Conservative and Liberal Student Organizations:Conservative Organizations:&nbsp;College Republicans and Young Americans for FreedomLiberal Organizations:&nbsp;College Democrats, Students Demand Action, Davidson Young Democratic Socialists of America, Planned Parenthood Generational Action, Platform Women, Queers &amp; Allies, Queer Mentorship Program, You Are Not A Stranger HereOpenSecrets Data on Davidson College Employee Political Donations:99.52% of Davidson employee donations during the 2020 election cycle have been towards Democratic campaigns, while only 0.48% of employee donations have been to Republican candidates, according to data from <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/davidson-college/recipients?id=D000069184" style=" text-align: start;">OpenSecrets</a>.Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Rating:Davidson College has a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/schools/davidson-college/">red light</a> rating. According to FIRE, &quot;A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.&quot;<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/campus.reform//17676hldpvDemocrat.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Stories by Campus Reform about Davidson College:<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16157">Davidson College spends $1 million telling White churches how not to be racist</a>Davidson received a $1 million endowment grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to promote racial justice in white dominated churches.Stories about professors at Davidson College:<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=11209">Davidson prof to let students pick their grades</a>A Davidson professor announced a policy that would let students pick their grade at the beginning of the semester and receive a workload based upon that selection.

CAMPUS PROFILE: Davidson College

Dr. Elliot Stern, president of Saddleback College, a public community college in California, issued an open letter <a href="https://www.saddleback.edu/Message-President-Stern-Commemorating-Juneteenth">commemorating</a> Juneteenth that also voiced support for Critical Race Theory. &nbsp;Amid thoughtful comments on the historical significance of Juneteenth and the importance of commemorating Emancipation, Stern equated the ongoing backlash against Critical Race Theory to the &quot;Red Scare&quot; of the 1950s:&nbsp;<blockquote>&quot;Politicians create bogeymen of scholars of race study and are passing laws to prevent schools from teaching widely acclaimed scholarship,&quot; he wrote. &quot;Critical Race Theory is the new Communism.&quot;</blockquote><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17660">[RELATED: New York college diversity director admits to using Critical Race Theory on campus]</a>If Critical Race Theory is &quot;widely acclaimed scholarship,&quot; as the letter argues, it is also widely criticized scholarship. The New York Times&#39; 1619 Project, a text often used to teach Critical Race Theory, has been <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15720">criticized</a> by academics for including apparent historical falsehoods.&nbsp;Additionally, Campus Reform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17673">reported</a> yesterday that &quot;a survivor of Mao Zedong&#39;s Communist regime told her school board that the tactics behind Critical Race Theory seem &#39;very familiar.&#39;&rdquo;&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;is <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17653">tracking&nbsp;</a>state bills and laws that block Critical Race Theory, and not a single one bans the teaching of history of race in the United States. Few bills mention Critical Race Theory by name, but instead stipulate that no student may be made to feel superior or inferior to another on the basis of race or sex.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17619">[RELATED: Critical Race Theory motivates summer reading list, &#39;cluster hire&#39; at ASU]</a>The reaction to President Biden proclaiming Juneteenth a national holiday has been almost exclusively positive from the American right. The Republican National Committee <a href="https://gop.com/rnc-celebrates-juneteenth-2021?">announced</a> that it &quot;enthusiastically welcome[s] its adoption as our newest national holiday after President Trump called for it last year.&quot; Out of 211 Republicans in the House, only 14 voted against making Juneteenth a holiday.&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to Saddleback College for comment; this piece will be updated to reflect any response.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaLMorabito" style=" text-align: start;">@AngelaLMorabito</a>

Critical Race Theory has received widespread opposition while Juneteenth enjoys bipartisan support as a federal holiday. 

College President: 'Critical Race Theory is the new Communism'

SMITH: Yes, there should be a negative stigma around sex work, it's undignified and empty

As parents across the United States denounce Critical Race Theory in their school districts, Ibram X. Kendi declared that opponents of the framework are merely opposed to activists identifying their racism.This spring, Critical Race Theory has faced opposition from parents of diverse backgrounds not wanting CRT curriculum in schools.&nbsp;In one viral video, a Black mother told the Florida Board of Education that Critical Race Theory is inherently prejudiced against her children.<blockquote>Fla. mom, Keisha King, to the State Board of Education: Critical Race Theory &quot;does not teach the truth, unless you believe that whites are better than blacks ... Telling my child, or any child, that they are in a permanently oppressed status because they are black is racist&quot; <a href="https://t.co/DHJFONDXxx">pic.twitter.com/DHJFONDXxx</a>&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1403297459992944642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2021</a></blockquote>&ldquo;CRT and its outworking today is a teaching that there is a hierarchy in society where white male heterosexual able-bodied people are deemed the oppressor and anyone else outside of that status is oppressed,&rdquo; she declared. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about you, but telling my child or any child that they are in a permanent oppressed status in America because they are black is racist, and saying that white people are automatically above me, my children or any child is racist as well.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17608">[RELATED: Albion College makes Kendi&#39;s &lsquo;How to Be an Antiracist&rsquo; required reading for first-year students]</a>A White mother in Colorado <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcCPNPvsfS0&t=2s">denounced</a> her school board for failing to consult parents over the worldviews taught to their children.&ldquo;We are the ones that have the moral authority over their education,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We will not be marginalized. The board&rsquo;s job is to represent the stakeholders&hellip; The stakeholders who were consulted before this policy was implemented does not list parents. Neither does the advisory committee. We are the stakeholders and we need to be included in this.&rdquo;&ldquo;I do think there&rsquo;s a concerted backlash from people who recognize that this time last year a growing number of Americans were either speaking out against racism or growing an awareness of the problem of racism,&rdquo; Kendi, a Boston University professor, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/12/ibram-x-kendi-antiracism-backlash-interview">The Guardian</a> via Zoom.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17613">[RELATED: Warren and Pressley make charges of &#39;policy violence,&#39; &#39;public health impact of racism&#39; at Kendi&#39;s CRT forum]</a>But critiques of Critical Race Theory tend to focus on the framework&#39;s application as curriculum and education policy, not a recognition of the existence of racism.&nbsp;For example, a survivor of Mao Zedong&#39;s Communist regime told her school board that the tactics behind Critical Race Theory seem &ldquo;very familiar.&rdquo;<blockquote>What a chilling warning for parents from someone who came to this country from China. <a href="https://t.co/GOLmvntqgn">pic.twitter.com/GOLmvntqgn</a>&mdash; fightforschools (@fightforschools) <a href="https://twitter.com/fightforschools/status/1402647901738881027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2021</a></blockquote>&ldquo;You are now training our children to be social justice warriors and to loathe our country and our history,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Growing up in Mao&rsquo;s China, all of this seems very familiar. The Communist regime used the same critical theory to divide people; the only difference is they used class instead of race.&rdquo;&ldquo;During the Cultural Revolution, I witnessed students and teachers turn against each other,&rdquo; she recalled. &ldquo;We changed school names to be politically correct. We were taught to denounce our heritage. The Red Guards destroyed anything that is not Communist: old statues, books, and anything else.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to Kendi for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft">@BenZeisloft</a>

'You are now training our children to be social justice warriors and to loathe our country and our history,' one parent said of CRT, likening its effect to her experience living in Communist China. 

As Asian, Black, White parents stand up to CRT, Ibram X. Kendi dismisses opponents' arguments 

Conservative and Liberal Student Organizations:Conservative Organizations:&nbsp;Turning Point USA and University of Oregon College Republicans&nbsp;Liberal Organizations:&nbsp;Climate Justice League, Coalition Against Environmental Racism, Gun Control in the United States, LGBTQ+ Alliance, LGBTESSP, Mecha, No Lost Generation UO, Our Revolution, Out in STEM, Queer Ally Coalition, Queer Media Association, Queer, Trans &amp; Intersex Students of Color, Radical Organizing and Activism Research Center (ROAR), Student Insurgent, Students for Choice, Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, University of Oregon College Democrats, Womxn of Color Coalition, Young Democratic SocialistsOpenSecrets Data on University of Oregon Employee Political Donations:&nbsp;In the 2020 election cycle, 98.75% of donations went to Democrats, while 1.25% went to Republicans, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/university-of-oregon/recipients?id=D000030683">OpenSecrets.</a>Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Rating:The University of Oregon has a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/schools/university-of-oregon/">yellow light</a> rating. According to FIRE, &quot;Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.&quot;<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/campus.reform//176750fhx4Democrat.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Stories by Campus Reform about the University of Oregon:<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=10361">University of Oregon symposium asks &#39;What&#39;s Up With Whiteness?&#39;</a>The University of Oregon held a symposium to discuss &ldquo;what&rsquo;s up with whiteness&rdquo;, and help participants find their place in discussions about &ldquo;race and systemic injustice&rdquo; and become better &ldquo;allies.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=9942">Clueless protesters shout down University of Oregon prez</a>A group of student protestors prevented University of Oregon President Michael Schill from giving a speech regarding how the school would utilize a recent $50 million donation, forcing him to give a video address.Stories about questionable policies at the University of Oregon:<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16674">University of Oregon begins disarming police</a>The University of Oregon has begun disarming twenty-six percent of University of Oregon Police Department officers and increasing the number of unarmed officers in response to &ldquo;recent incidents of police violence against people of color.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16254">University of Oregon promises to ignore Trump&#39;s critical race theory executive order</a>University of Oregon President Michael Schill announced the University&rsquo;s intention to openly defy President Trump&rsquo;s executive order prohibiting the promotion of critical race theory by federal employees and contractors.&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16049">EXCLUSIVE: University of Oregon&rsquo;s anti-racism plan considers defunding police, endorsing BLM, using diversity as employment factor</a>Internal documents obtained by Campus Reform reveal the University of Oregon&rsquo;s consideration of endorsing the Black Lives Matter movement, defunding the school police department, and the use of diversity and identity within the process of hiring new employees&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=14719">University of Oregon takes drastic action to shore up coronavirus revenue losses</a>In response to lost revenue caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic, the University of Oregon announced plans to lay-off 282 school employees while extending their healthcare benefits, with the intention of rehiring the laid-off employees after work once again becomes available.&nbsp;

