[](/sites/default/files/uploads/2013/10/how-to-make-cowboy-costume.jpg)A regular column dedicated to reporting on the slanted teaching, mis-administration and sheer insanity of our nation’s colleges and universities.
Top Stories:
Several universities across the country have taken action to warn students not to wear “offensive” costumes on Halloween. At the University of Colorado Boulder, Dean of Students Christian Gonzales urged students to “consider the impact your costume decision may have on others in the CU community.” Among the costumes she deemed offensive are cowboys, Indians, geishas, “squaws” and those including sombreros or blackface. At the University of Minnesota, the Office of Student Affairs issued an email to students cautioning them against costumes that “inappropriately perpetuate racial, cultural and gender stereotypes.” The Multicultural Center at the University of Wisconsin Madison posted a blog, “Does this costume make me look racist?”, which lists several categories of outfits to be avoided including “costumes that appropriate a culture,” those guilty of “Romanticizing a culture” including “’poca-hottie,’ gypsy, belly dancer, and geisha” which “have ties to oppression, rape, and genocide” and those which stereotype cultures including “The Mariachi, the Kimono princess and the kung fu.”
Dan Kehan, a professor of psychology at Yale University, wrote a blog post on a site dedicated to the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School noting that he was “embarrassed” to discover a positive correlation in research he was conducting between respondents who identified themselves as belonging to the Tea Party movement and “science comprehension”— a correlation that he found “surprising.” Kehan went out of his way to note that “I don’t know a _single person_ who identifies with the Tea Party.” Despite his findings, Kehan added “Of course, I still subscribe to my various political and moral assessments–all very negative– of what I understand the ‘Tea Party movement’ to stand for. I just no longer assume that the people who happen to hold those values are less likely than people who share my political outlooks to have acquired the sorts of knowledge and dispositions that a decent science comprehension scale measures.”
University of Arizona associate professor Pat Willerton was caught on video telling his “Politics, Policy and Governing” class that viewers who watch Fox News are less informed than their counterparts who get their news from liberal media sources: “you look at MSNBC, ABC, CNN, all of these cases, the average viewer knows more than the person who doesn’t consult any source. When they survey people who watch Fox News regularly, they know less.” Willerton exhorted his students to “look at the studies” by which he meant a much-derided 2010 survey by WorldPublicOpinion.org. Prof. Willerton neglected to mention any criticism of this study or Fox New’s point-by-point refutation. An Arizona administrator defended Willerton stating that “To all indications, he is conducting the class responsibly and within his authority and expertise.”
Further News from the Campuses:
Prof: Conservatives Guilty of ‘Tyranny’ for Holding the Government ‘Hostage’ [CampusReform.org]
A professor from the University of Georgia (UGA) on Friday told a local paper that conservatives were guilty of “tyranny” for holding the government “hostage” during the budget negotiations.
Lawsuit Claims JCTC Wrongly Fired Official [The Courier-Journal]
A former director of human resources at Jefferson Community and Technical College is suing the college and its president, claiming he was wrongly fired in 2012 for criticizing employment decisions and expressing his conservative and religious beliefs.
Yale Professor ‘Embarrassed’ to Discover Tea Party Members are Scientifically Literate [CNSNews.com]
You know that line liberals love to lob at the Tea Party: you’re stupid. Well, obviously that’s not the case, nor has it ever been true. Now, a Yale professor has released some new research showing that the so-called “Tea Party radicals” are actually scientifically literate.
UPenn Students Stage Hoax Event to Mock Bristol Palin, Abstinence [Campus Reform]
Fliers on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus announcing a speech by Bristol Palin turned out to be a hoax students created to mock the daughter of former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin who is a an adamant advocate of abstinence.
Pasadena Professor who Taught Porn Class Resigns [Associated Press]
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A Pasadena City College professor who drew protests after inviting porn actors to his class has resigned.
Appeals Court to Consider Calif. School’s Cinco de Mayo American Flag Ban [Associated Press]
Racial tensions and gang problems were plaguing a Northern California high school when three students arrived for classes in 2010 wearing American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
Pro-Life Students Ignore Bullying to Stand Up for Babies Killed in Abortion [LifeNews.com]
Tuesday, October 15, 2013 was the ninth annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. Every year thousands of people around the world are willing to give up their voices for those who will never have one because of abortion.
This week was no different.
Tribe Leads Charge to Scrap Redskins Name [NYPost.com]
VERONA, N.Y. — Last winter, a group of student leaders approached the school board in upstate Cooperstown about changing their team’s mascot — the Redskins.
The movement caught on quickly and by May, Cooperstown Central School was known as the Hawkeyes.
What I Learned in Comparative Politics: White People Exploit All Others [The College Fix]
Earlier this year, my Arizona State University government professor told my class that white people are successful because they have exploited all other people, and that Americans are not all born equal because of slavery.
Lawsuit! Student Ordered to Stop Handing Out Constitutions on Constitution Day Files Suit [TheFire.org]
FRESNO, Calif., Oct. 10, 2013—A student who was ordered by college administrators to stop handing out copies of the Constitution on campus—on Constitution Day—filed suit today in federal court. Modesto Junior College (MJC) student and Army veteran Robert Van Tuinen is suing the Yosemite Community College District and MJC administrators for violating his First Amendment rights. Van Tuinen is represented by the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine and is assisted by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
CSUN professor sparks a debate regarding academic freedom of speech for professors [Daily Sundial]
CSUN mathematics professor David Klein has spent years defending his right to express his views about boycotting the state of Israel. His name was recently brought up during the CSU board of trustees meeting regarding the legality of his website.
Professor Tells Students Fox News Viewers Are Ignorant [The College Fix]
People who watch Fox News are less informed than people who get their news from other outlets such as MSNBC and CNN, a University of Arizona professor told his upper-level government class recently, according to a recording of the comments obtained by The College Fix.
Will the Tolerance Agenda Destroy Christian Higher Education? [PJMedia.com]
Last weekend my husband and I visited our son at the little Bible College he attends in Pennsylvania… The school doesn’t promote a political agenda, it simply quietly goes about the business of educating young people who desire a Christian education. As we drove away from the beautiful campus on Sunday, I couldn’t help but wonder how long this school and other conservative Christian schools will survive as the new conformity enforcers continue their march through our country’s institutions.
MIT Magazine’s Funding Restored Following Title IX Concerns [TheFire.org]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student newspaper The Tech reported last Friday that funding to another MIT student publication, Voo Doo Magazine, has been restored after a Title IX complaint against the magazine resulted in MIT’s Undergraduate Association (UA) cutting its funding. But even with Voo Doo back on its feet, UA’s response to the magazine’s content suggests MIT students might be developing worrisome attitudes about speech and censorship.
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