We previously discussed how Turkey’s rising dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was likely to use the failed military coup to complete his objective to become a virtual dictator (backed by Islamist parties). That dire prediction appears to be fast becoming true with a roundup of thousands and the declaration of a state of emergency. Turkish academics have also been banned from leaving the country. Of course, Erdogan has offered his usual Orwellian rationization for the three-month state of emergency as necessary to protect civil liberties by suspending them “to eliminate the threat to democracy in our country, the rule of law, and the rights and freedom of our citizens.” With that, and the support of his Islamist allies who passed sweeping new powers for the budding Sultan, Erdogan suspended civil liberties in Turkey. In the meantime, women have reportedly avoided the streets because of being targeted by Erdogan’s Islamist supporters.
Category: Academia
Some of us have been critical of the changes brought by State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby in the death of Freddie Gray. As we have seen in past high-profile cases, the prosecutors over charged the case against various defendants with very little evidence. The result has been a series of acquittals. Now, my GWU colleague Professor John Banzhaf III has taken that controversy to a new level with the filing of complaints seeking disbarment with the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission against Mosby, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow and Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe. He alleges that these prosecutors knowingly brought charges without a sufficient evidentiary basis.
Continue reading “GWU Law Professor Files Ethics Charges Against Prosecutors In Freddie Gray Case”
We have been discussing the effort of protesters to strip universities of references and images connected to segregation or slavery, including the names of Framers. Now, a dishwasher has taken it upon himself to smash a stained-glass window at Yale University because it depicted what he considered a racist scene. What is interesting is that, even though Corey Menafee was fired, Yale was already planning to remove the windows as part of a new initiative to remove such images.
Continue reading “Yale Dishwasher Destroys Stained-Glass Window Depicting Slaves”
We have seen students rise in protest over what they believe is “cultural appropriation” in schools offering yoga or students wearing dreadlocks or serving Mexican food. Now students at Oberlin are fighting to stop the school from offering students sushi. Now, with the support of celebrities and alumni like actress Lena Dunham, the students have denounced the practice and want the school to stop students from eating sushi as “insensitive” to Asian students. The sushi controversy arises at the same time that Oberlin has seen the protests from students demanding sweeping changes to the faculty and curriculum as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. It is a sad statement of our times that common complaints about bad college food must now be stated in the language of racial or cultural victimization. It is not undercooked rice (a complaint by Oberlin students) but the appropriation of their culture or a “micro aggression” as it was labeled in 2015 at Oberlin by students.
Continue reading “Oberlin Students Push To Bar Serving Sushi As “Cultural Appropriation””
On Wednesday morning, I have the honor of appearing before Committee of the Judiciary in the United States House of Representatives. The hearing entitled “Examining The Allegations of Misconduct of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen” will address the options facing Congress in addressing alleged misconduct by Commissioner Koskinen. The hearing will start at 10 am in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. My testimony is linked below.
Continue reading “Turley Testifies Before Congress In IRS Commissioner Impeachment”
Almost a year ago, the legal academy was shocked by the murder of Florida State Law Professor Dan Markel at his home. The police have now arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, and Luis Rivera, 33, and they have been indicted in the murders. The investigation is clearly not over. The police are suggesting that this was a contract killing tied to Markel’s divorce from his wife and former law professor, Wendi Adelson. The couple has two children.
One school is an elite school found in 1957 in Boston’s Back Bay that costs $40,000 a year in tuition. The other is an academy in Springfield (90 miles away) for low income and minority students charging $1,200. Few people would confuse the two institutions but the elite Commonwealth School has sued the Commonwealth Academy for the use of the word “Commonwealth.” The school claims “great harm” from sharing the word and even refused an offer from the academy to add “Springfield” to the name.