CAMPUS PROFILE: University of Oregon

A Christian university&#39;s Student Government Association is recommending students take &quot;helpful classes&quot; related to &quot;anti-racism.&quot;The Northwest Nazarene University Student Government Association sent out an email referring students to an anti-racism guide that promoted several social justice courses. This document, sent out in an October 19, 2020, email obtain by Campus Reform,&nbsp;was authored by SGA Campus Ministries.This anti-racism <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VIs2KkfVls9B1_SN0SbThu9ckSbMXUCf7tKUnYv2cCU/edit">guide</a> contains a long list of poems, books, videos, and articles on the topic of racism. Many of these resources originate from widely-known proponents of critical race theory, such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin Di&rsquo;Angelo.&nbsp;Among these resources is a list of anti-racist classes to take at NNU. The classes advertised by Student Ministries are Human Diversity, Social Justice and Modern Society, Social Justice and the Christian Tradition, Race, Class, and Gender, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, and Issues of the Global Church.&nbsp;The first class on the list, Human Diversity, is a psychology course. It is <a href="https://catalog.nnu.edu/cas/course-descriptions/psyc">described</a> as follows:&ldquo;This course examines the multifaceted levels of diversity in humanity and will review ways to approach diversity in a sensitive and appropriate manner. Topics to be covered include a history of human diversity, cultural diversity, age differences, gender issues, spirituality, sexuality, religious diversity, physical impairments, and how to be sensitive to issues of diversity as they pertain to working with people. Key human rights and understandings will be explored.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17626">[RELATED: Texas A&amp;M&#39;s massive glossary of social justice terms: &lsquo;Christian Privilege,&rsquo; &lsquo;Critical Race Feminism,&rsquo; &#39;Critical Race Theory&#39;]</a>The second class listed, called Social Justice and Modern Society, is a social work class. It <a href="https://catalog.nnu.edu/cas/course-descriptions/sowk">covers</a> the following material:&ldquo;This course is an introduction to the recurrent needs of citizens and how society is organized to respond to these needs with an emphasis on small towns and rural communities. The course is organized around the major themes of poverty, socioeconomic class differences, and other major differences among people that interact with poverty and classism. The course includes a review of the history and current nature of social welfare services.&rdquo;The next class on the list, Social Justice and the Christian Tradition, is a theology class. This class is summarized in its <a href="https://catalog.nnu.edu/cas/course-descriptions/theo">course description</a>:&ldquo;The virtue of justice has deep roots in Christian Scripture, philosophy, and the Christian theological tradition as an essential feature of a society ordered toward the common good. What does justice look like in the tradition of Christian thought? What makes a just society? How might Christians actively contribute to a society that is more just? This course encourages students to explore such questions through Scripture, the church&rsquo;s theological heritage, and engagement with the work of active practitioners today.&rdquo;Race, Class, and Gender is a cultural anthropology course. It is <a href="https://catalog.nnu.edu/cas/course-descriptions/clta">outlined</a> as covering the following material:&ldquo;A study of the contemporary diversity of society with a focus on inter-group relations (e.g., assimilation, conflict, and pluralism). Emphasis is placed on gaining an understanding of the multi-cultural nature of American society in comparison with other societies and on formulating a viable response.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17584">[RELATED: Texas Christian University to nix the word &#39;freshmen&#39; in push for &#39;inclusive excellence&#39;]</a>The fifth class listed is an Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.&nbsp;According to its <a href="https://catalog.nnu.edu/cas/course-descriptions/clta">course description</a>, &ldquo;This course focuses on basic perspectives and concepts for understanding and productively relating to groups and individuals in other cultures. It includes an introduction to the discipline, history of the discipline and its development, and methods of cultural anthropology.&rdquo;Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to the NNU SGA for comment, but has not heard back in time for publication. This article will be updated accordingly.

A Christian university's Student Government Association is recommending students take 'helpful classes' related to 'anti-racism.'

EXCLUSIVE: NNU Campus Ministry students encouraged to take anti-racist classes

Younger Americans are less inclined to support free speech when it comes from the other side of the political divide.Adults between 18-34 years old are &quot;less supportive of free speech than older generations, except when it comes to insulting the Stars and Stripes,&quot; Foreign Policy&nbsp;<a href="http://are less supportive of free speech than older generations, except when it comes to insulting the Stars and Stripes.">reported</a> last week.&nbsp;Campus Reform has reported time and time again on stories of one-sided liberal bias on the issue of free speech. Here are just a few. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9380"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9380">1. University of California, Berkeley</a>UC Berkeley has had a <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9380">long</a> history of committing actions that limit freedom of speech. This includes once when the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11592">university</a> attempted to silence a conservative group by preventing their speaker from going on campus.&nbsp;It should be of no surprise to no one that they would host a speaker who believed that the first amendment should be further <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13958">limited</a>. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10043"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10043">2. University of Oregon</a>Back in 2017, University President Schill attempted to protect freedom of speech on Campus. The students on his campus did not agree.&nbsp;The students on his campus would go on to shout him down. The students would shout &ldquo;Nothing about us without us!&rdquo; and repeatedly referring to Schill as &ldquo;CEO Schill.&rdquo; They would additionally complain about &ldquo;fascist&rdquo; propaganda.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9953">3. University of Michigan</a>The University of Michigan has shown a unique level of hypocrisy. Years ago students aggressively chanted against Charles Murray&rsquo;s appearance at an event. Protestors screamed &ldquo;Charles Murray go away; sexist, racist, KKK! Charles Murray go away; sexist, racist KKK!,&rdquo;&nbsp;The school however is <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14194">home</a> to a professor who has referred to former President Donald Trump as a &ldquo;mad bomber.&rdquo; He was not met anywhere near as much backlash.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10826">4. Columbia University</a>When college Republicans attempted to host Anthony Scaramucci, they were met with backlash. Students would yell &ldquo;Dear students, what is anti-Black racism?&rdquo; Other students would demand that they &ldquo;Decolonize Columbia,&rdquo;Columbia University now <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15370">hosts</a> a &#39;deconstructing whiteness&#39; workshop for &#39;white-identified students.&#39; This tells you everything about the school.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14407">5. Duke University</a>Duke University is home to students who in the past have attempted to shut down Campus Reform from interviewing students on campus. On student stated, &ldquo;We are not going to talk to you because you are part of Campus Reform, now leave.&rdquo;At Duke University however social justice advocates such as the singer John Legend are invited to speak at commencement ceremonies. Legend would <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17644">state</a> &ldquo;America&rsquo;s story has always been marred by efforts to exclude, to dominate, to subjugate&hellip; to keep certain groups of people with no voice, no power, and no opportunity,&rdquo;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23">@ajmunguia23</a>

Trends show that tolerance of free speech diminishes when it comes from conservatives.

Free speech for all? National trends show a one-sided story

The National Institutes of Health unveiled a plan to address &ldquo;structural racism&rdquo; by increasing the diversity of grant recipients.The NIH is spending <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00631-0?utm_source=EA">$60 million</a> to &ldquo;support innovative investigator-initiated projects aimed at reducing health disparities and inequalities&rdquo; &mdash; a process in which &ldquo;institutions that serve minority populations will be prioritized for select awards.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17345">[RELATED: Echoing campus leftists, CDC director says racism is a &#39;public health&#39; crisis]</a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17345"></a> Charlene Le Fauve &mdash; Senior Advisor to the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at the NIH &mdash; referred Campus Reform to a <a href="https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/strategic-plan/nih-strategic-plan-definitions-and-parameters.html">resource</a> clarifying that the agency defines &ldquo;minority health populations&rdquo; as &ldquo;American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander,&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;Latino or Hispanic.&rdquo;The agency has also created a framework entitled &ldquo;UNITE&rdquo; &mdash; &ldquo;understanding stakeholder experiences through listening and learning,&rdquo; &ldquo;new research on health disparities, minority health, and health equity,&rdquo; &ldquo;improving the NIH culture and structure for equity, inclusion, and excellence,&rdquo; &ldquo;transparency, communication, and accountability with our internal and external stakeholders,&rdquo; and &ldquo;extramural research ecosystem: changing policy, culture, and structure to promote workforce diversity.&rdquo; Each portion of the framework is managed by a designated committee.Campus Reform has frequently reported on federal agencies adopting diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as other left-leaning sociological tools.For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services&rsquo; Head Start program hosted a group of professors to discuss &ldquo;anti-racism&rdquo; in early childhood education.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17609"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17609">[RELATED: Federal government hosted professors&#39; talks on anti-racist education for young children]</a>Le Fauve pointed Campus Reform toward the agency&rsquo;s 2019 &ldquo;diversity statement,&rdquo; which asserts that &ldquo;diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams.&rdquo;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft">@BenZeisloft</a>

The National Institutes of Health is allocating $60 million in push to fund 'institutions that serve minority populations.'

NIH releases plan to ‘prioritize’ minority grant applicants

In a video address to the class of 2021, President Biden likened the political effort to achieve woke policies to the Vietnam War.&nbsp;President Biden stated in the short, pre-recorded address that college students are graduating at an &ldquo;inflection point&rdquo; in American history defined by climate change and &quot;systemic racism.&quot;<blockquote>Congratulations to the Class of 2021. You&rsquo;re graduating at an inflection point in our nation&rsquo;s history &ndash; and you have a genuine opportunity to change the trajectory of our country. Seize this moment. I can&rsquo;t wait to see what you accomplish. <a href="https://t.co/pl3Or74lxg">pic.twitter.com/pl3Or74lxg</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1401265787776770048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2021</a></blockquote>Biden also called the events of his adolescence &mdash; the assassination Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and the civil rights movement &mdash; an &ldquo;inflection point.&rdquo;&nbsp;He said the same of college students graduating in the present era: &ldquo;And now, you face another inflection point. As we put this pandemic behind us, rebuild our economy, root out systemic racism, and tackle climate change, we&rsquo;re addressing the great crises of our time with a greater sense of purpose than ever before.&rdquo;The comments represent a marked shift in rhetoric from the president.&nbsp;Seven years ago, then-Vice President Biden told a crowd of Harvard University students that there is &ldquo;nothing special about being an American.&rdquo;The full quote from the 2014 speech read &quot;there&rsquo;s nothing special about being American -- none of you can define for me what an American is.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16000"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16000">[RELATED: Joe Biden to Harvard in 2014: &#39;There&#39;s nothing special about being American,&#39; her &#39;strength ultimately lies in its people&#39;]</a>In contrast, the 2021 speech made reference to &quot;our nation.&quot;&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be up to you to translate that unprecedented change into a greater measure of happiness and prosperity for not only you and our nation, but for the world around you,&rdquo; concluded the President. &ldquo;And I know you will.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft">@BenZeisloft</a>

In 2014, he told a crowd of Harvard students that there is 'nothing special about being an American.'

