Free Republic

Controversies Crop Up Around Commencement Speaker Selections by Jamal Watson May 5, 2008, 22:24 Earlier this year, NAACP chairman Julian Bond journeyed to the U.S. Supreme Court to interview Justice Clarence Thomas. The event was somewhat historic, in part because Bond — a staunch supporter of affirmative action and other social programs — has long been a critic of the policies and positions espoused by Thomas. But now, both of these historic figures in Black history are the subjects of much scrutiny as they prepare to deliver commencement speeches this month at two East Coast universities. A group of conservative...

The Collegiate Campaign Trail by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 25, 2008 As the presidential campaign heats up, the two Democratic contenders—Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are shoring up their base on college campuses, areas mostly off-limits for Republicans. With typical perception, activist and author Star Parker zeroes in on an aspect of the controversy involving the Illinois senator and his pastor that many media folk miss. “In my speaking tours at universities around the country, students tell me that they hear from many professors a worldview not much different from what we’re hearing on the footage of Wright’s sermons,”...

Many Are the Crimes by: Cliff Kincaid, March 03, 2008 Although the strict text of the U.S. Constitution includes the treaty clause as the only means by which the U.S. can enter into such international agreements, there's a growing body of mostly liberal-left "legal opinion" that holds that "congressional-executive agreements" like NAFTA can serve as substitutes for treaties.... The Bush Administration's support for the unconstitutional Clinton approach could easily backfire on conservatives if the Democrats take the White House and hold Congress in the fall elections. Citing NAFTA as a precedent, liberal Democrats could submit and pass treaties by a...

Hillary Clinton Schlepped Here by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 03, 2008 Apparently, George Washington University is a big stop for Democratic presidential candidates. This would go with the share of university employee political contributions that go to Democratic candidates. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have campaigned here. In something of a twilight zone is another honored guest—Ralph Nader. “Her supporters have not lost faith in the New York senator’s bid for the Democratic nomination,” Jennifer Easton reported in the GW Hatchet on February 28. “GW students and Clinton fans filled Lisner auditorium Monday evening [February 25], collectively raising $200,000,...

The Five Most Expensive Colleges * George Washington University * Kenyon College * Bucknell University * Vassar College * Sarah Lawrence College This may surprise you: The world’s most expensive universities are not haute institutions in the Swiss Alps or on the balmy shores of the Persian Gulf. Nor are they the Ivy League citadels of America’s elite like Harvard or Princeton, or ancient halls of learning like Cambridge or Oxford in the United Kingdom. No, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the most expensive four-year university in the U.S. (and most likely the world) is Washington, D.C.’s George...

Three GW law professors have endorsed Republican candidate Fred Thompson's campaign for the presidency, joining the Lawyers for Fred coalition. Professors John Fitzgerald Duffy, Orin Kerr and Michael Abramowicz are members of the Law Professors Committee within the coalition. "Sen. Thompson is proud of his experience working as a federal prosecutor," said Darrel Ng, a spokesperson for the Friends of Fred Thompson campaign. "That's why he decided to form something like that (coalition), because of his background." Ng said that having endorsement groups for presidential candidates is an important part of the campaign process. "In campaigns you try to find...

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell U by: Malcolm A. Kline, December 06, 2007 It looks like the university named after the father of our country has figured out a way to move gender studies to the next level. “Every Wednesday afternoon this past summer, a retired Army colonel named Jeff left his consulting job at a military base and headed to George Washington University,” Jennifer Ruark reported in the September 7, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. “But first he stopped at home to change into a skirt.” “By the time he arrived at the university’s Speech and Hearing...

WASHINGTON -- George Washington University officials said a Jewish student who complained about swastikas showing up on her door put them there herself. The student lives in Mitchell Hall, where half a dozen swastikas had shown up on her dorm room door in the past several weeks. University police set up a hidden camera. They said the girl admitted responsibility Monday. News 4 interviewed the student last week after the fifth swastika was discovered. She did not want to be identified. "It's a big story," said Jake Sherman, GW Hatchet editor. "Thirty percent of GW students are Jewish" Reporters at...

A George Washington University student who told school officials that someone had drawn swastikas on her dormitory room door was responsible for the incidents, a university spokeswoman said yesterday.

The Prince of Journalism by: Malcolm A. Kline, October 29, 2007 It contains more useful information than any journalism textbook we have seen but don’t expect legendary reporter Robert Novak’s memoirs to become required reading in communications classes anytime soon. “I was too much of a right winger for most of America’s institutions,” Novak writes in The Prince of Darkness. The title refers to a nickname that a colleague gave Novak early in his career as a comment on his trademark pessimism that has stuck for decades. When he does get on campus, Novak tells college students something they seldom...

