college Archives - Page 2 of 2 - The Florida Capital Star

George Washington University’s Francis Scott Key Hall May Face Name Change

July 19, 2021July 18, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

University Yard, George Washington University

Among a list of building names George Washington University has collected for study and review is Francis Scott Key Hall.

Key is the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

But the private, Washington D.C.-based university has received a request to rename Francis Scott Key Hall and it will consider whether to scrap the moniker at some point in the future, according to its Name Change Request Registry.

University officials did not respond to repeated requests from The College Fix over the last week asking about the nature of the complaint or complaints against Francis Scott Key Hall and whether students or faculty asked for it to be reviewed.

Student Body President Faces Impeachment for Saying Gays and Lesbians Must be ‘Born Again’

July 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

The University of North Alabama’s student government is threatening to remove its new president for saying gays and lesbians must be “born again.”

Jake Statom has already apologized for his short-lived Instagram Story, posted during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, but his colleagues warned that he will face impeachment proceedings if he does not resign.

The university has defended Statom’s “right to freedom of speech, even when it is offensive to others,” citing a recent Supreme Court ruling on student speech, but has not stated whether it will halt impeachment proceedings or overturn his removal.

Ibram X. Kendi Says Teaching Young Students Anti-Racism Is ‘Prudent’

July 13, 2021July 12, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Ibram X. Kendi stated Wednesday that teaching young students anti-racism was a “prudent thing to do for teachers.”

The Boston University professor was a featured speaker at the 2021 TEACH conference, a virtual event hosted by the American Federation of Teachers.

The conversation occurred at a time of heightened focus across the nation on CRT in classrooms. It also represents the latest push by Kendi to advance anti-racism in American institutions.

Majority of Liberal College Students Not Proud to Be American, Favor Socialism, North Dakota State University Survey Finds

June 22, 2021June 21, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Findings from a new North Dakota State University survey reveal that the majority of students identifying as liberal or liberal-leaning are not proud of America.

In response to the question “Are you proud to be American?” 57 percent of liberal identifying students answered ‘no’. This is in contrast to the 73 percent majority of conservatives who answered ‘yes’ to the same question.

This response was generated from a nationwide survey which asked over 400,000 students from more than 1,000 American college campuses questions about their feelings on a number of social and political issues. NDSU publicly announced the survey on Thursday.

College President Derides ‘Critical Race Theory’ Criticisms, Lauds Its ‘Widely Acclaimed Scholarship,’ Asserts ‘Critical Race Theory Is the New Communism’

June 21, 2021June 20, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Dr. Elliot Stern, president of Saddleback College, a public community college in California, issued an open letter commemorating Juneteenth that also voiced support for Critical Race Theory.

Amid thoughtful comments on the historical significance of Juneteenth and the importance of commemorating Emancipation, Stern equated the ongoing backlash against Critical Race Theory to the “Red Scare” of the 1950s:

“Politicians create bogeymen of scholars of race study and are passing laws to prevent schools from teaching widely acclaimed scholarship,” he wrote. “Critical Race Theory is the new Communism.”

Black Young Adults Raised by Two Parents Are Way More Likely to Obtain College Degree, Study Finds

June 20, 2021June 19, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

A study released Friday demonstrates a “clear connection” between incarceration for black young adults and family structures.

Children of all races are much more likely to go to college and to avoid both poverty and prison if they are raised in a two-parent family, a study conducted by the Institute for Family Studies found. Forty-eight percent of black children live in single parent homes, the study said, citing data from the March 2020 Current Population Survey, while 37% of black children live in homes headed by both their biological parents.

Albion College Makes Kendi’s ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ Required Reading for First-Year Students

June 14, 2021June 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Albion College recently announced its selection for the 2021 Common Reading Experience: “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. The Richard M. Smith Common Reading Experience is a mandatory program for all first-year students.

According to the school’s website, “all of Albion’s first-year students read a shared text that serves both to connect students to one another and to help them make the important shift from high school to college.”

In an email addressed to the Albion Community on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, the Common Reading Experience (CRE) Taskforce revealed that it had chosen the book for the first-year mandatory curriculum.