Biden tells college students the left's political agenda is comparable to Vietnam War 

Conservative and Liberal Student Organizations:Conservative Organizations:&nbsp;UA College Republicans, UA Young Americans for Freedom, Young Americans for Liberty, Today is Bama, Students for Trump, The Free-Thinker Project, Turning Point USA, Young Women for America, Bama Students for Life &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Liberal Organizations:&nbsp;UA College Democrats, UA Young Democratic Socialists of America, Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, Our Time, Planned Parenthood Generation America, Students for Fair Labor, SpectrumOpenSecrets Data on University of Alabama Political Donations:&nbsp;88.41% of donations went to Democrat candidates in federal elections, while 11.59% of donations went to Republican candidates in federal elections, according to data from <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/university-of-alabama/recipients?id=D000030644">OpenSecrets.</a>Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Rating: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<div>The University of Alabama has been giving a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/schools/university-of-alabama/">yellow light</a> speech code rating due to at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application (namely, its Harassment policy). UA has also adopted the Chicago Statement for Free Speech.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/campus.reform//17669htiyx8Democrat.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Stories by Campus Reform about the University of Alabama&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17048">Full stadiums, full classrooms: University of Alabama plans return to pre-pandemic normalcy in fall 2021&nbsp;</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The University of Alabama announced it will fully return to pre-pandemic normalcy by Fall 2021. The UA System chancellor announced plans for full capacity stadiums and a complete return to in-person learning.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=10191">University of Alabama only hosted two conservatives last year</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A Campus Reform survey of official events at the University of Alabama (UA) shows that the public institution hosted only two conservative speakers during the 2016-2017 academic year, while hosting 16 other speakers who either addressed controversial topics or were known for their political involvement.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=5434">VIDEO: University of Alabama censors pro-life students, secretly removes display&nbsp;</a></div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Administrators at the University of Alabama removed a pro-life display from the Ferguson Student Center which they said contained &ldquo;offensive&rdquo; material.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=4858">University of Alabama issued 55k parking tickets in 2012-13 school year</a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;According to new data, the University of Alabama issued nearly 55,000 parking tickets last year. That averages out to over one ticket per student.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div>

CAMPUS PROFILE: University of Alabama

Medaille College Director of Diversity &amp; Inclusion Kenya Hobbs wrote an <a href="https://www.medaille.edu/my-medaille/news/can-we-talk-about-critical-race-theory">article</a> in June challenging &ldquo;controversial laws&rdquo; that seek to ban CRT in education, defending its utility on campus.&nbsp;&ldquo;CRT sounds, to me, like the work the Medaille community has been engaged in through various avenues throughout this past academic year,&rdquo; Hobbs said in the article. His statement comes as a wave of bills banning CRT enter dozens of state legislators across the nation.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17318">[RELATED: Louisiana introduces bill to ban teaching of Critical Race Theory topics like &#39;institutional racism&rsquo;]</a>At Medaille, efforts have included <a href="https://www.medaille.edu/my-medaille/news/change-though-difficult-good">faculty discussions</a> of White Fragility.Back in November, Hobbs also criticized Trump&#39;s executive order on &ldquo;Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping&rdquo; for its limits on discussing topics like white privilege and white guilt.&ldquo;If we are to learn anything from this country&rsquo;s past failures and missteps, and work together to find ways to truly live out the principles upon which this country was founded, we must discuss certain matters in workshops and training,&rdquo; he wrote in a <a href="https://www.medaille.edu/my-medaille/news/our-vision-needs-correcting">November post.&nbsp;</a>In the same post, he noted that the 1619 project&mdash;which as Campus Reform reported has been consistently <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14822">debunked</a>&mdash;can &ldquo;help correct the vision of Americans.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17456">[RELATED: New Hampshire universities defend their ability to teach Critical Race Theory]</a>Other universities have also pushed back against attempts to ban Critical Race Theory. Campus Reform recently <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17456">reported&nbsp;</a>on a letter signed by leading New Hampshire universities warning about House Bill 544, which &ldquo;prohibits the dissemination of certain divisive concepts related to sex and race.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17653">[RELATED: Critical Race Theory 101 with Angela Morabito]</a>Currently, lawmakers in New York are not considering a similar ban. But Hobbs still wants students to avoid becoming &ldquo;misinformed&rdquo; by the controversies.&nbsp;&ldquo;To avoid making the same mistakes that led to inequities in the past, we must be able to do the work and show our work. That means talking about Critical Race Theory, continuously engaging in uncomfortable conversations, and doing the work,&rdquo; Hobbs writes.&nbsp;Campus Reform reached out to Kenya Hobbs and Medaille College for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.

The college official opposes bans on CRT and is on the record touting the '1619 Project.'

New York college diversity director admits to using Critical Race Theory on campus 

Georgia college students are organizing to make sure that Sonny Perdue, the state&#39;s former governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under Donald Trump, does not get appointed to serve as the chancellor of the University System of Georgia.The Atlanta Journal Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/sonny-perdue-under-consideration-to-lead-georgias-higher-ed-system/2I6E6D4EKBGUNFA5BTBYJBBJJE/">reported</a> in March that Perdue is being considered for the high-level position, which <a href="https://www.usg.edu/chancellor/">oversees</a> the state&#39;s public universities. That decision drove liberal students to <a href="https://georgiastatesignal.com/students-and-staff-oppose-sonny-perdue-as-potential-usg-chancellor/">protest</a> against the former governor.&nbsp;The largest student group opposing Perdue&rsquo;s selection, boasting 336 Instagram followers, dubbed itself &ldquo;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/studentsagainstsonny/">Students Against Sonny</a>&rdquo; and was founded roughly a month after news of Perdue&rsquo;s possible appointment broke.Students Against Sonny <a href="https://www.change.org/p/sonny-perdue-students-against-sonny-protecting-the-future-of-georgia-higher-ed?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_28388033_en-US%3A4&recruited_by_id=e1efc330-9f0d-11eb-ac5b-45886dd8b9d1&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_camp">charges&nbsp;</a>the former governor with, among other things, being unqualified for the position, threatening HBCUs and planning to abolish the HOPE scholarship, a scholarship offered to Georgia students who demonstrate financial need and meet a short list of requirements. The third claim comes despite Perdue having <a href="https://sonnyperdue.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0%2C2668%2C78006749_92321069_92350066%2C00.html">renewed</a> the HOPE scholarship during his tenure as governor.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7445"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7445">[RELATED: PSU protesters shut down trustees meeting, demand members pay for tuition]</a>The group created an online <a href="https://www.change.org/p/sonny-perdue-students-against-sonny-protecting-the-future-of-georgia-higher-ed?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_28388033_en-US%3A4&recruited_by_id=e1efc330-9f0d-11eb-ac5b-45886dd8b9d1&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_camp">petition</a> in opposition to Perdue&rsquo;s appointment, which has since garnered just over 1500 signatures.Two organizers of the protest movement <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3UYoRBjInbsaikVwbiCtPR">appeared</a> on a 46 minute long podcast hosted by humanities lecturers at Georgia Tech. &nbsp;During the podcast interview, the student activists argued that Perdue is unfit to fill the role and implied that he is only being considered for the job due to his political connections. One of the organizers also described themselves as an &ldquo;anarchist.&rdquo;Students Against Sonny did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s request for comment.The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accreditation agency responsible for Georgia&rsquo;s public higher education institutions, <a href="https://www.ajc.com/education/agency-warns-georgia-regents-against-politicizing-chancellor-search/NDBHGL3YGFB5FMPUVH6S5OHRSM/">warned</a> officials of the potential consequences of selecting a candidate without &ldquo;appropriate experience and qualifications&rdquo; following the reports of Perdue&rsquo;s consideration,&quot; according to the AJC.Matt Boedy, a professor at the University of North Georgia and president of Georgia&rsquo;s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, told Campus Reform that he believes &ldquo;Perdue is not remotely qualified for the job&rdquo; and &ldquo;the Regents should choose someone with higher education experience and who wants to be an advocate for the faculty, staff, and students of the USG.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16150"></a><a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16150">[RELATED: UMN students demand Dem governor &#39;drop the charges&#39; against arrested protesters]</a>Boedy also referred Campus Reform to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20691799-sacs">letter</a>&nbsp;composed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.The letter, released April 26 in response to the AJC&rsquo;s reporting, asserts that the accreditation of Georgia&rsquo;s public universities could be threatened if an individual not inline with their &ldquo;Principles of Accreditation&rdquo; is appointed. USG Board of Regents Chairman Sachin Shailendra is reminded in the letter that his board must be independent of &ldquo;undue influence by external persons or bodies&rdquo; and that anyone selected for the Chancellorship must be appropriately credentialed.&nbsp;Much of the letter deals with the requirement of the board to remain politically neutral, suggesting that the SACS believes they may not have been when considering Perdue.The Board of Regents&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2021/04/22/georgia-board-of-regents-search-chancellor.html">suspended</a>&nbsp;their search for a new chancellor six days after the letter was sent, though&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ajc.com/education/georgia-board-of-regents-to-restart-chancellor-search-process/U5SVGER7CJEPVD2M4G23M4WBM4/">resumed</a>&nbsp;the process on May 11 with the search firm previously heading the effort deciding not to continue.

Backlash put a temporary pause on the search new chancellor of the University of Georgia System this spring, with the ongoing search resuming last month.    

Georgia students protest Sonny Perdue's candidacy for statewide higher-ed leadership role

