Free Republic

The Black Student Union at UC Irvine is calling for the university to dismantle its police force, which the student organization alleges has failed to address safety concerns for black students on campus. The group sent a letter to UCI administrators Monday demanding that the campus Police Department and any additional "paramilitary force presence" be abolished in three to six months.

The Department of Justice is investigating the arrest of Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old Muslim boy whom police took into custody when he brought a homemade clock to his school in Texas, the U.S. Attorney General said Thursday. Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed the investigation at the annual Muslim Advocates dinner in Arlington, Va., the Dallas Morning News reports. “We have, as you may know, opened an investigation into the case of the young man in Irving, Texas,” Lynch told Farhana Kher, Muslim Advocates President and Executive Director, during an interview. “So we will see where that investigation goes.” After the...

Taco Bell is saving its first fast-food restaurant from the wrecking ball by relocating the iconic 400-square-foot food stand from Downey to its corporate headquarters in Irvine. “This is arguably the most important restaurant in our company’s history,” said Taco Bell Chief executive Brian Niccol. “When we heard about the chance of it being demolished, we had to step in. We owe that to our fans; we owe that to Glen Bell.”

The Center for Medical Progress, which released its seventh video Wednesday, didn’t immediately return a call and email seeking comment. In an earlier statement, the Irvine, Calif., group said it would contest any attempts to suppress its free-speech rights. It also said in a statement on its Facebook page that it “follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative work.” The letter reflects a growing offensive from state and congressional Democrats in their support of Planned Parenthood. The center is under investigation in two states, and a group of congressional Democrats has called on the Justice Department to...

Drought-stricken California is not the only place draining underground aquifers in the hunt for fresh water. It’s happening across the world, according to two new studies by U.S. researchers released Tuesday. Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers – in locations from India and China to the United States and France -- have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water is being removed than replaced from these vital underground reservoirs. Thirteen of 37 aquifers fell at rates that put them into the most troubled category. “The situation is quite critical,” said Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet...

IRVINE – The City Council late Tuesday voted 4-1 to repeal the city’s living wage ordinance, which requires some contractors that do business with Irvine to pay its employees a slightly higher rate than the state’s $9 per hour minimum. The ordinance has been in place since 2007 when a 3-2 vote signed into law the requirement that companies that have contracts with the city worth at least $100,000 in a 12-month period pay more per hour.

Two weeks ago, a group of students at the University of California at Irvine removed a U.S. flag from a common area of the student-government suite. Shortly afterwards, six undergraduate members of the Legislative Council of the Associated Students of UCI (ASUCI) passed a resolution banning the display of the flags of any nation in the office lobby. The resolution was authored by student Matthew Guevara of the School of Social Ecology. Among the reasons the legislative council objected to the American flag were: “The American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism.” “A common ideological understanding...

As KCAL9’s Stacey Butler reports, vocal crowds gathered outside the student center at UCI on Tuesday evening. A student government meeting at UC Irvine scheduled for Tuesday evening was canceled due what school officials described as a violent threat. Officials would not specify the threat, but described it as a “viable threat of violence” that was serious enough to cancel the meeting, which was planned in response to a vote last week to ban the display of all flags before a higher student panel overturned it. The meeting this evening was to discuss overriding the veto, according to UCI spokeswoman...

State Republican lawmakers said they will introduce a constitutional amendment that would prohibit state funded colleges and universities from banning the American flag on campuses, a move that comes a week after a student government council at UC Irvine banned the flag from being displayed in a school lobby. UC Irvine’s broader student government body vetoed the controversial measure on Saturday. But, Sen. Janet Nguyen and fellow Republicans said they will move forward with the constitutional amendment. Nguyen and her family fled Vietnam as refugees, which Reeder said made the issue of banning the American flag personal. “For her it’s...