Another Collegial Clintonian by: Malcolm A. Kline, October 22, 2007 It used to be said that of the think tanks in Washington, D. C., the Heritage Foundation was the Reagan Administration in exile and the American Enterprise Institute was the Ford Administration in exile. The unsaid corollary is that Democratic political appointees can seek refuge in the college of their choice, an option not available to most unemployed Republicans. For example, George Washington University nabbed the latest Clinton Administration alumna. “The White House counsel to former President Bill Clinton was appointed as the next University vice president and general counsel...

George Washington University President Steven Knapp has no plans to take disciplinary action against a group of students involved in an anti-Muslim flier hoax, a university spokeswoman said yesterday. "We have established judicial policies and procedures," university spokeswoman Tracy Schario said. "I am confident that President Knapp will let them take their course." However, Mr. Knapp "reserves the right to intervene" in the university's student-judicial process, she said. Graduate student Adam Kokesh and senior Brian Tierney with five other students took responsibility Tuesday for the fliers, which contained the phrase "Hate Muslims? So Do We!" The students said the posters...

A national conservative group yesterday called on George Washington University to expel students who admitted that they targeted the group in a hoax that covered the campus with hundreds of anti-Muslim posters. "Vicious personal attacks levied on students are intolerable and should not go unpunished," Ron Robinson, president of the Young America"s Foundation, told university President Steven Knapp. In a letter (downloads PDF) obtained by The Washington Times, Mr. Robinson cited a statement by Student Association Executive Vice President Brand Kroeger, who said he "would support expulsion" of students responsible for distributing the "heinous" posters. The foundation was the target...

Accusations of hate speech make great headlines for newspapers, even if those accusations turn out to be wrong -- or even worse -- contrived. Such is the case at The George Washington University (GWU). Administrators at GWU are on a rampage against a conservative group on campus for posting anti-Muslim fliers that the group had nothing to do with. The Young America’s Foundation chapter at GWU was blamed for disseminating fliers that read “Hate Muslims? So Do We!!” The flier went on to describe a “typical Muslim” as having “lasers in eyes,” “venom from mouth,” “hatred for women”, and a...

  Who's Behind the Censorship of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week?   By Ben JohnsonFrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, October 10, 2007 CALL IT THE LEFT’S VERSION OF PREEMPTIVE WAR. The three co-equal branches of the Unholy Alliance – Islamic radicals, far-Left activists, and academics – have returned to their usual level of discourse – intimidation, slander, ad hominem attacks – in an attempt to ban Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week from college campuses before it ever occurs. National “Muslim and Arab rights” organizations are pressuring college administrators to prevent students from holding the peaceful, educational seminars. Conservative students have been accused of “hate speech”...

TuesdayÂ’s Metro section of The Washington Post covered a controversy at D.C.Â’s George Washington University, where posted appeared on campus blaring "HATE MUSLIMS? SO DO WE!!" Post reporter Susan Kinzie mentioned that the GWU chapter of the conservative Young AmericaÂ’s Foundation denied the posters were theirs, and Kinzie noted that it was probably a prank, since the fine print at the bottom had the words "'Brought to you by Students for Conservativo-Fascism Awareness' -- and a postscript recommending a BBC video on the politics of fear." But while WednesdayÂ’s article in Metro confirmed that it was a prank "produced by...

This fake flyer attributed to the Young America’s Foundation chapter at GWU was manufactured by left-wing punks.If you’ve followed my work on fake hate crimes, then this will come as absolutely no surprise.Update: Charles Johnson’s been on the story all day. See much more here.You think the hate crimes fraudsters will get anything more than a slap on the wrist? Don’t make me snort.***Here’s the confession letter.As Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week draws closer, expect more of this unhingedness from the campus apologists for jihad and sharia.***More on the IVAW tie-in at LGF. David Horowitz blasts the hoaxers: In a stratagem typical...

At George Washington University, another outrageous action by the Saudi-funded radical Islamic front group calling itself the Muslim Student Association, as they circulate flyers purporting to be from a conservative campus group with disgusting anti-Muslim messages: Anti-Muslim Fliers Cause Uproar. Posters appeared all over the George Washington University campus yesterday morning blaring the message: “HATE MUSLIMS? SO DO WE!!!”Campus police moved quickly to remove the fliers, university leaders began investigating how they got there and student groups met last night to deplore the posters, which had a photo of an Arab and description of “typical Muslim” features such as “suicide...