The Northwestern University Associated Student government is calling for one conservative Board of Trustee member to be removed from the school&#39;s presidential search committee.On June 2, student government members approved a resolution to remove J. Landis Martin, Chairman for the Northwestern University&rsquo;s Board of Trustees, from the Presidential Search Committee, which&nbsp;is <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2021/04/12/campus/board-of-trustees-announces-36-member-search-committee-for-next-university-president/">reported</a> to be choosing the next Northwestern University President within the next year, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2021/06/04/campus/asg-passes-resolution-calling-for-recusal-of-board-of-trustees-chair-from-the-presidential-search-committee-other-bills/">Daily Northwestern</a>.Outlined in the &ldquo;Resolution for the Recusal of J. Landis Martin from the Presidential Search Committee&rdquo; are the reasons the student government voted 17-1 to dismiss Martin on June 2nd.&nbsp;The resolution lists that that &ldquo;Northwestern University students are a diverse population that identify with many of the groups that Donald Trump harmed during his campaign and presidency,&rdquo; and also &ldquo;the conservative political ideology of Donald Trump, including those that support him, do not align with the views of the average Northwestern undergraduate.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16789">[RELATED: Baylor students want to remove statue of...Baylor?]</a>Jo Scaletty, a member of the ASG senate and a member of the Justice and Inclusion committee, told Campus Reform the reasoning behind the resolution.Once asked what was the motivation behind co-authoring the resolution, Scaletty stated, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my hope that this encourages future consideration for how people in positions of power have affected NU students, directly or not.&rdquo;&nbsp;Scaletty continued, &ldquo;by contributing to Trump&rsquo;s campaign, Martin helped cause a lot of pain for communities at NU, as Trump went on to implement policies that were dangerous for marginalized people. I&rsquo;m hoping that this legislation pushes these issues to the front and centers marginalized voices.&rdquo;The Deep End is a left-leaning student organization dedicated to reporting issues relevant to Northwestern University&rsquo;s campus.&nbsp;While recording an episode for&nbsp;The Deep End&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedeepend.nu/posts/1399367010440253">episode&nbsp;</a>on the ASG, Deep End reporters discovered Martin&rsquo;s donations to the Trump Victory political action committee, totaling up to $30,000 in 2016. These funds are cited in ASG&rsquo;s call to remove the committee member.&ldquo;During the time that The Deep End [wrote] its most recent piece, the journalism team learned of his involvement with Haliburton and Trump, and we wanted to fight against his presence in a board of people meant to choose the next Northwestern President.&rdquo; Scaletty said.Visible on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedeepend.nu/">&nbsp;The Deep End&rsquo;s Facebook page</a> are pushes to raise funds for <a href="http://www.bravespacealliance.org/blog/blacktranslivesmatter?fbclid=IwAR1wv59e736_8f-wI9sgxCFwzNuCdTlW6PS05A5SbODrnPxftERxizCMp-4">The Brave Space Alliance</a>, a &ldquo;Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center&rdquo; which donates specifically to transgender peoples as well as for the Black Lives Matter organization.<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17644"></a><a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17644">[RELATED: Climate change, trans rights, dismantling White supremacy: Leading leftists deliver graduation speeches]</a>Although resolutions passed in ASG are claimed to be representative of the student body, David Grow, Student Senator for Nortwestern&rsquo;s College Republicans told<a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2021/06/04/campus/asg-passes-resolution-calling-for-recusal-of-board-of-trustees-chair-from-the-presidential-search-committee-other-bills/">&nbsp;The Daily Northwestern</a> that this legislation is not indicative of Republicans on campus.&nbsp;&ldquo;A lot of people in the Northwestern administration are left-leaning,&rdquo; Grow said. &ldquo;I felt as if what it really boiled down to was they don&rsquo;t want somebody that could possibly be against what they stand for.&rdquo;Despite this resolution passing almost unanimously in ASG, it is noted by Executive Officer of Accountability Margot Bartol that this resolution going into effect and removing Martin from his position is unlikely, as stated in&nbsp;The Daily Northwestern.Campus Reform reached out to Northwestern University Media Relations, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.

A co-author of the resolution claimed this action was necessary due to Trump’s policies affecting marginalized people.

Northwestern U student government pushes university to remove conservative from presidential search committee

Critical Race Theory on college campuses has led to students and faculty members being punished for questioning segregated events and mandatory social justice trainings.

Critical Race Theory 101 with Angela Morabito 

The University of Illinois&rsquo; law school has launched a Racial Justice Practicum this summer to teach about &ldquo;racial justice as it relates to the legal profession.&rdquo;&nbsp;The <a href="https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/7000/380970510">program</a> is inspired by the death of George Floyd.Students will receive &ldquo;externship placements with legal aid agencies or non-profit organizations that represent populations affected by racism in Illinois and elsewhere.&rdquo; Among these organizations are the ACLU, the Equal Justice Initiative, and Equip for Equality.Depending on the number of credits completed, students will receive a stipend of up to $6,000.University of Illinois College of Law Assistant Dean for Administration Carolyn Turner told Campus Reform that there are seventeen students enrolled in the practicum. &ldquo;A number of Chicago&rsquo;s top law firms and some generous alumni&rdquo; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xmjEAc4Fc">funded</a> the program.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17599">[RELATED: University of Illinois Chicago law school cancels former Chief Justice John Marshall]</a>The course <a href="https://law.illinois.edu/academics/courses/racial-justice-practicum/">description</a> for the Racial Justice Practicum <a href="https://law.illinois.edu/academics/courses/course-type/upper-level/">classes</a> states that each module &ldquo;will be taught as a module by a guest lecturer who is an expert in the field.&quot; Student grades will also be weighed equally between attendance and &quot;written Racial Justice Journals.&quot;As Campus Reform recently reported, the University of Illinois&rsquo; Urbana-Champaign campus recently committed $2 million annually for research into systemic racism.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17439"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17439">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: U of Illinois commits $2 million EVERY YEAR for &#39;systemic racism&#39; research]</a>Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to the University of Illinois for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft">@BenZeisloft</a>

Students will receive a stipend of up to $6,000 for completing a course and a subsequent externship.

University of Illinois law school launches 'racial justice practicum'

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that its official stance that Title IX also applies to gender identity, signaling that keeping biological men out of women&#39;s sports could legally be considered discrimination.&nbsp;The Department of Education released an official statement, called a <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/202106-titleix-noi.pdf">notice of interpretation</a>, stating its belief that ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County&nbsp;also applies to schools. Bostock&nbsp;was an employment law case in which the Supreme Court decided that employers could not discriminate based on an employee or applicant&#39;s transgender status or sexual orientation.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16919">[RELATED: Biden admin drops support of female athletes after transgender executive order]</a>According to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/us/politics/title-ix-transgender-students.html">New York Times</a>,<blockquote>&quot;[Cardona] likened the announcement to setting down a marker for schools nationwide, alerting them that the Biden Education Department would not tolerate discrimination in schools receiving federal funds.&quot;&nbsp;</blockquote>Though the announcement &quot;will guide the Department in processing complaints and conducting investigations,&quot; says the notice of interpretation, &quot;it does not itself determine the outcome in any particular case or set of facts.&quot;Following President Biden&#39;s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation/">day-one Executive Order</a> on gender discrimination, the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16919">Department of Education and Department of Justice dropped their support</a> of three female athletes who were suing their school&#39;s athletic conference for allowing biological men to compete.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16701">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Students concerned about Biden&#39;s transgender athlete order]</a>Today&#39;s announcement comes during the Department of Education&#39;s review of existing policies relating to Title IX, including public hearings held last week. At those hearings, <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17596">several female athletes told the Department</a> that they lost out on athletic and educational opportunities because they were out-competed in their own sports by biological men.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/AngelaLMorabito" style=" text-align: start;">@AngelaLMorabito</a>

Earlier this year, Biden's executive order led the Department of Education and Department of Justice to cease their support of female athletes' suit against a statewide policy permitting men on women's teams.

Allowing men in women's sports just became the Biden administration's official policy

A former Barnard College mathematics professor recently proposed that college admissions should &quot;use random selection instead&quot; of the traditional application process.&nbsp;O&rsquo;Neil believes that randomized admissions at certain colleges could test the theory that &ldquo;diversity adds value.&rdquo;&ldquo;There could be a weak notion of who is &lsquo;qualified&rsquo; &mdash; say, a high school degree and a minimum grade point average,&rdquo; wrote <a href="https://www.apam.columbia.edu/data-algorithms-consequences-society">Cathy O&rsquo;Neil</a> &mdash; who also launched the Lede Program in Data Journalism at Columbia University &mdash; in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-06-03/college-admissions-shouldn-t-be-trusted-to-humans-">Bloomberg Opinion</a>. &ldquo;Beyond that, selection would be publicly and provably random. Never mind optional standardized tests. If you show interest, your name goes in a big hat.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17180" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Harvard uses &#39;arbitrary and illogical&#39; race criteria in admissions, attorney says]</a>Although &ldquo;kids who struggled to get perfect grades,&rdquo; &ldquo;who spent their high school years getting really good at obscure yet in-demand sports,&rdquo; and &ldquo;the legacies and the offspring of big donors&rdquo; would lose their advantages, O&rsquo;Neil believes that the benefits outweigh the costs.&ldquo;Colleges wouldn&rsquo;t have to worry about fighting claims of racial discrimination in the Supreme Court, because by construction the admissions process would be non-discriminatory,&rdquo; she argued. &ldquo;No more &lsquo;soft&rsquo; criteria. No more biased tests. Just blind chance.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to O&rsquo;Neil for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft">@BenZeisloft</a>

She also created a data journalism program at Columbia University. 

Former Columbia U Prof: Make college admissions random, leave it to 'just blind chance'

The University of Oklahoma rejected an appeal from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit, to revise its mandatory diversity training. Recently, the FIRE&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thefire.org/university-of-oklahoma-refuses-to-end-compelled-speech-in-diversity-training-program/">discovered</a> that the University of Oklahoma is forcing students to attend a virtual program that &ldquo;required trainees to acknowledge their agreements with the university&rsquo;s approved political viewpoints in order to complete the requirement.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17314"></a> <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17314"></a> <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17314">[RELATED: Stanford newspaper tweeted movie reference deemed racist; will now subject ENTIRE STAFF to &#39;anti-bias training&#39;]</a> According to FIRE&rsquo;s November 16 <a href="https://d28htnjz2elwuj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/30165546/FIRE-Letter-to-University-of-Oklahoma-November-16-2020.pdf">letter</a> to administrators, the program &ldquo;begins with a set of questions titled &lsquo;Insights&rsquo; that are said to &lsquo;encourage reflection and introspection.&rsquo;&rdquo; Though the section states that there are &ldquo;no right answers to these questions and your selections will be completely anonymous,&rdquo; graduate student Elizabeth Owen &mdash; who alerted FIRE to the program &mdash; was forced to repeat questions until she selected the answer that the university deemed correct. &ldquo;One of the questions in the training asked Owen to &lsquo;try to help your frustrated coworker, Michael, realize that understanding difference is not a prerequisite for respecting it,&rsquo;&rdquo; explains FIRE&rsquo;s letter. &ldquo;It then showed a video of the coworker &mdash; Michael &mdash; saying &lsquo;I&rsquo;m so tired of all this transgender stuff.&rsquo;&rdquo; Owen was prompted to select a response. When Owen chose the response that aligned with her thoughts about the situation &mdash; that &ldquo;political correctness can be tiring&rdquo; &mdash; the module informed Owen that her opinion was not the &ldquo;best choice.&rdquo; The module then repeated itself until Owen was forced to select the university&rsquo;s preferred answer to Michael: &ldquo;You seem upset. What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; FIRE&rsquo;s letter asserted that the program &ldquo;requires its participants to affirm to the university what response to questions of social and political concerns are correct according to the university&rsquo;s administration.&rdquo; <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17318"></a> <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17318"></a> <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17318">[RELATED: Louisiana introduces bill to ban teaching of Critical Race Theory topics like &#39;institutional racism&#39;]</a> On April 26, the University of Oklahoma <a href="https://www.thefire.org/university-of-oklahoma-email-to-fire-april-26-2021/">rejected</a> FIRE&rsquo;s request to make the course optional, claiming that the training &ldquo;does not impose specific ways of thinking, but instead, presents situational examples of how to engage with the broader world in a way that is understanding of all people and perspectives.&rdquo; FIRE submitted a public records <a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-oklahoma-open-records-act-request-to-university-of-oklahoma-may-4-2021/">request</a> on May 4 to obtain the school&rsquo;s contract with EVERFI &mdash; the software vendor that produced the program &mdash; to see whether the university followed through with its promise to discuss FIRE&rsquo;s concerns with the company. University of Oklahoma Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith told&nbsp;Campus Reform that its diversity training &ldquo;does not impose specific ways of thinking, but instead, presents situational examples of how to engage with the broader world in a way that is understanding of all people and perspectives.&rdquo; University officials &ldquo;will continue to monitor its training efforts while continuing to advance the university&rsquo;s work of engaging community members in a meaningful learning experience with the goal of fostering a more inclusive campus community.&rdquo; Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23">@ajmunguia23</a>

The University of Oklahoma rejected FIRE's request to make its mandatory diversity training optional.

