I recently spoke on Rage and the Republic at Cornell University and posted about the beauty of the school with the return of flowers and birds in the Spring. What I fortunately missed was the seasonal return of harassing protesters. That experience was reserved this week for Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, who is now embroiled in controversy over a parking-lot confrontation. Continue reading “Cornell President Accused of Hitting An Anti-Israel Protester After Being Surrounded in Parking Lot”
Category: Academia
The key to surreptitious workarounds is to keep them surreptitious.
That may be the case for Georgetown University, which just had one of its former admissions officers acknowledge efforts to circumvent the Supreme Court’s rulings against the unconstitutional use of race in college admissions. Continue reading “Former Georgetown Admissions Officer Discusses Use of Essays to Circumvent Affirmative Action Rulings”
Yesterday, my campus at George Washington University was the scene of yet another alleged anti-Israel attack. A student was reportedly injured by chemicals contained in dropped vials containing an unknown substance. The University is still looking into the incident, according to a brief statement. However, given the history of anti-Semitic protests on campus, the incident is chilling for many on our campus. Continue reading “GW Student Injured in Possible Chemical Attack During Israel Fest”
For years, many have complained that colleges and universities have almost exclusively invited Democratic and liberal figures to serve as commencement speakers. Despite this country being divided down the middle, conservative families and students are expected to listen to Democratic politicians and far-left figures at graduations. This year, schools seem to be doubling down with figures ranging from Nancy Pelosi (Notre Dame de Namur University) to Jamie Raskin (American University and Goucher College) to candidates like James Talarico (Paul Quinn College). There is no subtlety in their selection or their messages. Pelosi slammed the GOP and Trump while Talarico gave effectively a stump speech on fighting the billionaires. Continue reading “Final Convocation or Indoctrination? 2026 Commencement Speakers Again are Overwhelmingly Democratic and Liberal”
This week, DePaul University is moving from merely woke to academic insomnia. The university is teaming up with former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to create an institute dedicated to journalism and “racial justice.” As trust in the media plunges, DePaul is moving to double down on advocacy journalism with the “Institute for Journalism and Racial Justice.” Continue reading “DePaul University Creates the “Institute for Journalism and Racial Justice” With Lori Lightfoot”
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law has brought a new meaning to the heckler’s veto. Some of us criticized the law school for its failure to hold students accountable for disrupting a recent Federalist Society event featuring James Percival, general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. While the law school administration does not appear interested in holding the protesters accountable, it has threatened the Federalist Society that it could face discipline if it identifies any of the students who disrupted the event. This perfectly surreal position was stated in a letter from Bayrex Martí, UCLA’s assistant dean for student affairs. Continue reading “Heckler’s Veto: UCLA Warns Federalist Society Not to Reveal Identity of Student Protesters”
The Chicago Public Schools are facing a major truancy problem…among teachers.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was up in arms over suggestions that classes should be held on May 1 when teachers wanted to be out protesting. Called International Workers’ Day, May Day is a global day of protest for socialist, communist, and unionist groups. Continue reading ““Civic Action Requires More Than Textbooks”: Chicago to Subsidize May Day Protests By Teachers”
On Tuesday, Hampshire College became the latest academic institution to announce its closure. There was a time when such failures were rare occurrences. That trickle is turning into a torrent, but the media and academics are missing a critical part of the lesson. There is no greater example of how academics are killing higher education than the death of Hampshire College. Continue reading ““To Know Is Not Enough”: Hampshire College Joins Growing List of Failed Academic Institutions”
This week, I had the great pleasure of returning to Ithaca, New York, to speak on my new book, Rage and the Republic, on the campus of Cornell University. You would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful campus in the Spring than Cornell. It is simply breathtaking with its historic buildings set off against blooming trees and bubbling creeks. I would recommend a visit even if you are passing through the area. It is an American classic of higher education.
Continue reading “Spring in Ithaca: A Walk Through Cornell University”
“Create a crisis.” That call is made in a new campaign sponsored by the American Association of University Professors to force “colleges to drop their contracts with ICE’s key corporate enablers.” Despite years of criticism over the purging of faculty ranks of conservatives and libertarians, university professors continue to double down on far-left ideology that is now an orthodoxy in higher education. Continue reading ““Create a Crisis”: American Association of University Professors Sponsors Anti-ICE Campaign” 
According to the New York Post, the University of Southern California has adopted a policy banning men from certain workout areas. The plan, pushed by an LGBTQ+ group, is designed to prevent the presence of males from triggering women or non-binary students. It may, however, trigger a major legal challenge.Continue reading “USC Bans Men from Gym Areas to Avoid Triggering Women and Non-Binary Students”
The recent convention of the Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) became a microcosm of the inanity of identity politics found in forums ranging from politics to higher education. Participants were given familiar “equity cards” as literal card-carrying members of groups demanding preferred treatment. The problem is when one identity group demands preference over another. The result, as seen in Winnipeg, was calamity and quickly became comedy.Continue reading “House of Cards: How Equity Cards Collapsed at Canadian NDP Convention”
The University of Southern California (USC) is under fire after canceling the California gubernatorial debate with less than 24 hours’ notice. The reason? None of the polling candidates are people of color. It was a crushingly revealing moment in a state where universities have long defied voters who demanded an end to affirmative action in admissions. Continue reading “USC Cancels Gubernatorial Debate Due to Absence of Candidates of Color”
In Hamlet, William Shakespeare famously wrote, “To thine own self be true.” The problem is when others want to present a different “truth” long after you are gone. Shakespeare is under an unrelenting attack in the United Kingdom from trigger warnings to censoring his prose. Now, Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust has announced that it will “de-colonise” the Bard. Continue reading ““Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!” Shakespeare’s Birthplace to be “Decolonized””
Here is the column: Continue reading “Disaster Tourism: California and Other Blue States Become Go-To Destinations for Econ Sightseers” →