We have been following the increasing violence seen on college campuses, particularly directed against conservative and pro-life speakers. The latest incident occurred at Ryerson University in Ontario where a video captured Ryerson Student Gabriela “Gabby” Skwarko attacking two members of Toronto Against Abortion (TAA). Skwarko works for the school’s Office of Social Innovation. The video below shows a violent and unprovoked attack to stop an act of free speech on campus. Continue reading “Pro-Life Students Attacked at Ryerson University in Latest Assault on Free Speech”
Category: Academia
Anna Ayers, a student at Ohio University and a member of the OU student senate, recently caused an uproar at the university after saying that she received threatening messages, including a death threat, due to being part of the LGBTQ community. Police now say that Ayers made the entire thing up and have arrested her for “making false alarms.” That wording seemed a bit curious so I went to the state code, which indeed has a provision that departs from the usual language of a false police report. Continue reading “Ohio University Student Arrested After Making False Claims Of Threatening Messages Due To LGBTQ Status”
The Cornell Daily Sun is reporting that Cornell Law School has started a Title IX investigation over a report that some male law students were “ranking women on their appearance.” What is most striking is that this was all done in a private group chat. Men and women have been ranking each other by looks since time immemorial. On October 5, Dean Eduardo M. Peñalver said in an October 5th email to law students that Cornell’s Title IX Office is investigating the matter, adding that “ranking women on their appearance is inherently degrading,” adding that it was “childish and unprofessional.” I agree that it is childish and unprofessional, but I still question the need for a Title IX investigation into the private correspondence of students over the attractiveness of other students. Continue reading “Cornell Law School Launches Title IX Investigation Over Male Students Ranking Female Students On Attractiveness”
I have previously criticized U.S. laws barring public contracts or employment with people who support the boycott or boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Those laws raise troubling questions under the First Amendment and various courts have pushed back on the constitutionality of such laws. Now Israel is holding an American university student for a week because she supported the BDS movement. Lara Alqasem, 22, was held depending appeal at Ben-Gurion Airport. She has Palestinian grandparents and was told that she could be released if she apologizes and disavows any boycotting of Israel. Continue reading “Israel’s Denies Entry and Jails American Student on Suspicion Of Supporting The BDS Movement”
I have previously expressed my concerns over the removal of long-held mascots and names in colleges from “the Cowboys” to “Shooter the Fox” to the Aztecs to the “Fighting Sioux” to “Chief Illini.” Now, the California State University at Long Beach has decided to dump its mascot, “Prospector Pete,” because some students complained that a gold miner from the 49ers is “offensive.” Continue reading “California State University Dumps “Prospector Pete” As Offensive”
The student union of the University of Manchester voted to ban clapping, whooping and cheering because some students might find these common forms of expression to be unwelcoming or alienating for some students. As a result, students are expected to use “Jazz hands” to show approval to maintain a welcoming environment. Continue reading “University of Manchester Bans Clapping and Cheering As Marginalizing For Some Students”
Dr. Carol Christine Fair, an associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown, has created a firestorm of controversy after she called for the castration and “miserable death” of Republican senators. This is not her first such controversy in profanely attacking Republicans.
We previously discussed Fair tirades against Republicans. Continue reading “Georgetown Professor Again Triggers A Firestorm of Controversy With Hateful Anti-Republican Comments”
Today I have the honor of serving as the keynote address at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, Texas. I have previously spoken at the college which was selected as one of the top ten community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute. The Clute and Lake Jackson areas is also the location of the Ron Paul Institute.
The keynote is entitled “Unpacking the Supreme Court: History, Hierarchy and Headlines.” Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Brazosport 50th Anniversary Celebration”
There has remained considerable debate over the number of illegal immigrants in the country — a figure that obviously has great import in our ongoing debate over immigration policy. Now, Yale and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have completed a study that that doubles the prior estimate of 11 million. That figure was used to argue for the passage of amnesty legislation. However, the study finds that the actual number is roughly 22 million. Continue reading “Twenty-Two Million: Yale/MIT Study Doubles Prior Estimate of Illegal Immigrants In The United States”
Georgetown University professor Dr. Carol Christine Fair is under fire after her profance Twitter rant against Judge Brett Kavanaugh went viral. I have written previously in opposition to the growing discipline of teachers and professors for their political commentary on social media. This is no exception. However, I have left the posting in their unredacted original despite my view of Fair’s commentary as both vulgar and reprehensible. However, since the issue is whether such posts should be subject to discipline, they are not redacted. Warning: the tweets below contain highly offensive language. Continue reading “Georgetown Professor Under Fire For Profane Kavanaugh Rave”
For a week, a scandal has grown over an anonymous accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. I previously wrote about the unfairness of this last minute accusation from an unnamed law professor who declined to be named. Moreover, the underlying letter has been in the possession of Democrats since July. Now, the mystery is over: Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford has come forward to say that she is indeed the accuser of Kavanaugh. It appears that the earlier leaks and media reports that this was a Stanford law professor were untrue. She is shown here from her high school yearbook picture. Notably, her lawyer has said that she passed a polygraph examination that found her account was truthful.
College of Southern Nevada Sociology Professor Mark Bird allegedly had a curious way of protesting President Trump: he shot himself in the arm. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Bird was considerate enough to tape a $100 bill inside the bathroom with a note that it was “for the janitor” — presumably for the mess left behind. Continue reading “Professor Allegedly Shoots Himself On Campus In Protest Of Trump”
In an op-ed in The Herald Sun, UNC Professor of English John McGowan is the latest example of the moral and ethical relativism that is becoming increasingly common on our campuses in rationalizing acts of censorship or violence. McGowan writes that the UNC students were acting in a moral fashion in destroying a piece of public art that they disliked. I discussed the Silent Sam incident earlier.
Brown University is under fire this week for an act of censorship that undermines its status as a leading academic institution. The university removed an article discussing a peer-reviewed article that ran in PLOS One by Lisa Littman, an assistant professor in behavioral sciences at Brown. The article discusses “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” and how this transition toward transgender status is influenced by social media and online videos. That nexus was immediately flagged by activists as not fitting the narrative that such gender decisions are predetermined and pressure was put on Brown University to act. Bess Marcus, dean of Brown’s School of Public Health, explained that the article was removed because ” the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community.” Instead, Marcus and the university discredited its entire academic institution by engaging in censorship and attacking academic freedom principles. Rather than simply allowing an opposing academic viewpoint to be heard, the university removed a story on research by popular demand. Continue reading “Brown Under Fire After Censoring Article On Research Because It “Might Invalidate The Perspectives Of The Transgender Community””
Earlier this year, I was critical of the handling of the prosecution of various protesters in North Carolina who torn down a statue in public and then celebrated their criminal acts in broad daylight. Because the statue of a civil war memorial, the act of property destruction was condoned by many and Durham District Attorney Roger Echols caved to the pressure in dropping all charges against everyone. It was effective immunity for a popular criminal act — a dangerous concept in any legal system. Not surprisingly, others are now claiming the right to unilaterally destroy property. The latest were protesters on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus who took it upon themselves to destroy the controversial Silent Sam Confederate statue.