http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/academia/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:27:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419186/posts The "Duke 88" consisted of 88 Duke professors who signed an ad which implicitly assumed that Duke lacrosse players raped a black stripper, an allegation that proved to be entirely fraudulent. The ad praised protesters who had put lacrosse players' photos on "wanted" posters, associated "what happened to this young woman" with "racism and sexism," and suggested that the lacrosse players were getting privileged treatment because of their race. The ad appeared almost four years ago. Stuart Taylor takes a look at what has happened since to some of the 88 thoroughly wrongheaded professors who signed it. First, according to... Power Line http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419186/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:27:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418820/posts When a child doesn't finish his homework, who's at fault? The Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group in the University of Minnesota's teacher-education program wants every teacher blaming things like "white privilege, hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity and internalized oppression." Those who don't, these professors believe, are unfit to be teachers. These professors plainly want everybody to share their ideology. Fair enough. But they don't want to limit themselves to persuasion -- they want to use the university's power to demand that all teachers conform to their political litmus test. Thus the task group's "final report" recommends ideological screening of applicants... ny post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418820/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 05:20:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2418323/posts AmericaÂ’s Least Wanted 2009 Malcolm A. Kline, December 31, 2009 In the summary spirit of the season, Accuracy in Academia offers 10 reasons for ending tenure: 1) To not put the presidentÂ’s favorite professor at the top of this roster would be a gross injustice. “At a press conference on August 20, AmericaÂ’s Survival, Inc. unveiled the results of several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made regarding the curriculum and activities of University of Illinois at Chicago professor Bill Ayers,” AIA staff writer Bethany Stotts wrote on August 25, 2009. “Ayers has visited Germany, the Netherlands, and Venezuela to... Accuracy in Academia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2418323/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:37:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418033/posts According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, College of Education officials recently established the “Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group.” It’s charged with helping to devise a new system for training prospective K-12 teachers, because current teachers lack “cultural competence,” a factor officials believe contributes to the poor performance of minority students. The task force “recommended that aspiring teachers must repudiate the notion of the ‘American Dream’ and instead “must embrace – and be prepared to teach our state’s kids – the task force’s own vision of America as an oppressive hellhole: racist, sexist and homophobic,” according to writer Katherine... biggovernment.com/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418033/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:40:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417646/posts Brown Discovers Hangovers Malcolm A. Kline, December 30, 2009 Here’s a research project the Ivy League has just tackled that people outside the Ivies have been onto for generations. “Researchers with the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies gave subjects alcohol on an empty stomach, let them sleep and then checked their ability to think in the morning,” The Washington Post Express reported on Tuesday December 29, 2009. “Although the subjects though they’d be fine behind the wheel of a car, the researchers found they should probably wait a few more hours.” I wonder if they had a... AIA-FL Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417646/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:21:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411304/posts With today's news of Saab's death and Volvo's impending sale to China, what brand is left to fill "English Dept. Faculty Only" parking spaces at liberal institutions of higher ed? More bluntly, what will latté-swilling liberal Northeasterners drive now? Jalopnik http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411304/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:25:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411232/posts In a Washington Post op ed, Penn State University Professor Michael Mann insisted that “Palin and other global warming deniers have distorted the content” of the e-mails from the British University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit. “Ms. Palin and her ilk are pulling words out of context to create the impression that global warming is a hoax,” Mann said. “She is merely broadcasting her ignorance of scientific terminology in pursuit of a political agenda bent on preventing governments from exercising the necessary control to avert climate catastrophe.” Among the “scientific terms” Governor Palin is said to have misconstrued are... A Semi-News/Semi-Satire from AzConservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411232/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:54:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409608/posts Educational Rap Malcolm A. Kline, December 17, 2009 When storied public school teacher Marva Collins noticed three decades ago that inner city school children could memorize song lyrics but not Shakespeare, she challenged them to digest the latter. A new educational fad takes a different approach. “Flocabulary (www.flocabulary.com) is a Brooklyn-based publisher of educational rap and hip hop that is being used in lower socioeconomic school systems across the country and producing incredible results,” the group’s representative, Anna Richardson of Sunshine Sachs, claims. “The Education Research Institute of America (ERIA) just completed a study that proves Flocabulary’s efficacy in the... AIA-FL Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409608/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:07:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408420/posts STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Organizers of a proposed charter school named after the president have rescinded the honor after the Obama Administration informed them of a long-standing White House policy disallowing the use of the president's name while he is in office. The group designing the Barack Obama Community Charter School also learned a state law prohibits naming institutions for a living person without his or her permission. The new name for the proposed K-8 is the Staten Island Community Charter School. One of the organizers, Lorna Harris of Silver Lake, said committee members are disappointed about having to change... silive.