U of Oklahoma refuses to revise mandatory training that makes students agree with transgender ideology

The University of Michigan will not be removing conservative Regent Ron Weiser&rsquo;s name after backlash and condemnation over his comments directed at Democratic state leadership.Announcing on June 3 in a <a href="https://publicaffairs.vpcomm.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2021/06/Response-on-Weiser-Hall.pdf">statement</a>, President Mark Schissel joined in &ldquo;condemnation of Regent Weiser&rsquo;s misogynistic and violent comments against elected state officials,&rdquo; but will not petition the Board of Regents to &ldquo;change the name of Weiser Hall.&rdquo;&nbsp;Weiser currently chairs the Michigan Republican Party, serves as a UM Regent, and is a longtime donor of the university.&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17466">reported</a>&nbsp;on May 27 that Weiser called Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel &ldquo;witches,&rdquo; and suggested that they be burned at the stake.&ldquo;I made the decision to continue to serve, to make sure we have an opportunity to take out those three witches in two years from now,&rdquo; Weiser said at a North Oakland Republican Club meeting on March 26. &ldquo;Our job now is to soften up those three witches and make sure that when we have good candidates to run against them, that they are ready for the burning at the stake.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17466">[RELATED:&nbsp;&lsquo;I will not be canceled&rsquo;: Conservative regent fights back after censure vote from UMich]</a>Wesier apologized for his comments and was <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/board-votes-to-censure-regent-ron-weiser/">censured</a> by the board on April 2.&nbsp;Schlissel pointed to the importance of free speech and the reality of the gift agreement made between the Weiser family and the university as an inability to rename Weiser Hall.&nbsp;&ldquo;One bedrock principle is free speech, which we must uphold even when we find&nbsp;speech offensive,&rdquo; Schlissel said. &ldquo;While Regent Weiser&rsquo;s recent comments in no way reflect our values, he has done much good upholding democratic values as our nation&rsquo;s Ambassador to Slovakia and as a philanthropist.&rdquo;Additionally, the President shared, &ldquo;were we to decide to violate the contract and remove his name from a building, we would be obligated to return the associated gift.&rdquo;&nbsp;Michigan Attorney General <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/ag">Dana Nessel</a> and UM German studies professor <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/german/people/faculty/smwei.html">Silke-Maria Weineck</a> blasted Schissel&rsquo;s decision.&ldquo;Its ok for my alma mater to adorn the name of the man who encouraged the execution &amp; assassination of numerous elected officials of both parties on @umich buildings since being a billionaire means anything you say or do is fine,&rdquo; Nessel <a href="https://twitter.com/dananessel/status/1401094479478722560?s=20">tweeted</a> June 5.&nbsp;<blockquote>In other words, its ok for my alma mater to adorn the name of the man who encouraged the execution &amp; assassination of numerous elected officials of both parties on <a href="https://twitter.com/UMich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@umich</a> buildings since being a billionaire means anything you say or do is fine. <a href="https://t.co/yDtSe34InW">https://t.co/yDtSe34InW</a>&mdash; Dana Nessel (@dananessel) <a href="https://twitter.com/dananessel/status/1401094479478722560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2021</a></blockquote>&ldquo;So we could get out of the gift agreement but we won&rsquo;t because we don&rsquo;t think misogyny, political violence and voter suppression are in sufficient conflict with our mission,&rdquo; professor Weineck <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/04/ron-weiser-university-of-michigan-weiser-hall-building-name-gift/7551701002/">told</a> The Detroit News. &ldquo;Just an old boy culture asserting its dominance in the face of any threat.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16940">[RELATED: UMich &lsquo;Liberation Front&rsquo; demands removal of Sabra hummus and end to Israel trips</a>]A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/u-m-regent-ron-weiser-resign-for-unacceptable-violent-rhetoric?fbclid=IwAR1Xohi79pwkYQ9AsjMbPETWCUKsIiXBKdi5KYm0uTUcBX2uiJcgK8CR0SY">petition</a> calling on the conservative Regent to resign over his March 26 comments has amassed over 7,000 signatures. &ldquo;We loudly reaffirm our demand that he resign, and we expect President Schlissel to condemn this threat to all students of color on campus,&rdquo; states the petition.&nbsp;The UM College Republicans shared their support of Regent Weiser to Campus Reform.&nbsp;&ldquo;He has been the victim of a long-winded, unfounded smear campaign spearheaded by partisan operatives. He&rsquo;s a great Regent and even better man, totally undeserving of such hostility.&rdquo;University policy on naming buildings after donors states: &ldquo;The university is committed to retaining the name of each facility, space, and street (collectively referred to in this paragraph as a &ldquo;facility&rdquo;) bearing a donor-designated name or honorific name. The name is intended to remain for the life of the facility.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SergeiKelley?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@SergeiKelley</a>

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel blasted the decision to preserve the name on Twitter.

U of Michigan will not rename conservative donor’s name from building, faces backlash

University of Ottawa adjunct professor and Canadian Lawyer Naomi Sayers took to Twitter recently to endorse sex work for &ldquo;young people,&quot; calling it &ldquo;the best thing&rdquo; they can do early in their careers.<blockquote>unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is do <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SexWork?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SexWork</a> on the side because your early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative. <a href="https://t.co/HRAmZFPDNX">https://t.co/HRAmZFPDNX</a>&mdash; Naomi Sayers, Lawyer (@kwetoday) <a href="https://twitter.com/kwetoday/status/1403925202245935104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote>&ldquo;unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is do #SexWork on the side because your early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative,&quot; Sayers wrote on Twitter Sunday. She then addressed the idea of sex work being exploitative by comparing it to capitalism.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how capitalism works&hellip; People out here saying young people can be exploited in sex work. Literally, that&rsquo;s capitalism. Lol. And quite literally, that&rsquo;s any kind of work.&rdquo;Sayers then said capitalism, along with prisons, needed to be abolished, advocating for free education, and a living wage.&ldquo;Also, if you really want young people to not be exploited, provide them with livable wages, access to safe housing, clean water, free education. Literally. Abolish capitalism&hellip; Actually abolish prison but whatever.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17248">[RELATED: Profs argue that LGBTQ-inclusive sex education should begin early, before &lsquo;cisnormative values&#39; become &#39;more deeply ingrained&rsquo;]</a>Alex Krause, Sayers&rsquo; publicist, responded to&nbsp;Campus Reform&rsquo;s inquiry on Sayers&rsquo; behalf, insisting that she is &ldquo;IN NO WAY&rdquo; promoting sex work, but rather, was attempting to draw a correlation between it and the supposedly exploitative &ldquo;capitalist society&rdquo;.&ldquo;Naomi is IN NO WAY promoting or suggesting that anyone should pursue sex work, her point was to facetiously criticize capitalist society, to quote her initial tweet &#39;...early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative,&rsquo;&rdquo; Krause told&nbsp;Campus Reform.&nbsp;When asked what Sayers meant by her tweet, Krause told&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;that her &ldquo;intent&rdquo; was to called out &ldquo;systemic racism&rdquo; and &ldquo;stigmatization.&quot;&ldquo;What Naomi meant is stated plainly. Yes, it is nuanced; but NO,&nbsp;she is not directly advocating for sex work. Her intent remains to call out systemic racism / stigmatization wherever it exists, and it is rampant within for-profit Canadian higher education institutions AND the prison system.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16965">[RELATED: &#39;Sex Week&#39; at Tulane University features &#39;Black Sex&#39; talk for &#39;Black students only&#39;]&nbsp;</a>&ldquo;Capitalism, for-profit education, and prison are inherently stigmatizing towards certain marginalized groups. As we noted in the previous email, Naomi&rsquo;s lived experience of stigmatization in the legal realm is telling, considering the massive investment that she made personally&nbsp;and financially to pursue a legal education.&rdquo;Krause then told&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;that the interpretation of Sayers&rsquo; tweet was &ldquo;indicative&rdquo; of the problem Sayers is trying to address.&ldquo;Your interpretation of her coy, and nuanced take on exploitation of capitalism vs exploitation of sex work may be indicative of the exact issue she is trying to highlight - the quickness to stigmatize&nbsp;and/or &ldquo;slut shame&rdquo; sex work.&rdquo;Krause also explained Sayers&rsquo; critique of capitalism, insisting that it produces &ldquo;exploitative career paths.&quot;&ldquo;Capitalism has created an economy that many people leave university indebted for decades, and in turn feel pressured to work in exploitative career paths&hellip; Sex work can be exploitative, just like any other kind of work, and in fact it predates capitalist societies. Capitalism only further incentives &ldquo;have nots&rdquo;/marginalized communities to pursue whatever means they must to survive.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16832">[EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Students support college &#39;Sex Week&#39; events...but they&#39;re not so sure about their parents]</a>Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to&nbsp;<a href="https://exoduscry.com/">Exodus Cry</a>, a non-profit organization committed to fighting back against sex work and human trafficking. Director of Intervention Helen Taylor replied calling Sayers&rsquo; comments &ldquo;deeply irresponsible.&quot;&ldquo;For Professor Sayers to flippantly encourage young vulnerable students to engage in such a harmful industry is deeply irresponsible and extremely offensive to survivors who are working hard to heal and recover from the damage prostitution inflicted on their lives,&quot; Taylor wrote.&ldquo;The sex industry is a system of violence and gender inequality. It is not a &#39;job like any other.&#39; It puts girls at higher risk daily of rape, theft and murder. It causes long-term PTSD comparable to torture victims&hellip; We believe education leaders ought to be protecting young women, and empowering them to aim high, not echoing pimp&rsquo;s advertisements for the sex trade.&rdquo;&nbsp;UPDATE:&nbsp;Sayers&rsquo; publicist contacted&nbsp;Campus Reform after publication&nbsp;and insisted Sayers has no relation with the University of Ottawa as a professor.&nbsp;When&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to Sayers for an interview, she replied, &ldquo;my policy is not to answer questions from media in which the answer can be found on google&nbsp;[sic], which tweets are searchable on google now (aka do their research)&rdquo;.&nbsp;Research conducted by&nbsp;Campus Reform&nbsp;found that in Sayers <a href="https://ca.linkedin.com/in/naomisayers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> profile, she currently touts herself as &ldquo;adjunct professor&rdquo; at the university.&nbsp;&ldquo;I teach the Colonialism, Territory &amp; Treaties at UOttawa&rsquo;s Institute of Indigenous Research and Studies&rdquo;, states her profile.&nbsp;Sayers is also designated as an adjunct professor on the&nbsp;<a href="https://opau.ca/events/advocacy-panel/">Ontario Paralegal Association</a>&nbsp;website and the website&nbsp;<a href="https://theorg.com/org/ywca-toronto/org-chart/naomi-sayers">theorg.com</a>, which lists its&nbsp;<a href="https://theorg.com/org/theorg">mission</a>&nbsp;as &quot;to make organizations more transparent.&quot;<iframe src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/512044703/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-WEjikAchiH8VcIrIbHTv"></iframe> <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/campus.reform//17658vfxvvhImagefromiOS.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Campus Reform&nbsp;contacted the University of Ottawa for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/_addisonsmith1?lang=en">@_addisonsmith1</a>