Commentary: Article Pulled from Campus Newspaper after Quoting Students Who Defended a Conservative Professor

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

As a student journalist, I have been taught to try to get multiple perspectives on an issue and ensure that the subjects of our articles are treated fairly.

I’ve written 13 articles in the past three years for the campus paper, but The Oracle spiked my last one because, I believe, it included quotes that defended Andrew Donadio, a conservative nursing professor.

Donadio has faced a targeted campaign from two of his fellow professors over his support for Tennessee Tech’s Turning Point USA chapter as well as his opposition, as a Putnam County Commissioner, to renaming a local middle school sports team.

George Soros Gives $500 Million to Tiny College

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Billionaire philanthropist and left-wing megadonor George Soros is donating $500 million to Bard College a small liberal arts college in New York.

According to a Bard College press release, the grant — “which is among the largest ever made to higher education in the United States” — will facilitate “Bard’s exemplary educational and social initiatives, establish the College’s most substantial endowment ever, and set the stage for a $1 billion endowment drive.” The college announced that it raised $250 million for its endowment and is seeking to raise another $250 million going forward.

Bard College President Leon Botstein stated that the gift marks the “most historic moment since the college’s founding in 1860.” Based on Bard’s published number of 1,900 undergraduates, Soros’ donation amounts to $263,157 per current undergraduate student.

Judge Denies College Exemption From Policy Allowing Men to Live in Women’s Dorms

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

A federal judge has denied a request from the College of the Ozarks to be exempted from a Biden administration directive that allows biological men who “identify” as female to live in women’s dormitories.

Federal Judge Roseann Ketchmark ruled against the Missouri college on Wednesday, saying that the court could not offer a remedy to the school because there was no specific injury. Ketchmark denied the school’s request for an injunction and temporary restraining order as its lawsuit against the Biden administration proceeds.

“While we’re disappointed by the court’s ruling today, we are confident that College of the Ozarks will obtain the relief that it seeks as this case moves forward,” Ryan Bangert, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization representing the Point Lookout, Missouri, college, said in a statement.

Christian University Student Leaders Refuse to Approve Conservative Club

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Students at Point Loma Nazarene University

Student government leaders at Point Loma Nazarene University denied Turning Point USA’s request to become a chartered club.

The leaders and a university official at the private Christian university in San Diego said there was “misalignment” between TPUSA activities and the Associated Student Body mission statement.

“Misalignment between that mission statement and TPUSA publications and activities was the primary basis for denial,” university spokesperson Jill Monroe told The College Fix in an email.

As Biden Taps Elizabeth Warren Ally to Oversee Student Loans, Debate over Canceling Debt Looms Large

May 11, 2021May 10, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden administration has chosen a close ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to oversee the nation’s expansive federal student loan program.

On Monday, Rich Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration, was announced as the new head of the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, which oversees over $1.7 trillion in loans to U.S. students.

In a statement following his appointment, Cordray said he sought to “create more pathways for students to graduate and get ahead, not be burdened by insurmountable debt.”

Adjunct Professor Berated Student After Student Suggested That Police Officers Are Heroes

May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Student Braden Ellis with adjunct professor on Zoom

An adjunct professor berated a student in her class after he expressed support for law enforcement.

Cypress College student Braden Ellis delivered a presentation about cancel culture during a Zoom communications class. In a phone interview with Campus Reform, Ellis affirmed The Daily Wire’s report that he had been discussing the attempted cancellation of “Paw Patrol” during the presentation.

“So you brought up the police in your speech a few times. So, what is your main concern?” asked the adjunct professor. “Since, I mean, honestly… the issue is systemic. Because the whole reason we have police departments in the first place, where does it stem from? What’s our history? Going back to what [another classmate] was talking about, what does it stem from? It stems from people in the south wanting to capture runaway slaves.”

Hamilton College Student Leaders Work to ‘Defund the Police,’ Claim ‘White Supremacists’ Are on Campus

May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, students and faculty at Hamilton College received an email denoting some of them as white supremacists and calling for the admissions office to better block such students from enrolling in the future.