<p>Posters appeared all over the George Washington University campus yesterday morning blaring the message: "HATE MUSLIMS? SO DO WE!!!"</p> <p>Campus police moved quickly to remove the fliers, university leaders began investigating how they got there and student groups met last night to deplore the posters, which had a photo of an Arab and description of "typical Muslim" features such as "suicide vest," "hidden AK-47" and "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin."</p>

Ranks Thin At GWU by: Malcolm A. Kline, August 31, 2007 Colleges and universities rarely teach cause and effect anymore and it shows. Consider: George Washington University’s drop in the U. S. News rankings on the heels of its student government wrist slap of its former president for the kind of behavior that drives Republican lawmakers out of office. “U. S. News and World Report ranked GW 54th in its annual listing of the nation’s top 100 undergraduate programs, a rank on par with the University’s decade-long, near-50 showing on the list,” Andrew Ramonas reported in a story posted on...

Ranks Thin At GWU by: Malcolm A. Kline, August 31, 2007 Colleges and universities rarely teach cause and effect anymore and it shows. Consider: George Washington University’s drop in the U. S. News rankings on the heels of its student government wrist slap of its former president for the kind of behavior that drives Republican lawmakers out of office. “U. S. News and World Report ranked GW 54th in its annual listing of the nation’s top 100 undergraduate programs, a rank on par with the University’s decade-long, near-50 showing on the list,” Andrew Ramonas reported in a story posted on...

The U.S. Defense Secretary’s comparison of the anti-war movement in the United States today with its historical analogue in Great Britain in the 1930s sent the left into a tailspin. Locally at least one university figure has taken issue with it in print. “Knowing the facts of history is crucial to much of what we do as a nation and a people, but so is how it is used,” John Prados wrote on tompaine.com on August 31st. “And the Bush administration’s use of history—and specifically its use of ‘appeasement’—requires comment because it is both dangerous and misleading.” “In the past...

How Green Was My Campus Most colleges and universities seem to be in a race with each other to see who can be the most environmental. An incident at Florida Gulf Coast University shows what you can get by winning the race to have the greenest campus—a lawsuit. “A Florida Gulf Coast University student who was chased down by a wild boar on campus is suing the school for more than $15,000,” Juan Ogles reported in the Fort Meyers News-Press on August 15th. “Donna Rodriguez, 52, filed a lawsuit in circuit court Monday that claims the school knew wild boars...

Knight Moves University officials continue to demonstrate hostility towards Catholicism that borders on persecution. We have posted stories on the failure of college administrators to take action when student newspapers publish sacrilegious cartoons. Their declarations of support for freedom of the press would be more believable if they took the same approach towards sketches that offend Islamic and Gay Rights groups. Add to the mix the University of Wisconsin’s attempt to ban the Knights of Columbus. The Catholic fraternity is already invisible enough on cutting-edge campuses loosely affiliated with the Church, such as Georgetown’s. “Although the Knights have been a...

There may be a reason why academics are nearly as reluctant to discuss welfare reform as they are to do a recap of The Cold War: most professors were wrong about the War on Poverty too. “Washington declared war on poverty and poverty won,” former President Ronald Reagan famously said. Most pedagogues never saw it that way. “In Wisconsin, 33 families a day entered the state from Illinois and Chicago lured by higher benefits,” the Claremont Institute’s Eloise Anderson remembers of the land-o-lakes she called home for three decades. “The academic community denied that was a motive to move from...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush attended St. John's this morning, and GWB went for a mountain bike ride. The first couple also made a brief television appearance to congratulate the new Iraqi government. Here are the President's brief remarks: THE PRESIDENT: The formation of a unity government in Iraq is a new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in freedom. And the formation of the unity government in Iraq begins a new chapter in our relationship with Iraq. This morning, I called the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker to congratulate...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President is spending the weekend at the White House, where his father is visiting. The First Lady gave a commencement address at Roger Williams College in Bristol, RI, today. President Bush will welcome new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to the White House next week. The two leaders are expected to discuss three key issues: --> The final border between Israel and the West Bank. The United States wants Israel to keep trying to negotiate with Palestinian Authority President Mamoud Abbas over a final border. Israel wants to define the border and pull out...

David Horowitz - Ward Churchill Debate From George Washington University to Air on C-SPAN Saturday, 8 EDT. The topic was Politics in the Classroom.

On April 6-7, 2006, Students for Academic Freedom will host its First National Academic Freedom Conference featuring a debate between Students for Academic Freedom Chairman David Horowitz and University of Colorado-Boulder Professor Ward Churchill. The topic for debate will be: “Can Politics Be Taken Out Of The Classroom, and Should It Be?” The debate will be held Thursday evening on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, DC. Young America’s Foundation and the Center for the Study of Popular Culture are the co-hosts of the debate. Seating for the debate is limited and will be determined by George Washington...