One organization committed to stopping human trafficking said that the tweet is "deeply irresponsible."

U of Ottawa professor: ‘Sex work’ is ‘the best thing young people can do early in their careers’

The coronavirus pandemic has limited colleagues&#39; ability to stay connected. Video conferencing platforms like Zoom have been essential in continuing work and schooling, especially at colleges and universities. With technology glitches, poor connection, and other errors that occur during online video calls, professors have stepped up to complicate students&rsquo; best outlet of communication even more.On May 14, Michigan State University published an <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2020/theres-an-unconscious-bias-in-virtual-meetings-heres-how-you-can-avoid-it/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">article</a> highlighting claims from MSU Professor Amy Bonomi and University of Colorado Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Nelia Viveiros that there exists an &ldquo;unconscious bias&rdquo; in video conferencing meetings.&nbsp;The pair argues that these settings are a particularly ripe environment for people to unintentionally practice prejudice or stereotyping.Viveiros and Bomoni claim that common vessels for &ldquo;bias&rdquo; during video conference calls are virtual meeting backgrounds such as family photos, or icebreaker questions that can serve to reinforce dominant social norms or minoritize coworkers. Bonomi adds that microaggressions are now communicated in virtual meetings just as they are in in-person meetings.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=13762" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: MSU warns against &lsquo;harmful language&rsquo; with microaggression boards]</a>&ldquo;Unconscious bias includes using language, symbolism and nonverbal cues that reinforce normative social identities with respect to gender, race, sexual preference, and socioeconomic status,&rdquo; said Bonomi. &ldquo;For example, when the virtual background of a Zoom meeting attendee has pictures of his or her wedding, it unintentionally reinforces the idea that marriage is most fitting between opposite sexes.&rdquo;&ldquo;In a recent videoconference, we were asked the &lsquo;most fun thing you&rsquo;ve done with your family during quarantine.&rsquo; Participant answers ranged from &lsquo;gardening with my husband&rsquo; to &lsquo;dance parties with my family,&rsquo;&rdquo; Viveiros said.&nbsp;MSU&rsquo;s article explains that sharing these types of experiences &ldquo;crowd out the experiences of people with minoritized social identities and that &ldquo;asking about &lsquo;fun family things&rsquo; prevented several Latinx attendees from sharing their experiences of losing family members to novel coronavirus.&quot;In order to mitigate the impact of this brand of &ldquo;bias,&rdquo; MSU offers students some suggestions.&ldquo;Be conscious about what your &#39;virtual environment&#39; might symbolize. It&rsquo;s unlikely that in face-to-face meetings, participants be seated in front a wall of family photos. While virtual backgrounds may be a way for participants to express themselves, it is important to understand who is being excluded and included with these types of actions,&rdquo; reads MSU&rsquo;s post, citing Bonomi&rsquo;s suggestion that &ldquo;to mitigate the potential of exclusion, some organizations are guiding participants to consider background choices to reflect the organization&rsquo;s values, as opposed to personal choice.&rdquo;The university also told students to use conference calls to &ldquo;challenge microaggressions,&rdquo; which &ldquo;can be done by naming microaggressions on the spot or addressing them privately.&rdquo;

MSU is attempting to solve these problems by giving a few suggestions on how to limit supposedly problematic language and virtual backgrounds.

MSU claims using family photos as virtual backgrounds constitutes 'bias'

Pro-LGBTQ students at Azusa Pacific University, a Christian institution, held protests against the school&rsquo;s decision to ban same-sex relationships just days after a rewording of the student code of conduct seemingly suggested those relationships were permissible.Roughly 200 students protested at APU in early October in opposition to the school reinstating its policy banning same-sex relationships, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune <a href="https://www.sgvtribune.com/2018/10/01/azusa-pacific-university-students-protest-after-reinstatement-of-lgbtq-relationship-ban/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">reported</a>. The protest lasted about one hour as students stood lined up, with their arms locked, and sang, according to theTribune. The protest was peaceful and uninterrupted.&nbsp;The school had removed language from its <a href="https://www.apu.edu/judicialaffairs/conduct/policies/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">student code of conduct</a> at the beginning of the fall semester prohibiting same-sex relationships on campus. However, APU&rsquo;s Board of Trustees released a formal <a href="https://www.apu.edu/media/news/release/26513/" style="text-decoration:none;">statement</a> restating the school&#39;s values and clarifying the school&rsquo;s stance on same-sex relationships a week later after receiving a critical response from some evangelical leaders and conservative media outlets.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9487" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: College offers $25k scholarships for &lsquo;LGBTQ advocates&rsquo;]</a>&ldquo;We affirm God&rsquo;s perfect will and design for humankind with the biblical understanding of the marriage covenant as between one man and one woman,&rdquo; the university statement read. &ldquo;Last week, reports circulated about a change to the undergraduate student standards of conduct. That action concerning romanticized relationships was never approved by the board and the original wording has been reinstated.&rdquo;The student code of conduct, as reworded at the beginning of the semester, reaffirmed the school&rsquo;s ban on pre-marital sex, but did not specifically address sexual orientation. According to&nbsp;<a href="https://zunews.com/2018/09/azusa-pacific-removes-ban-lgbtq-relationships-creates-program-students/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">ZuMedia</a>, a student publication at APU, &nbsp;the ban was lifted as a result of dialogue between school administrators and unrecognized LGBTQ student groups on campus.&nbsp;&ldquo;We thought it was unfair to single out queer folks in same-sex romantic relationships while it is impossible to enforce or monitor [abstinence in other relationships],&rdquo; Erin Green, co-executive director of <a href="https://www.bravecommons.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brave Commons</a>, which describes itself as a &quot;bold and subversive Christian movement of intersectional queer glory,&quot; told Zu Media.&nbsp;&ldquo;Queer students are just as able to have romanticized relationships that abide by APU&rsquo;s rules,&quot; Green added. &quot;The code used falsely assumed that same-sex romances always involved sexual behavior. This stigmatization causes harm to our community, especially those serious about their Christian faith.&quot;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10212" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">[RELATED: Admin slams &lsquo;homonormative whiteness&rsquo; of LGBTQ centers]</a>APU Associate Dean of Students Bill Fiala told the paper that the administrative board wanted to consider equity in its language on the student code of conduct to create one standard for all students regardless of sexual orientation.&nbsp;The publication shared the news of the university lifting the ban, but as the story circulated, the Board of Trustees took notice. The Board clarified that no formal policy change ever took place and that the ban would be reinstated.The ordeal seems to have stemmed from an internal miscommunication. While APU administrators co-signed the altered language, the Board of Trustees was not aware of the change.&ldquo;The board&#39;s responsibility is to steward the mission of the university,&rdquo; APU spokeswoman Rachel White told Campus Reform. &ldquo;The changes got out in front of the process.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;In fact, that action concerning romanticized relationships was never approved by the board so the original wording was reinstated,&rdquo; she noted. &ldquo;The board pledges to uphold biblical values and not waver in our Christ-centered identity.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/knelson1776" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@knelson1776</a>

Calif. Christian school brings back gay relationship ban, students protest

Last week, The Supreme Court ruled that a baker in Colorado was not required by law to provide a cake for a gay wedding, citing the right of individuals to deny certain services based on religious beliefs.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-111_j4el.pdf" style="text-decoration:none;">The ruling</a> garnered national attention and renewed a debate on religious liberty and whether the government can force people to provide services for individuals or events that go against their conscience.&nbsp;Wanting to know where college students stood on the issue, I headed to George Washington University in Washington, D.C.The students I spoke with strongly opposed both the ruling and the actions of the baker himself, arguing that he should have been compelled to bake the cake regardless of his personal beliefs.&ldquo;If his job is to bake a cake for a wedding, even if he doesn&rsquo;t agree with it, he should still have to do it,&rdquo; said one student.&nbsp;&ldquo;His ability to exercise his freedom of religion ends when that infringes on another person&rsquo;s ability to be who they are,&rdquo; insisted another.&nbsp;Wanting to know if students would still want the government to intervene if the baker were of a different religion or conviction, we asked students a new series of questions...Watch the <a href="https://youtu.be/_iMaR5IEcnE" style="text-decoration:none;">full video</a> to see what they had to say:<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_iMaR5IEcnE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/cabot_phillips" style="text-decoration:none;">@cabot_phillips</a>

Students at George Washington University were quick to denounce the recent Supreme Court decision ruling that a Christian baker is not obliged to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, but struggled to apply the same principle in other contexts.