The anti-America brainwashing of the American education system reached some kind of apogee with the vote of the UC Irvine student council (the “Associated Students of the University of California”) to ban the American flag in its main lobby, on a vote of 6 yea, 4 nay, and 2 abstentions. That ban was overridden by the executive committee of the student council on a 4-1 vote, perhaps aware of the damage being done to the value of a degree from that school. Now, there is the beginning of blowback for the original majority from a group calling itself Americanstrong:

IRVINE, California — Students at the University of California Irvine (UCI) spoke to Breitbart News Sunday, sharing their shock and disappointment at recent legislation by six members of UCI’s Associated Students (ASUCI) to remove an American flag from their building’s lobby this past Thursday.

Resolution would have banned hanging flags of any nation in the lobby of student government offices (CNN) —Student leaders at the University of California-Irvine vetoed a resolution on Saturday that would have banned hanging flags of any nation, including America's Stars and Stripes, in the lobby of student government offices, amid widespread criticism from students and alumni. The Legislative Council of the Associated Students of the University of California, Irvine's passed the resolution, "Flags and decoration adjustment for inclusivity," in a 6-4 vote Tuesday with the stated intention of creating a "more inclusive" environment.The resolution said "the American flag is...

The Star-Spangled Banner will once again wave at the University of California, Irvine, after student government leaders nixed a bid to ban the American flag from a campus lobby. Members of the executive cabinet of the Associated Students of UC Irvine met Saturday in an emergency session to reverse the flag ban.

The Associated Students of University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) voted Tuesday to remove all flags, including American flags, from an inclusive space on campus because of their offensive nature. The bill, R50-70, was authored by Social Ecology Representative Matthew Guevara, and accuses all flags, especially, the American flag, of being “symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism.”

What are we teaching the children? Students at the University of California, Irvine have voted to make their school a more “culturally inclusive” place by banning the American flag. The Associated Students of University of California (ASUCI) passed a resolution March 3 that would remove the Stars & Stripes along with every other flag from the lobby of a complex housing the offices of the student government. Last week the children of UC Irvine determined that: The American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism. Flags not only serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism,...

<p>Students at the University of California, Irvine have voted to make their school a more “culturally inclusive” place by banning the American flag.</p> <p>The Associated Students of University of California (ASUCI) passed a resolution March 3 that would remove the Stars & Stripes along with every other flag from the lobby of a complex housing the offices of the student government.</p>

The Associated Students of University of California, Irvine voted to ban hanging flags in its main lobby. The flag banning legislation passed with six yea votes, four nay, and two abstentions. he Associated Students of University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) voted Tuesday to remove all flags, including American flags, from an inclusive space on campus because of their offensive nature. The bill, R50-70, was authored by Social Ecology Representative Matthew Guevara, and accuses all flags, especially, the American flag, of being “symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism.” “[F]lags construct paradigms of conformity and sets [sic] homogenized standards for others...

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- UC Irvine's student executive council vetoed Saturday a resolution passed by the school's student legislative body earlier this week that banned hanging a flag from any nation in the lobby area of student government offices. "We fundamentally disagree with the actions taken by ASUCI Legislative Council and their passage of R50-70 as counter to the ideals that allow us to operate as an autonomous student government organization with the freedoms of speech and expression associated with it. It is these very symbols that represent our constitutional rights that have allowed for our representative creation and our...

Author’s note: Much of the material from this column was stolen from my friends Kaitlyn and Caleb over at Campus Reform (see www.CampusReform.org). I don’t apologize for the theft. It’s punishment for continuing to associate with people who post foodies on Facebook. I’ve often said that we should ban the rainbow flag from campus because it’s offensive to conservative Christians, orthodox Jews, and immoderate Muslims (read: Muslims). But I’m only kidding when I say it. I’m simply trying to poke fun at campus administrators who often claim they want to ban offensive speech without considering that much their own speech...

University of California, Irvine has banned the “imperialist” American flag in “inclusive” spaces. Portions of the official resolution read: Whereas flags not only serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism, but also construct cultural mythologies and narratives that in turn charge nationalistic sentiments.Whereas the American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism.Whereas symbolism has negative and positive aspects that are interpreted differently by individuals.Whereas designing a culturally inclusive space is taken seriously by ASUCIWhereas the removal of barriers is the best option at promoting an inclusive space.Whereas it is a psychological effect for individuals to...