Saturday, September 2, 2017
Colleges struggle over defending or curbing free speech
When College Administrators start letting Antifa groups run the show the college should be shut down because this has nothing to do with education.
University of Missouri |
Evergreen State College |
Both the University of Missouri and
Evergreen State College have been rocked by left-wing demonstrations,
some of which administrators in both schools allowed. Now both have had
to deal with falling enrollment and a decline in funds - and there are
fears the situation could spread to other schools.
The defining issue is whether
parents and donors see administrators as capable of containing clashes
and responding firmly when protests get out of control, experts say.
Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill of the American Council of
Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit that advocates for a variety of higher
education issues, told Fox News that how a college handles freedom of
expression matters greatly to prospective students, their parents and
donors.“When they look to what college to pick, parents and students are thinking of the largest investment their family is likely to make beyond the purchase of a home,” Pfeffer Merrill said. “Across the political spectrum, one of the most essential assets is [the opportunity] to be exposed to a wide range of views.”
Violence is coming from antifa group on campus. Now they control administrators and shut out competing ideas they disagree with or don’t like.There is increasing concern, she said, “about a lack of openness to having a full conversation” amid a growing intolerance of views that are different or considered offensive.
“It’s senior leadership at the colleges that sets the tone,” she said.
At Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., last year left-wing students called for a day for whites to stay off campus. But a professor -- well known as a progressive -- publicly criticized the move. The response was threats and physical intimidation by students. Administrators decided to suspend classes for several days.
As at Missouri, the school administrators were assailed for allowing a group of overzealous students to call the shots.
Now Evergreen State has experienced a decline in enrollment that has resulted in a $2.1 million budget shortfall, forcing the liberal arts school to announce layoffs. The blow to the school’s enrollment and finances is seen as stemming, at least in part, from the showdown.
The general consensus was that [the enrollment decline] was because of the aftermath of what happened in November, 2015. There were students from both in the state and out of state that just did not apply, or those who did apply but decided not to attend.In 2015, the University of Missouri’s main campus, which is in Columbia, experienced escalating tensions over allegations of racism at the school – and protests became violent. Several administrators acceded to demonstrators’ demands that they resign.
- Mun Choi, new system president, University of Missouri
School officials were widely criticized for not gaining control over the protests, which grew in size and tension, even resulting in some demonstrators lashing out at reporters who were trying to cover their message.
Since then, freshman enrollment has plunged by 35 percent, and donations to the athletic department have dropped 72 percent over the year before, according to published reports.
The University of Missouri had to temporarily close seven dormitories – renting them out for special events, such as homecoming games – and planned to cut 400 jobs.
“The general consensus was that [declining enrollment] was because of the aftermath of what happened in November 2015,” the New York Times quoted Mun Choi, the new system president, as saying. “There were students from both in the state and out of state that just did not apply, or those who did apply but decided not to attend.”
If left-wing groups continue making demands and administrators acquiesce to them, other schools may suffer the same fate as Missouri and Evergreen, according to one expert.
“I don’t think we have seen the full extent of the fallout at the University of Missouri,” Sterling Beard, editor of The Leadership Institute's Campus Reform, told Fox News. “Violence is coming from Antifa groups on campus. Now they control administrators and shut out competing ideas they disagree with or don’t like.”
Beard said Missouri’s protests spread to other colleges, but they did not spiral out of control.
“The lesson is that administrators have to treat their students like the adults that they are,” he said. “Nowadays they treat students with kid gloves.”
When students cross the line from expressing a view or demonstrating for a cause to disrupting education or making people feel unsafe on campus, it’s time for administrators to lay down boundaries, Beard said.
“They must not be afraid to expel students and lay down the law.”
One school that has resisted the kinds of demands Missouri and Evergreen gave in to is the University of Chicago.