VIDEO: Students blast Supreme Court ruling on gay wedding cake

A recent pro-Israel event at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was promptly shouted down by the school&rsquo;s Students for Justice (SJP) in Palestine chapter.
The Monday event featured writer and international advocate for Israel, Hen Mazzig, who served as an openly gay commander and worked as an intermediary between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian Authority members.
<a href="../?ID=9718">[RELATED: Anti-Israel group urges Antifa violence against Zionists]</a>
&ldquo;[We] were greeted with the utmost disrespect and hatred far beyond what we could imagine,&rdquo; Illinois Students Supporting Israel (ISSI), which hosted the program, told Campus Reform, commenting on the several members of SJP who showed up to the event with signs containing such as &ldquo;fascists off our campus&rdquo; and &ldquo;free Palestine.&rdquo;
Before Mazzig was able to even begin the question and answer segment, Palestinian activists yelled, chanted, waved signs in the speaker&rsquo;s face before proceeding to storm out of the room, refusing to engage the speaker in dialogue.
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yseKwBUIimk" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&ldquo;There is a line between distaste for the Israeli government and disdain for those who support the State of Israel,&rdquo; ISSI later commented, with Mazzig telling Campus Reform that &ldquo;protests at my talks are nothing new.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=8674">[RELATED: Prof warns pro-Israel politicians will &lsquo;infest&rsquo; Trump admin]</a>
&ldquo;A year ago in London, UK a group of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghskSSNcWM">150 protesters tried to shut me down at UCL</a>,&rdquo; Mazzig continued. &nbsp;&ldquo;The homophobia and hatred displayed by SJP in my talk, the fact that they mocked me, laughed at me, shouted at me for sharing my story of coming out of the closet, of my grandfather killed by Iraqis for being Jewish&mdash;this is all unacceptable.&rdquo;
Similarly, ISSI attributed Monday&rsquo;s incident to the &ldquo;rise in anti-Zionism&rdquo; on campus, with the incident coming just two weeks after anarchist organization &ldquo;Black Rose/Rosa Negra&rdquo; burned an Israeli flag in Urbana and students&nbsp;<a href="https://dailyillini.com/news/2017/11/13/chabad-center-discusses-menorah-damage/">vandalized a Menorah display near campus</a>.
Notably, In a September mass mail to students and faculty, University Chancellor Robert Jones spoke out against &ldquo;<a href="http://illinois.edu/emailer/newsletter/140937.html">anti-Semitic attacks hidden under the guise of anti-Zionist rhetoric</a>,&rdquo; but Mazzig said that despite the rhetorical support, he found himself &ldquo;disturbed and shaken&rdquo; by the events that transpired Monday.
<a href="../?ID=9185">[RELATED: SJP shuts down another pro-Israel event at UC-Irvine]</a>
&ldquo;U of I must take responsibility,&rdquo; he concluded. &ldquo;The responsibility falls on the administration to ensure the safety of the students and to prevent such attacks on free speech and against minorities.&rdquo;
Campus Reform reached out to the university for comment on the matter, but did not receive a response.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AFMinik">@AFMinik</a>

Pro-Palestine students shout down openly gay Israeli vet

Portland Community College has created a task force charged with &ldquo;galvanizing&rdquo; the school&rsquo;s community for social justice with workshops on pronoun use, avoiding deportation, and more.
The <a href="http://www.pcc.edu/about/diversity/preferred-future.html" >task force</a> will be composed primarily of faculty, spanning from the Office of the President to adjunct professors, along with 3-4 student members, and is part of the Preferred Future initiative announced by PCC President Mark Mitsui in an email sent to all students and faculty on January 19, the day before Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States.
&ldquo;As the inauguration approaches, it's a natural time for folks to want to affirm a sense of belonging to our community, our country, and our democracy&rdquo; President Mitsui wrote. &ldquo;I want to let you know about a <a href="https://t.e2ma.net/click/0j5xo/c1qfqqb/o6erve" >new web page</a> summarizing some of these college-wide opportunities, tools, and resources. They are offered in the spirit of new beginnings, to encourage dialogue across difference, and to help ensure a welcoming environment for everyone at our college.&rdquo;
Mitsui ends the letter by reminding students that PCC recently declared itself a &ldquo;sanctuary campus&rdquo; for illegal immigrant students, calling the decision &ldquo;a symbolic gesture of solidarity with undocumented and DACA students concerned about what the future may bring.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=8601" >[RELATED: PCC board chairman resigns to protest &lsquo;sanctuary&rsquo; designation]</a>
The webpage on &ldquo;college-wide diversity and inclusion resources&rdquo; that Mitsui cites in his letter features an excerpt from <a href="http://blogs.pcc.edu/president/2017/01/19/democracys-college/" >a statement released on Mitsui&rsquo;s blog</a> the same day as his letter to students, in which he asserts that &ldquo;as we approach the inauguration of a new president...students, faculty, and staff at colleges and universities across the country are expressing concern about this uncertain landscape, and considering our role at this important moment.&rdquo;
The resource page goes on to clarify its purpose further, declaring that &ldquo;we at PCC...understand that the current social-political climate in the United States has presented additional challenges and uncertainties for our current and prospective students&rdquo; before providing a list of upcoming events and &ldquo;learning opportunities&rdquo; on campus.
One of the first events listed is an &ldquo;Immigration Law: Know Your Rights Workshop,&rdquo; which is intended to be &ldquo;helpful for DACA and undocumented students, and faculty members working with students who are undocumented.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=7174" >[RELATED: Portland Community College devotes entire month to &lsquo;whiteness&rsquo;-shaming]</a>
There is also an &ldquo;introductory interactive workshop&rdquo; called &ldquo;Learning the &lsquo;GayBC&rsquo;s&rsquo;&rdquo; on Jan. 30, which will &ldquo;cover LGBTQ+ terminology, pronouns, unconscious bias, and how to work towards productive Queer and Trans allyship.&rdquo;
Among the subsequent events is a teach-in titled &ldquo;Inaugurating Change&rdquo; on February 1, the description for which notes that &ldquo;all faculty and staff are invited to attend...a day of workshops on issues of immigration, climate change, reproductive health, and workers&rsquo; rights.&rdquo;
Additionally, the school has planned a &ldquo;College and Campus President Listening Session&rdquo; for &ldquo;staff and faculty of color&rdquo; to share their experiences with both Mitsui and Campus President Jessica Howard.
The Office of the President did not respond to an inquiry by Campus Reform on whether the task force was created specifically in reaction to the election and inauguration of Donald Trump.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/emma_meshell" >@emma_meshell</a>

PCC responds to Trump with workshops on 'GayBC's,' immigration

A gay dating phone application is being accused of bigotry at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Daily Californian <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2016/10/11/the-hunger-gaymes/" >published a sexually graphic column</a> (reader discretion advised) that accuses the app, Grindr, of internalized racism akin to Jim Crow laws.
Grindr, columnist Chris Cox said, allows individuals to categorize people by height, weight, tribe (social classifications which includes &ldquo;bear,&rdquo; &ldquo;daddy,&rdquo; and HIV positive aka &ldquo;poz,&rdquo;&nbsp;among others), and preferred sexual position.
Many people write &ldquo;no blacks no fems&rdquo; or something of the sort on their biographies on the app, he writes.
&ldquo;These discreet deplorables institute a sexual Jim Crow that segregates who can climb into their exclusive beds,&rdquo; Cox writes.
&ldquo;Bedside racism is the discrimination that exists within online dating platforms and is the sadistic bedfellow of internalized homophobia,&rdquo; he continues, arguing that, &ldquo;This prejudiced force marginalizes people of color on digital dating spheres, as perpetrators are protected from any real consequences by hiding behind the shield of modern technology.&rdquo;
He said that some individuals try to get away with these biographies on the application because they can assert that it is just their personal preference, but Cox isn&rsquo;t buying it, declaring such excuses mere justifications for &ldquo;their lack of attraction to different minorities under the harmful guise of personal preference.&rdquo;
&ldquo;For just a small fee, you can even filter through people by the attributes they list,&rdquo; he writes. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t want to see anyone over 150 pounds? Well, you&rsquo;ve got it, dude. No Latinx people? No problem. Bippity boppity blocked: Now you&rsquo;ve got the closest white twinks in your area, have at it you fucking bedside racist.&rdquo;
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerArnold18" >@TylerArnold18</a>

Student blasts gay dating app over alleged racism

Yale Philosophy Professor Jason Stanley&nbsp;and Georgetown University&rsquo;s Rebecca Kukla took to Facebook last month to blast a Christian philosopher&rsquo;s presentation on homosexuality in the Catholic faith.
Richard Swinburne, an Orthodox Christian philosopher, recently came under fire after speaking at the Society of Christian Philosophers meeting, where he reportedly lectured on Christian ethics, including the religion&rsquo;s stance on homosexuality.
While there were apparently no emotional outbursts or other indications of disagreement during Swinburne&rsquo;s speech, message boards were later filled with disagreements over whether or not the speech was &ldquo;promoting homophobia,&rdquo; as Yale professor Jason Stanley claimed.
Professor Stanley originally had commented on a private group&rsquo;s Facebook chain discussing the controversial speech stating, &ldquo;F*ck those a**holes. Seriously.&rdquo;
Stanley was referring to the conservatives who had been defending Swinburne's rhetoric. These conservatives had stated that the mission of the Society of Christian Philosophers embraces diversity, including differing opinions on homosexuality.
Stanley&rsquo;s comment was digitally captured and uploaded online. After Stanley learned his words had been screenshotted, the Yale professor responded with a lengthy Facebook <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/swinburne-jason-stanley-homosexuality/" >post</a>:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;I am really mortified about this. My comment &lsquo;F*ck those assholes&rsquo;, posted on a friend&rsquo;s private FB page about homophobes, was *photographed*. Even *worse*, it made it into *the right-wing hateosphere*, where it is being linked and relinked. I really wish now I hadn&rsquo;t said that!! I PROFOUNDLY regret not using much harsher language and saying what I really think of anyone who uses their religion to promote homophobia, you know that sickness that has led people for thousands of years to kill my fellow human beings for their sexual preferences. Like you know, pink triangles and the Holocaust. I am really, truly, embarrassed by the fact that my mild comment &lsquo;F*ck those assholes&rsquo; is being spread. This wildly understates my actual sentiments towards homophobic religious proponents of evil like Richard Swinburne, who use their status as professional philosophers to oppress others with less power. I am SO SORRY for using such mild language. I am posting this on &lsquo;public&rsquo; so that there will be no need for anyone to violate any religious code of ethics and take pictures of private FB pages to share my views about such matters.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
In a series of emails to&nbsp;Campus Reform, Stanley said his initial post was meant to support several of his friends in the comment thread, some of whom are gay.
"It was a total way of just talking to friends who were a bit frightened by the situation, and sending a message of support. It was also meant to be funny, since people were being so serious," he wrote.
Stanley also wrote that the&nbsp;post he has up now<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">&mdash;which is an edited version of the above text<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">&mdash;"expresses my view about Swinburne's argument, it's not a claim about Swinburne at all (if you look at the language, I carefully expressed it about the point and not the person).
"In the first version, which I quickly changed, I did carelessly make the point about Swinburne," he conceded, but said, "I regret that. It's because I was upset that a private FB comment of mine was taken out of context and published. So I changed it."
The professor also said references to the Holocaust were not meant to compare Swinburne to Nazis, but rather to make the argument that "we know from that history that homophobia can lead to bad consequences."
While Stanley admitted that he is "not qualified to make a judgement about whether Christianity supports Swinburne's differential reaction to two men getting married and two people getting married, one of whom can't conceive," he still criticized Swinburne on what he holds to be an "an incorrect moral view, which means he has views about morality that are wrong, i.e. he makes claims that are immoral."
"My view is that love is the worth of marriage. I think Swinburne's view of the worth of marriage is false, and since it's a moral claim, false moral claims often rise to the level of being described as immoral," he wrote.
Stanley wasn't the only professor to jump on the initial Facebook post; Georgetown University&rsquo;s Prof. Rebecca Kukla joined in the mockery, <a href="http://www.georgetownacademy.com/blog/2016/9/30/georgetown-professor-rebecca-kuklas-message-to-catholics-suck-my-giant-queer-cock" >declaring</a> &ldquo;Those douche tankards can suck my giant queer cock.&rdquo;
The Georgetown Academy, a long-established conservative-leaning publication, criticized the professors for their profanity and noted that the&nbsp;The Hoya, Georgetown's regular paper, would be unlikely to cover the controversy "since it doesn&rsquo;t promote the liberal narrative and there is no conservative to bash and trash."
"This sad affair is just another reminder that when it comes to the Oppression Olympics, you can more or less do anything, no matter how rude or inappropriate, so long as your target is someone considered more &ldquo;privileged,&rdquo; which is not defined as actual privilege, but simply having the wrong skin color, sex, sexual orientation, or religion, which at least in this case, means being white, male, heterosexual, and Christian," the author, simply known as Burr, wrote.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aloveshe">@aloveshe</a>
Anthony Gockowski contributed to this article.