On the evening of April 6th at George Washington University, David Horowitz will debate Ward Churchill. The good news is (for those not in DC) Rightalk.com is negotiating to webcast the event LIVE! An audio file will be available for download/listening after the event.

George Washington Law School Moot CourtStudents present oral arguments in a fictitious case before a panel of judges. Judges include: John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States; Guido Calabresi, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Sonia Sotomayor, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 2/9/2006: WASHINGTON, DC: 1 hr. 20 min.

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter visited GW's campus Feb. 10. Gary Livacari defends the decision to bring her to campus. Tim Kaldas explores what it means for the College Republicans to stand behind Coulter's remarks: The anger has settled and the hysterics have faded. The Ann Coulter event of Feb. 10 is now a permanent chapter in GW history. For the College Republicans, it was the pinnacle of an already outstanding year. Ms. Coulter's address reminded the student body that conservative activism continues to prosper - in full force - at this ostensibly "progressive" university. Despite dire warnings from campus feminist...

Liberals beware! Your worst nightmare is near. No, I’m not talking about a visit from George W. Bush. But, like the president, her mere presence is enough to leave some leftists totally unhinged - and even elicit some flying pies! Her name is Ann Coulter and next Friday night [February 10] she comes to the George Washington campus. For the College Republicans, it will be the culmination of an outstanding, historic year. More importantly, Ms. Coulter’s address will remind the student body that conservative activism continues to prosper – in full force - at this ostensibly “progressive” university. Coulter has...

"This past week, I attended Young America Foundation's National Conservative Student Conference at George Washington University. We had a line of of speakers that included everyone from Newt Gingrich to Ann Coulter. During this time, I took a random poll of 47 (of 225) conference attendees, most of whom I didn't know, asking who they preferred as Republican presidential candidates in 2008. Question: Who are your 1st and 2nd choices to be the Republican Presidential candidate in 2008? # of Males - 29 # of Females - 18 Geographic Regions of Respondents: Northeast - 8 Northwest - 1 East -3...

Police in the nation's capital investigated a triple stabbing Sunday that killed a New Jersey man just five blocks east of the White House. The death occurred around 2:45 a.m. after what police say had been a gathering at a party sponsored by George Washington University in the Old Post Office Pavilion, a nightclub. University spokeswoman Tracy Schario said the party and a dance competition were peaceful and had been a fund-raiser for tsunami relief efforts. It was unclear whether there was any connection to the stabbing outside. "Several men were on the corner and an argument broke out, one...

(CNSNews.com) - The increased frequency with which Middle Eastern terrorists target Americans and U.S. installations is due in part to the terrorists' continued perception that America acts cowardly when under attack, according to former Central Intelligence Agency director R. James Woolsey. Woolsey, who addressed students and reporters at George Washington University Tuesday, said America's reaction to the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran and the deaths of 241 U.S. marines in 1983 are examples of why that perception endures. With President Jimmy Carter trying to negotiate the hostages' release in 1979 and 1980, the reaction of the average American was to...

Remarks made by Governor Howard Dean on the Future of the Democratic Party. Given at The George Washington University on December 8, 2004. Thank you for that introduction. It's a pleasure to be here.Let me tell you what my plan for this Party is:We're going to win in Mississippi ...and Alabama ...and Idaho ...and South Carolina. Four years ago, the President won 49 percent of the vote. The Republican Party treated it like it was a mandate, and we let them get away with it.Fifty one percent is not a mandate either. And this time we're not going to let...

A good source tells me: "As students began to leave their seats at the end of George Washington University's graduation ceremony Sunday, school president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg said, 'And you may now turn your tassels from right to left, as I hope happened to your politics in the last four years.'"

Twitching with rage and disbelief, a pro-homosexual student approached one TFP Student Action member and said, “Why are you here? This is a liberal university.” Visibly shaken, he continued: “You’re in the wrong place. People on this campus disagree with you.” To this the TFP member nodded: “Yes, that’s exactly why we came – to let the other side be heard.” The TFP had gone to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. to defend traditional marriage as part of a continuing effort on college campuses. News of their presence spread like wild fire. Within minutes of their arrival, homosexual activists...

Its official: John F. Kerry is an unabashed liberal. Of course, we conservatives knew it all along. During Thursday’s anti-Bush, leftist love fest, led by the still enraged – and deranged – Howard Dean, Sen. Kerry finally shed his “centrist,” “anti-Dean” façade and proudly revealed himself as the radical, ultra-liberal he really is. Sen. Kerry has effectively masked his staunch liberalism for months now, running a successful primary campaign as the supposedly mainstream Democratic alternative to Gov. Howard Dean. Yet, with the endorsement by Dean, a man who is perhaps the biggest loser in American political primary history, Sen. Kerry...