In the summer of 2016 incoming freshmen at the University of Chicago received a welcome letter that made the institution’s commitment to the free and open expression of ideas clear:
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”
Trump slams 'rigged system' over claim Comey 'exonerated' Clinton before probe ended
President Trump on Friday slammed what he called a
“rigged system” following reports that former FBI Director James Comey
began drafting an “exoneration statement” for Hillary Clinton before
interviewing her in connection with her private email use as secretary
of state.
“Wow, looks like James Comey
exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so
much more. A rigged system!” Trump tweeted early Friday.
The president was referring to allegations made this
week by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.In a news release Thursday, the senators said Comey began drafting the exoneration statement in April or May 2016, which was before the FBI interviewed 17 key witnesses, including Clinton herself and other top aides.
COMEY BEGAN DRAFTING 'EXONERATION STATEMENT' BEFORE INTERVIEWING KEY WITNESSES, SENATORS SAY
“Conclusion first, fact-gathering second—that’s no way to run an investigation,” they wrote in a letter this week to the FBI. “The FBI should be held to a higher standard than that, especially in a matter of such great public interest and controversy.”
Grassley and Graham said they learned about the draft after reviewing transcripts of interviews with top Comey aides.
“According to the unredacted portions of the transcripts, it appears that in April or early May of 2016, Mr. Comey had already decided he would issue a statement exonerating Secretary Clinton,” the senators said.
They added, “That was long before FBI agents finished their work. Mr. Comey even circulated an early draft statement to select members of senior FBI leadership. The outcome of an investigation should not be prejudged while FBI agents are still hard at work trying to gather the facts.”
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, was investigated by the FBI for using a private email address and server to handle classified information while serving as secretary of state.
In July 2016, Comey famously called Clinton’s email arrangement “extremely careless” though he decided against recommending criminal charges.
The transcripts in question were from interviews conducted by the Office of Special Counsel, which interviewed James Rybicki, Comey’s chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of national security and cyberlaw, the senators said.
“It is unclear whether the FBI agents actually investigating the case were aware that Mr. Comey had already decided on the investigation’s outcome while their work was ongoing,” the senators wrote.
In the Wednesday letter to FBI Director Chris Wray, the two senators said they have requested all records relating to the drafting of the statement.
Comey was fired as FBI director by Trump in May amid tensions over the Russia investigation.
Obama Becomes Most Expensive Ex-President in U.S. History
OAN Newsroom
Barack Obama becomes the most expensive ex-president in U.S. history, costing taxpayers almost $1.2 million a year.Obama’s official allowance for 2018 is the highest among the five living ex-presidents, exceeding George Bush’s budget by $100,000 and Bill Clinton’s by $200,000.
Despite claiming his presidency empowered the disadvantaged, Obama made a dent in Americans’ pockets with shared responsibility payments.
Now his office in D.C. is the most expensive of all other ex-presidents’ and will cost taxpayers $536,000.
His pension is also the highest at around $236,000.
Not only did Barack and Michelle Obama leave the White House as multi-millionaires, they also put a hefty price tag on on their public speaking services.
One speech from the former president could cost up to $400,000.
Russia Promises Tough Response Over Consulate Closures
OAN Newroom
Russia promises a tough response to a U.S. order to shutdown Russian consulates in the U.S.This comes after the White House gave Russia 48 hours Thursday to follow through with its request.
U.S. officials describe the move as retaliation to the Kremlin’s demand for the U.S. to cut its diplomatic staff in Russia following new sanctions imposed by the White House.
Russian officials say they were surprised by the move, and claim the conflict between the two nations was started by the U.S.
The country’s foreign minister said Moscow will reply with firmness, but has not yet settled on how to retaliate.
“I’d like to mention that the closure of the consulate in San Francisco was accompanied by the request to clear it within two days, said Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “We gave the Americans a month to bring the number of diplomatic personnel in accordance with the number of our personnel in the United States, but they kicked out our 35 people with families within two days and now they force us to close a consulate within two days.”
Lavrov said Russia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties came as a response to the U.S. expelling Russian diplomats last December.
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