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408420/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:00:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407969/posts Tracking for Success Bethany Stotts, December 15, 2009 At a recent American Enterprise Institute (AEI) conference on “Increasing Accountability in American Higher Education,” panelists argued that the key to increased postsecondary accountability lies with better tracking-systems for student learning outcomes and increasing use of standardized tests. “For those of you who don’t know it [a student unit record system] basically is a data system maintained at the state or system level which contains one record per student containing information about enrollments, behaviors, and so on,” explained Peter Ewell, Vice President of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS).... Accuracy in Academia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407969/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:05:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407272/posts Social Media Facilitates Iran Student Protests Sarah Carlsruh, December 14, 2009 On Monday, December 7th—Iran’s national Student Day—thousands of students at Universities across Iran commemorated the 1953 murder of three student protestors of monarch Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. While demonstrations occur on this day every year, they have always represented an anti-American sentiment; this year they protested the government. Tehran University has long been a center for government protests and this Student Day—with green banners flying amidst tear gas and anti-riot police batons—was no different. Protests occurred on campuses across the country. The anti-government Green Movement, led in large part... American Journalism Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2407272/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:39:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406631/posts Some might recall my thread from a few months ago where my head was about to explode because my professor just pushes the concept that America = Bad and Communism = Good. It goes a lot deeper than that. So...this morning he poses this question to us (I feel like I am back in my first year here) but this is what I am dealing with. QUOTE: Colonialism and Imperialism For many countries that experienced the benefits/brutal horrors of European/American colonialism/imperialism, a communist system is an attractive form of government. Many of these colonized people were stripped of their ancestral... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2406631/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:13:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406436/posts <p>HAMMOND, Ind. - A former Purdue University graduate student convicted of threatening to kill President George W. Bush and others in Internet postings has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.</p> <p>Thirty-eight-year-old Vikram S. Buddhi, an Indian national who was living in West Lafayette, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Hammond to 57 months in prison and 3 years of probation.</p> Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406436/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:03:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405421/posts Zaytuna College, which plans to be the first accredited Muslim college in the United States, is set to open next fall in Berkeley, California. The college has been hailed as a victory for moderate Islam, a place to promote religious understanding by "blending traditional Islam and American culture and establishing a permanent place for the religion in American society," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. But Zaytuna College may not be as moderate as it seems--or moderate at all. The college's founders, Hamza Yusuf Hanson and Zaid Shakir, are similarly lauded as even-keeled Muslims who, according to the Chronicle,... THE WEEKLY STANDARD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405421/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:50:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405226/posts First, Colorado State University voted to ban concealed firearms on campus. Then the University of Colorado went a few steps further and cracked down on another nefarious threat: Nerf guns. Plans for a student-led game of humans vs. zombies took a hit after campus security officials discovered that players intended to use the popular orange-and-green toy weaponry. Simulated guns, even those that shoot spongy Nerf balls, are banned at the University of Colorado. (snip) CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said students cooperated fully, replacing the Nerf guns with balled-up socks and even taking it upon themselves to hang fliers in dormitories... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405226/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:27:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404447/posts New evidence about the 2007 Virginia Tech killings shed new light on the arrogance and hypritical stance of University leaders. The murder of 32 students was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history until the Ft. Hood massacre last month and remains the worst school shooting ever on U.S. soil. Virginia Tech is no stranger to violence. They had two shootings in the 2006-2007 school year. A student worried about the possibility of another shooting asked school officials to reconsider their "no guns" policy. School officials not only a href="http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/3669" target="_blank">rebuffed and mocked that request, they also cheered the defeat... Buckey Firearms Association http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404447/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:10:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403679/posts Employers and career experts see a growing problem in American society — an abundance of college graduates, many burdened with tuition-loan debt, heading into the work world with a degree that doesn't mean much anymore. The problem isn't just a soft job market — it's an oversupply of graduates. In 1973, a bachelor's degree was more of a rarity, since just 47% of high school graduates went on to college. By October 2008, that number had risen to nearly 70%. For many Americans today, a trip through college is considered as much of a birthright as a driver's license. Marty... Time Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403679/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 14:37:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403458/posts As the Climate-gate controversy continues to grow, amid charges of hiding and manipulating data, and suppressing research by academics who challenge global warming, there is one oft-repeated defense: other independent data-sets all reach the same conclusions. "I think everybody is clear on the science. I think scientists are clear on the science ... I think that this notion that there's some debate . . . on the science is kind of silly," said President Obama's Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, when asked about the president's response to the controversy on Monday. Despite the scandal, Britain's Met, the UK’s National Weather Service,... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403458/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 04:06:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403203/posts Defunct Republican Club Limits Oxy's Political Discourse After a dwindling presence on campus, the Republican club ceased to exist two years ago and has not been restarted, to the dismay of several students and faculty. Devon Puglia '08, a registered Democrat, was the President of the Republican club from '06 - '08. He said, "[The club] was very small and informal during my time, and by my senior year it was just me." He described Oxy professors and students being hostile to political opinion that didn't conform to the school's prevailing liberal ideology. "I'm sure there are plenty of... The Occidental Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403203/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 22:30:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402245/posts College Thought Police Enforce Global Values By Mary Ann Collins December 7, 2009 "The way to redefine a word is to get the new definition repeated as often as possible.... This, so far as words are concerned, is the public opinion battle for belief in your definitions, and not those of the opposition. A consistent, repeated effort is the key to any success with this technique of propaganda." (L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology)[1] "A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all... Crossroad.to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402245/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 19:42:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401784/posts According to a university colleague, former president of Harvard and current White House economist Larry Summers once asked for help to "f--- up" one of the school's conservative professors. WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401784/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 02:08:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401060/posts Story here. The suspect is named Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani.Ironically, his victim, Professor Richard Antoun is described as "a caring and gentle man who spent his life trying to dispel stereotypes about different cultures, especially Middle Eastern cultures" Gannett News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401060/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 18:16:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401058/posts There’s an irony surrounding the academic discipline of anthropology, at least in its contemporary form: it’s a subject devoted to the study of man, yet it is profoundly misanthropic. In recent years, anthropologists (and sociologists) have learned to caricature every human impulse (even – or rather, especially – the benevolent and charitable) as imperialist, paternalist, or worse. Efforts to curtail female genital mutilation, for example, are cast as colonialist, as is Doctors Without Borders, an organization that has done much to improve the lives of the downtrodden. It has been instructive, therefore, to observe the Academic Left’s response to President... True/Slant http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401058/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 18:10:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401048/posts There's encouraging news on that other Washington effort to force Americans into a government-run system. The White House plan to drive private lenders out of the market for student loans is igniting a backlash on campus and Capitol Hill. the administrators have been afraid to speak as the Department of Education pressured them to drop private lenders and embrace the department's own Direct Lending (DL) program. The pending bill, which has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate, would ban private lenders from making federally guaranteed loans after July 1, 2010. Congress has already enacted regulations in recent... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401048/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 17:44:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401039/posts ClimateGate Professor Calls G-Warming Skeptic 'A**hole' on Live TV By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-12-05 12:05 A professor at the university in the middle of the ClimateGate [0] scandal called global warming skeptic Marc Morano "an a**hole" on live television Friday. This marvelously came moments after Andrew Watson, a professor at the University of East Anglia, told the BBC host moderating the discussion that the controversy surrounding e-mail messages obtained from his school's computers is "a real setback not because there's anything wrong with the science, but because the character assassination and the temperature of the debate which you can just... Newsbusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401039/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 17:25:48 GMT