It was part of a larger push to grow a “defund the police” effort at the private, New York college.

The email came from leadership at the school’s Student Assembly and was signed by President Saphire Ruiz as well as Fall Vice President Eric Stenzel and Spring Vice President Christian Hernandez Barragan.

A Total of Seven Harvard Professors Identify as Conservative, Survey Finds

May 4, 2021May 3, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

The statue of John Harvard, seen at Harvard Yard

Two years ago, student leaders at the Harvard Crimson campus newspaper called on faculty to hire more conservatives in the wake of a survey that found only 1.6 percent of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences identify as conservative or very conservative.

It’s 2021, and nothing much has changed.

The Crimson’s latest survey of faculty found just seven professors identify as “somewhat” or “very conservative,” roughly 3 percent of survey respondents.

Alabama A&M Shutters Confucius Institute

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Alabama A&M University in Huntsville is the latest school to close its Confucius Institute.

According to a press release from Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), the university’s board “voted to close their Confucius Institute and end their relationship with the Communist Chinese Party.”

“Confucius Institutes are nothing more than Communist Chinese Party propaganda and spying units,” said Rep. Brooks. “For nearly a year, I, and other patriotic Alabamians have called on Alabama A&M University and Troy University to close their Communist Chinese Party-controlled Confucius Institutes.”

Over 100 American Colleges Demand Students Get Vaccinated

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

As American schools begin the process of slowly reopening at all academic levels, over 100 colleges and universities are implementing the strictest requirements by demanding that all students receive a coronavirus vaccine before returning to school, according to CNN.

In the beginning of April, only about 14 campuses had announced such a policy. But by the end of the month, that number had increased exponentially. Only a handful of the schools have included possible exemptions for various medical, religious, or personal reasons. The majority of schools demanding such mandatory vaccinations are private schools.

Commentary: How the Chinese Communist Party Continues to Infiltrate U.S. Research and Higher Education

April 28, 2021April 27, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called China the “most sophisticated” actor of foreign countries subverting our biomedical research in last week’s Senate hearing on the topic. This follows the release of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (DNI) Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community earlier this month. That assessment, cited by Sen. Burr, noted that “China will remain the top threat to US technological competitiveness as the CCP targets key technology sectors and proprietary commercial and military technology from US and allied companies and research institutions associated with defense, energy, finance, and other sectors.”

In the Senate hearing, panelists disclosed several disturbing cases of research theft by the CCP and its agents. Dr. Michael Lauer, Deputy Director for Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), testified that Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, fired its CEO and five other senior people for connections to the Thousand Talents Program. Gary Cantrell, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Office of Investigations of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services, provided in written testimony examples of two researchers who had been compromised with China ties as found by OIG fraud investigations.

Cantrell’s first example was a professor of internal medicine who led a team conducting autoimmune research at The Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University. This professor pled guilty in late 2020 to making false statements to federal authorities to get $4.1 million in NIH grants and failing to disclose “his participation in a Chinese Talent Plan and his affiliation and collaboration with a Chinese university controlled by the Chinese government.”

Law Professor May Be Fired After Personal Blog Post Criticized Chinese Government

April 27, 2021April 26, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

The University of San Diego is formally reviewing a law professor who made a blog post critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

“If you believe that the coronavirus did not escape from the lab in Wuhan, you have to at least consider that you are an idiot who is swallowing whole a lot of Chinese cock swaddle,” wrote Professor Tom Smith on his blog The Right Coast. He later clarified that the reference was to the Chinese government, not the people in the country.

When he first published the March 10 post, the USD Law School placed him under investigation, citing complaints of bias. Now, the law school has sent his case to administration for a formal review.

Another Professor Indicted for Receiving Secret Support from China

April 26, 2021April 25, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

A professor at Southern Illinois University received an indictment for concealing his support from the Chinese government.

According to a United States Department of Justice press release, Mingqing Xiao — who teaches mathematics at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale — “fraudulently obtained $151,099 in federal grant money from the National Science Foundation (NSF) by concealing support he was receiving from the Chinese government and a Chinese university.”