Continue reading “Massachusetts School Sued Over The Use of “Commonwealth” In Its Name”
I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico today to speak to the 2016 Conclave of state, tribal, and federal judges and lawyers. There is an interesting forum being held nearby at the University of New Mexico where students and faculty are debating the change to the school’s seal which features a Spanish conquistador and a frontiersman. The Native American group The Red Nation have declared the seal to be offensive. Critics are calling the seal a celebration of colonization. The seal is approaching its 50th anniversary at the school. It was adopted in 1969.
Continue reading “University of New Mexico Seal Triggers Protests Over “Colonization” Imagery”
The University of Missouri (MU) has been struggling in the aftermath of its Black Lives Matter protests, including the reported plunge in students and applications. It appears that even a vigil for the dead in Orlando at Mizzou inevitably leads to a confrontation over race. The conflict arose in a vigil held in front of Boone County Courthouse in Columbia, Missouri. MU graduate Tiffany Melecio appeared and expressed discomfort over speaking before a group with so many white people. When a gay couple objected to introducing divisive race issues, MU Multicultural Center Coordinator Stephanie Hernandez Rivera defended the comments and denounced the gay couple objecting to the introduction of race into the vigil.
Continue reading “New Controversy Erupts At Mizzou At Orlando Vigil”
I recently discussed the controversies involving for-profit “universities” associated with both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. I have long been a critic of online programs and particularly for-profit universities. I have been vocal in my opposition to online courses at my law school, though many of my colleagues are highly supportive of the courses and their record. Now, a class action has been filed against George Washington University.
My criticism is that these online courses deny students the benefits of a traditional “brick-and-mortar” education and often produce a highly doctrinal and poor quality product. Students are denied the interaction with other students and teachers on campus. Online courses are on the rise with schools because they sell education (and degrees) at the lowest possible cost for schools. In my view, the trend will undermine traditional educational institutions and I have repeatedly objected that schools like GWU are courting their own demise in following for-profit companies in offering these online degrees.
While largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves a dubious Laureate Education for-profit online college (Walden) and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising. [I have updated the original column with some additional thoughts, links, and clarifications for readers].
We have been discussing the erosion of free speech and academic standards at our universities and colleges. What is alarming is not only the pace of such demands but the support of some faculty to stripping away core courses and historical references. The latest such example can be found at Yale University with undergraduate students have demanded that the English department abolish the prerequisite course requirement to study such writers as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton. Students claim that it is “unacceptable that a Yale student considering studying English literature might read only white male authors.” Of course, this is not the only course for students but simply one course designed to introduce students to “major English poets.” However, the students find it oppressive and some faculty support their cause like English Professor Jill Richards who insisted that “it is unacceptable that the two-semester requirement for all majors routinely covers the work of eight white, male poets.” The students have demanded that “It’s time for the English major to decolonize — not diversify — its course offerings.”
The academic world lost a gifted member in the murder of UCLA professor William Klug, who was gunned down by a former student Mainak Sarkar, 38. Sarkar is a former doctoral student that Klug mentored and was upset about his grades, according to police. Sarkar left what is described as a “kill list” that led police to the body of a Minnesota woman who was gunned down in her home. The list included another professor’s name, but thankfully that professor was not hurt.
Continue reading “UCLA Professor Killed By Former Doctoral Student”
We have been discussing the rollback of free speech on university and college campuses, particularly when it comes to conservatives or right-to-life advocates. As discussed recently, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most egregious effort to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views. The latest such protest was held at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After protesters blocked fellow students and faculty from entering to hear Yiannopoulous, campus police found an alternative avenue for the audience. However, a bomb threat was later called in and the room cleared by police. Once again, there does not appear to be outrage at the effort of students to block access to such speeches for other students and the denial of free speech on campus. I have no problem with protests but preventing speakers from being heard runs against the core values of an academic community.
It is not every recent law grad who can claim that he appeared before the state supreme court soon after graduation. Unfortunately, this is one appearance that University of Wisconsin law graduate Joshua Jarrett is unlikely to add to his resume. In a close vote, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Jarrett could be admitted to the bar so long as he is supervised for two years. Bar officials sought to block Jarrett after concluding that he had misrepresented his grades and credentials in a job application.