Free Republic

Much has been made of an 1824 University of Virginia ban on the keeping of weapons on campus by students. The resolution was passed on October 4, 1824, about five months before classes were started at the University. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both former presidents and elder statesmen, were members of the board and attended when the resolutions were passed. Both were to die on July 4th, 1826, one year and nine months later.The portions of the resolutions concerning weapons are contained in this excerpt, with the weapons passages in bold:No Student shall admit any disturbing noises in his...

Pro Hamas college students sketch as aired on the Israeli satire TV show "What a Wonderful Country" on channel Keshet 12. #ColumbiaUntisemtiy

Illinois state education administrators celebrated academic progress in 2023, but student achievement is still behind where it was before COVID-19 hit. Chronic absenteeism remained high. Enrollment dropped again. Illinois state education administrators are celebrating “strong progress” for Illinois students as proficiency in both reading and math increased between 2022 and 2023... But what remained consistent was fewer students were performing at or above grade level in 2023 than prior to the pandemic. The data shows only 35% of students could read at grade level in 2023. Only 27% met proficiency in math. Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said the...

High school students in a northern Virginia County on Wednesday protested a school policy that allows biological males in girl’s locker rooms and restrooms. The protest occurred in Loudoun County, which in recent years has become a focal point over school policies regarding transgender students and the transparency of those policies. The protest was over at 2021 policy that affirms the district’s commitment to “providing an equitable, safe and inclusive learning environment for all students regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity or gender expression,” according to the Daily Caller news outlet.

According to sofi.com “Harvard University is known for being one of the oldest (if not the oldest) institutions of higher learning in the United States. Harvard tuition, which was $57,261 a year in 2022-23, is above the national average for four-year private nonprofit institutions of $39,400, though a high number of students receive student loans or scholarships to cover this cost.” In contrast, the ancient writer of proverbs tells us this. “Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?” (Pr 17:16)

Oregon school chiefs have again suspended the need for high schoolers to prove their math, reading and writing skills in order to graduate. The State Board of Education voted last week to continue the suspension for another five years amid claims they are unfair on minority students who don't test well. In order to earn a diploma, graduating students were previously required to earn standardized test scores indicating proficiency in reading, writing and math. But this was put on pause during the pandemic as standardized tests weren't happening amid school closures. Following a unanimous vote by the Oregon State Board...

Harvard pro-Palestinian groups held a 'die-in' on Wednesday, just over a week after the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. The protests come just 12 days after the attack and a letter backed by 33 Harvard student groups that blamed Israel for the attack by Hamas terrorists sparked national outrage. The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee and Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine organized Wednesday's march from Harvard's main campus in Cambridge to its business school in Boston. According to the invitation, the march was organized in part due to an 'Israeli airstrike' on a...

Harvard, Yale, and all the “best” academic institutions have been fatally compromised for decades. At some point, they went full anti-American, anti-Western, and radical revolutionary. Every time you hear “decolonize,” “diversity,” or “systemic whatever,” know that what they are saying is that they support revolutionary violence. That is literally what they mean. ... Sure, it’s true that not every person who teaches or works at an academic institution is an insane hater of all that is good and decent, but the administrations at those institutions are working hard to make it so. The institutions as a whole are rabidly anti-Western,...

At least a dozen business executives have endorsed Bill Ackman’s call to deny hiring members of student groups at Harvard who signed on to a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ deadly attack on Saturday that killed more than 1,200 people, including at least 22 Americans. Jonathan Newman, the CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen, was among a group of business honchos who seconded Ackman in urging that the signatories of the letter circulated by the a coalition of 34 Harvard student groups who “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” “I would like to know so I know...

Bill Ackman wants Harvard University to release a list of the members of the dozens of student groups who signed a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ violent assault over the weekend so as to make sure they don’t work on Wall Street. “I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,”

Conservative commentator Candace Owens, who was suspended from YouTube last month for hate speech against the LGBTQ community, had dished out some blunt advice to students at a university in upstate New York. Speaking during the Turning Point USA Live Free Tour in Albany, a pregnant Owens addressed concerns that her very presence had made transgender students feel vulnerable. During a Q&A session, a student asked Owens, 'What do you have to say to the trans students on this campus who feel actively victimized by your presence here?' Owens swiftly replied, 'Life's tough, get a helmet, man, I'm too pregnant...