I believe the 40 or so Bush supporters at the Democrat's "Unity Day" Shawn Macomber saw were organized by the D.C. chapter of Free Republic of the FreeRepublic.com website. The head of the chapter wrote a thread on the site of their efforts and the harassment they received from the Democrat supporters. At one point they were told they had to move by someone they weren't sure was a Police officer or just hired security. The reason? He told them that they were inciting violence. When asked how, the man with the gun said because they were agitating the Democrat...

WASHINGTON -- George Washington University canceled the GW softball team's season Monday after seven games due to multiple injuries that have kept the team off the field since Feb. 29. Amid allegations that head coach Shaunte' Fremin mentally and physically abused players, the university also hired an independent investigator this week to look into Fremin and the athletic department. Robert Chernak, senior vice president for Student and Academic Support Services, said GW's decision to cancel the season was not related to the allegations against Fremin but rather to the health of the players. After university medical staff determined Monday morning...

'A New Direction for America': Remarks by John Kerry at George Washington University 3/25/2004 12:24:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Politics Reporter Contact: Stephanie Cutter of John Kerry for President, 202-712-3000, or David Wade, 202-528-7475, Web: http://www.johnkerry.com WASHINGTON, March 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a transcript of remarks by John Kerry at a rally at George Washington University: George Washington University, Washington, D.C. March 25, 2004 As Prepared for Delivery Thank you, Howard Dean. Over the last year, your voice has reminded this Party about the power of grassroots politics to change America. You've started a conversation...

John Kerry is finding out again that Howard Dean can be more of a liability than an asset. Dean, once mocked by former rival Wesley Clark as a draft-dodging ski bum, said during an appearance with Kerry today at George Washington University, "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star from the battlefields of Vietnam?" Uh, does that mean he voted for...

John Kerry and Howard Dean Hold Rally at George Washington University for America's Future 3/24/2004 11:55:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Katharine Lister of John Kerry for President, 202-712-3000 News Advisory: John Kerry and Howard Dean will hold a rally at George Washington University on Thursday, March 25 at 11:15 a.m. to talk about the importance of the upcoming election to put America back on track. Following the rally, Howard Dean will host an online Webchat live from George Washington University at 1 p.m. EST. Join the Webchat on Thursday by going to http://www.johnkerry.com and click...

<p>March 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry asked Spanish Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to reconsider a campaign promise and keep his country's troops in Iraq, El Mundo reported.</p> <p>Kerry made the comment during a speech at George Washington University in Washington, the newspaper said.</p>

This just in: "According to the Associated Press, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry served on a Navy gunboat in Vietnam and was recognized with numerous military decorations for courage under fire and wounds sustained in combat." Big news, right? I doubt it. One can hardly watch a Kerry campaign rally or stump speech without the senator droning on and on about his Vietnam War record. I do not mean to belittle Mr. Kerry's service. As the son of a career Navy captain, I was taught to show respect for all military men and women, including guardsmen and reservists. I...

George Bush and John Kerry Have Something in Common By Gary J. Livacari Believe it or not, President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry actually have something in common. No, this is not a joke, and this commonality goes beyond their widely known association with the secret "Skulls" society at Yale University. You can call it a concocted "Skull" conspiracy, or just a rare glimmer of sensibility on the part of Kerry, but when it comes to Saddam Hussein threatening the United States with weapons of mass destruction, Bush and Kerry are in undeniable agreement. In fact, as early...

Published: Thursday, January 29, 2004 Apparently GW Hatchet contributor Paul Kendrick missed his talking points from the Democratic National Committee, for he is one of the few remaining liberals who still has enough political nerve to take issue with the state of the American economy. Economic growth, soaring investor and consumer confidence and home ownership rates, and more than 500,000 jobs recovered in the third quarter alone - most of which were the direct result of the Bush tax cuts - are not convincing enough evidence to silence his reflexive repulsion to Bush's economic policies. In his recent column, "Responsibility...

Forum: The real visionary leaders By Gary Livacari ...from the right While the Democrats desperately search for a worthy opponent to President Bush, the State of the Union address made it clear that the American people have already found their leader. That leader is George W. Bush. As for the Democrats - well, I think the priggish expressions of the paradigm of morality, Sen. Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy, that were on full display throughout the address speak for themselves. In the State of the Union, President Bush again devoted himself to renewing this country's sense of moral purpose and direction, providing...