, president of FIRE. “This shows a profound lack of...