A recent cellphone policy, introduced at a public high school in Massachusetts, has stirred up controversy, leading students to launch a petition in protest. Partnering with a company called Yondr, the school initiated a program to curb cellphone use during school hours. Under this policy, students are provided with special pouches that lock away their phones for the duration of the school day, rendering them unusable until they leave the grounds. But one student, here named Chris*, expressed his doubts about the new policy to Newsweek. "At first, my reaction was that I understood the spirit of what they were...

A disturbing video from Hazlebrook Middle School in Oregon went viral on Thursday that showed a male student who identifies as female violently assaulting a girl in a school hallway. The footage shows the male student dressed as a girl taking the girl by surprise, grabbing her by her backpack, and throwing her backward before grabbing her and forcibly jerking her around by the head. The boy then repeatedly punches her before shouting expletives at her. The boy walks away leaving the girl sobbing as she gets to her feet, panicking so badly that she says she can't breathe. The...

An Idaho high school has come under fire after an image emerged of a group of students spelling out a vile racial slur on their T-shirts — while standing behind a mixed-race girl. A student at Salmon High School posted a since-deleted photo on Instagram of six children wearing shirts that spell out the n-word as they stand behind the girl as she lies on the ground, East Idaho News reported. All seven are also holding up the middle finger. School district Superintendent Troy Easterday said the students have been reprimanded over the offensive image. “The Salmon school district, we...

Student organizers at 50 different high schools across the country are banding together to launch the “Green New Deal for Schools Campaign.” The hope of the campaign is to get district-wide climate policies enacted, with the ultimate goal of obtaining federal legislation to change schools across the country. The campaign has been set up by the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate justice organization that says this initiative is “in response to attacks from the Right on the American education system.” “The Green New Deal for Schools will transform public schools in America to face the climate crisis and ensure all...

Organized gangs, many of them made up of foreigners, have targeted children in Halle’s schools for years, with the police recording hundreds of such cases. However, there is now a citizens’ initiative in the German city that has begun patrolling the area, and students are arming themselves for self-defense purposes as they lose faith in the police to protect the young victims. The city, located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, has seen highly troubling statistics emerge regarding the robbery of students, with Die Welt reporting that in just a matter of two years, there have been 203 such robbery offenses...

More than 200 students at an Alabama college were baptized in one night this week after a campus worship program that was reportedly attended by hundreds. The baptisms took place Tuesday night in a lake at Auburn's Red Barn venue, which is located about half a mile from Auburn University's Neville Arena, the site of a "Unite Auburn" worship event that drew a massive crowd. The "Unite Auburn" event featured performances by Christian worship band Passion and saw speakers such as Jennie Allen, a Christian author, and Rev. Jonathan Pokluda, lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas....

The influx of asylum-seeking students caused one Queens high school to overflow on the first day of class Thursday — even though, historically, city schools are reportedly only two-thirds full because of chronic absenteeism. Newcomers High School in Long Island City felt the strain from the migrant crisis on day one of the academic year, with a line to get in that stretched around the block and some students forced to go to another building to make room.

New York City education officials were scrambling Tuesday to get as many migrant kds registered before the start of school in two days. About 19,500 kids currently live in temporary housing — most of them asylum seekers — according to recent numbers released by City Hall — and most have been enrolled since 2022. With public schools set to open on Sept. 7, the Big Apple is moving into the next phase of the humanitarian crisis: finding room, money, and teachers to handle the influx of children who speak more than a dozen languages. At a Long Island City Holiday...

Students paying to live on campus at the University of Michigan may need to find a hotel room to isolate should they test positive for COVID-19, according to guidance on the school’s website. Students who test positive for the virus will be required to leave their dorms during their isolation period, which could last for five days, university Chief Health Officer Robert D. Ernst said in a message to the school community Friday. In the message, "Campus COVID-19 resources and related guidance," Ernst included various preparations and prevention methods against transmission of the virus. The guidance also encouraged students to...