Accordingly, he was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. He faces the possibility of twenty-year sentences for each of the former, as well as a five-year sentence for the latter. All three charges are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 each.

Biden’s Court Packing Committee Contains an Army of Professors Open to Altering Supreme Court

April 19, 2021April 20, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Joe Biden walking with his administration, wearing masks

President Joe Biden unveiled a new commission to explore the possibility of packing the Supreme Court. Although the commission does contain some constitutional originalists, it is heavily staffed by legal professors with revisionist views on the nation’s top judicial body.

The Biden administration unveiled a “Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States,” which will “provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform” — including “the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court” and “the membership and size of the Court.”

Although the White House insists that the commission is meant to be “bipartisan,” several of its members — both right-leaning and left-leaning — appear to hold some degree of revisionist views on the Supreme Court.

Fraternities Say Duke’s Latest Action Poses ‘Existential Threat’ to Greek Life

March 30, 2021March 29, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

After Duke University decided to end recruitment of freshmen by Greek and non-Greek selective living groups, nine fraternities decided to disaffiliate from the Interfraternity Council, and thus from the university itself.

Duke University has made several changes to Greek life since the hiring of former Tufts University dean of student affairs Mary Pat McMahon. McMahon is now the vice president and vice provost for student affairs at Duke.

McMahon collaborated with the Office of Undergraduate Education to create a new committee called the Next Generation Living and Learning 2.0 Committee in 2020. The committee seeks to “build a joyful and intentional 4-year residential experience that promotes growth, meaningful inclusion, and health, and that is distinctly Duke.”

Commentary: Can We Save Our College Students from the Woke Left?

March 18, 2021March 17, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Recent college graduate Davis Soderberg of St. Charles, MO is sounding the alarm about the extent to which the Left has a stranglehold on college campuses across the country.

“If you were to walk into a college classroom, you could quickly identify which students were the liberals and which students were the conservatives,” explained Soderberg, who recently graduated from a public university in Virginia. “The liberals are always the most outspoken because they know their viewpoint is protected and is always favored. It was favored by a majority of their classmates and the professors, which is really scary because students look to the professor as sort of an intellectual higher being.”

Virginia Politician Pushes for Reparations Through Scholarships to Public Universities

March 16, 2021March 15, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Democratic Virginia Delegate David Reid has introduced legislation, passed by the House of Delegates, which would require some public universities to provide reparations to ancestors of slaves who worked at the universities.

The legislation, ”Enslaved Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program,” now awaits a vote in the state senate.

It would require a number of universities to provide reparations. Those universities include Longwood University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Military Institute and the College of William and Mary.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Student Government Votes to Double Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement

March 15, 2021March 14, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Citing an increase in “bias” and “hate” on campus, the UW-Madison student government recently voted unanimously to double the ethnic studies requirement needed to graduate from three credits to six.

“UW-Madison is responsible for providing students with the knowledge to become more understanding and empathetic individuals,” Associated Students of Madison committee leaders said in a news release following the vote.

“Increasing the Ethnic Studies Requirement is a way to combat current systemic racism and encourage a dialogue around its history,” the group said.

Academics Systemically Hostile Toward Conservatives, Study Finds

March 8, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

A study revealed that a sizable portion of professors discriminates against conservatives.

The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology published a report entitled “Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship,” which found that a “significant portion of academics” discriminate against conservatives in hiring, promotion, grants, and publications.

The study evaluated data in the United States, Britain, and Canada to determine the extent of anti-conservative bias in academia.

Website Tracks Which Colleges Embrace Training in Critical Race Theory

March 1, 2021February 28, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

It takes only a few clicks to see that critical race theory is influencing hundreds of college campuses and universities across America.

A new website called Critical Race Training in Education allows users to quickly access information about more than 230 schools and the ways in which those schools are instituting critical race theory on campus.

Critical race theory holds that whites use their social status or their legal and economic advantages to create or maintain power over people of color.