Profs blast Christian philosopher over gay marriage

An Oberlin College student says that despite being considered the &ldquo;gayest college in America,&rdquo; the campus is still plagued by "structural and institutional racism, transphobia, ignorance, apathy and white privilege."
In <a href="https://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/08/11/chose-gayest-college-america/" >an op-ed Thursday for The Washington Blade</a>, the nation&rsquo;s oldest LGBT newspaper, Jesse Arnholz discusses her arduous efforts to find a college that was &ldquo;very queer,&rdquo; recalling that she was &ldquo;seduced&rdquo; by the large queer community at Oberlin, as well as its historical legacy as the first university in the United States to accept students regardless of race or gender.
<a href="../?ID=7623" >[RELATED: Oberlin students say bad grades are getting in the way of activism]</a>
Although Oberlin is <a href="https://colleges.nichebeta.com/oberlin-college/" >rated</a> the 13th most liberal campus in America by Niche&mdash;its faculty members have not made a single <a >political contribution</a> to a Republican candidate since 1990&mdash;Arnholz claims to have seen beyond the veil of tolerance and inclusion that the college touts and glimpsed into a more sinister atmosphere where bigotry still flourishes.
&ldquo;Once I started school it became apparent that it was not the utopia I envisioned,&rdquo; she laments. &ldquo;Structural and institutional racism, transphobia, ignorance, apathy, and white privilege still lingered.&rdquo;
According to Arnholz, Oberlin&rsquo;s reputation as the &ldquo;gayest college in America&rdquo; belies the disappoint she felt upon encountering &ldquo;the complacency of the white queer community and the often toxic-masculinity that many queer women and trans-masculine individuals have adopted.&rdquo;
<a href="../?ID=7107" >[RELATED: Oberlin students say cafeteria food is racist, protest leaders should be paid]</a>
&ldquo;Many of my trans and non-binary friends still struggle to feel comfortable on campus,&rdquo; she adds, elaborating that &ldquo;many of my friends who use they/them/theirs pronouns, are still misgendered by close friends even after they announce their preferred gender pronouns.&rdquo;
Arnholz reports having no straight friends at Oberlin, which contrasts starkly with her experience as the only gay at her private high school in Washington D.C., where she felt &ldquo;stifled, crammed, and pushed into a singular box.&rdquo;
While she recognizes that her queerness was normalized at Oberlin, though, Arnholz can&rsquo;t escape the conclusion that her comfort on campus was largely attributable to her &ldquo;whiteness and socio-economic status.&rdquo;
Other Oberlin students appear to share Arnholz&rsquo;s bleak assessment of the campus climate, launching a campaign against alleged instances of campus racism, including <a href="../?ID=7192" >demands by the Black Student Union</a> to decrease the amount of cream used in meals because &ldquo;Black American food doesn&rsquo;t have much cream in it,&rdquo; and to make fried chicken a permanent feature on the school&rsquo;s menu.
Follow this author on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/marl_boro26" >@marl_boro26</a>

Gay-friendly Oberlin still plagued by white privilege, student complains

Aging LGBT Iowans will gather in early August at Grand View University for their second annual senior citizens summit, &lsquo;Gay &amp; Gray in the Midwest.&rsquo;
A <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/523338594528924/" >Facebook event page</a> has been set up for the event, which promises a great environment for the graying gay to discuss issues important to them.
&ldquo;Focused around the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults and caregivers, the 2nd Annual LGBT Senior Summit will bring LGBT elders, allies, and advocates together with healthcare, housing, legal, and other service providers,&rdquo; the event description states. &ldquo;It will broaden the conversation about the needs of aging LGBT Iowans; make connections between individuals, communities, and resources; and help LGBT seniors understand their rights.&rdquo;
The event will be held in the Grand View University Student Center, which the event description notes is wheelchair accessible. <a href="http://www.grandview.edu/aspx/audience/content.aspx?pageid=23&amp;aid=12&amp;cat=Mission+%26+Overview">Grand View</a>&nbsp;is a small liberal arts college in Des Moines, Iowa affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
One Iowa, which describes itself as the foremost LGBT organization in the Hawkeye State, is hosting the event. <a href="http://oneiowa.nationbuilder.com/gay_gray_summit_2016" >Its website says</a> the program is meant to help celebrate the elder LGBT community, as well as reduce homophobia and transphobia experienced by the community.
&ldquo;While LGBT elders confront the same health, housing, and social issues that all elders face, they must also deal with additional challenges of isolation, discrimination, and lack of understanding,&rdquo; One Iowa says. &ldquo;Gay &amp; Gray in the Midwest helps to counter those challenges by connecting LGBT elders with positive experiences and opportunities.&rdquo;
Donna Red Wing, Executive Director of One Iowa, told Campus Reform that the senior summit is a new celebration for members of the state&rsquo;s elderly LGBT community, many of whom had difficulty finding acceptance from community members while growing up in the rural state.
&ldquo;These are some of the bravest, most interesting people we&rsquo;ve ever met,&rdquo; Red Wing said. &ldquo;Imagine being an 80 year old lesbian living in a farming community in southeast Iowa, looking for acceptance.&rdquo;
Red Wing noted that One Iowa became the first outside group to use the new Grand View University student center&rsquo;s event space, which opened in 2015, when it hosted the first Gay &amp; Gray event last year.
Around 165 people attended the inaugural event, which featured activities and discussions on health and finances. New additions to the program this year include having members of the Iowa legislature present to greet attendees, as well as a film screening complete with popcorn.
The ELCA is split on the acceptance of gay marriage and other LGBT issues, and <a href="http://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-evangelical-lutheran-church-in-america" >gives each church the autonomy</a> to adopt its own stances.
Red Wing told Campus Reform that One Iowa is working with faith-based organizations to promote LGBT awareness and inclusivity, and believes many mainline Protestant churches are warming up to the LGBT community.
&ldquo;The world is changing,&rdquo; she asserted. &ldquo;We know that there are denominations that are accepting and affirming.&rdquo;
Red Wing also acknowledged, though, that more-conservative faith groups remain hesitant about accepting the LGBT community and gay marriage, saying, &ldquo;We need to be, and we are, talking to clergy who represent those congregations that have not made those decisions yet.&rdquo;
Gay &amp; Gray is not a free event. Early bird tickets cost $15 and it appears that prices will increase as the summit nears.
Event sponsorships ranging from $30 to $3,000+ are available for businesses and nonprofits, and table vendors are also welcome, with spaces available at rates of $100 for businesses and $35 for nonprofits.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/riersonnc" >@RiersonNC</a>

Lutheran university to host 'Gay & Gray' event for elderly LGBT residents

A speech by Milo Yiannopoulos in response to the Orlando shootings was &ldquo;postponed&rdquo; Tuesday by the University of Central Florida because of insufficient security.
At the event, titled &ldquo;Absolutely Haram: Milo on Gays and Islam,&rdquo; Yiannopoulos planned to address the tragedy that occurred over the weekend at an Orlando gay nightclub, as well as social media threats he received over his Twitter comments on the shooting.
Breitbart News <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/06/14/campus-police-cancel-milo-event-ucf-cant-gaurantee-safety/" >reported</a> that the Deputy Chief of Police at UCF, Brett Meade,made an executive decision to postpone the event due to lack of resources, citing threats against Yiannopoulos and his audience that had been made on social media. The department urged Yiannopoulos to reschedule the event and change its format out of an abundance of caution.
Yiannopoulos is now <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/06/13/milo-speak-tuesday-ucf-orlando-gays-islam/" >scheduled to speak at a news conference</a> Wednesday in Orlando to deliver the same address he planned for the original event.
&ldquo;If local police can&rsquo;t provide protection, we will supply our own private security for me and any journalists and guests who attend,&rdquo; Yiannopoulos declared on Twitter.
<img src="../img/CROBlog/7690/Milo.PNG" alt="" width="529" height="739" />
Members of the media and guests were encouraged to contact a member of Yiannopoulos&rsquo; press team for access to the event. In addition to the protection of the UCF police, Yiannopoulos said he would consider additional private security if he deemed it necessary.
"I will not be intimidated by threats made against me made on social media and elsewhere. The press conference will go ahead tomorrow," Yiannopoulos wrote.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyDillon" >@kassydillon</a>

UCF cancels Milo speech on 'Gays and Islam' due to lack of security

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include comment from UCSB confirming that student fees will be used to pay for the event.
The University of California, Santa Barbara will host a book discussion next week to discuss "the anti-fat stigma that persists in American culture," specifically for "fat, gay men."
The event, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/866340700131426/" >a discussion of the book</a> "Fat, Gay Men: Mirth, Girth, and the Politics of Stigma" with author Dr. Jason Whitesel of Pace University, is being hosted by the UCSB Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. According to the event page on Facebook, 34 of the 199 students invited have indicated that they will attend.
"To be fat in a thin-obsessed gay culture can be difficult," the Resource Center's description of the event begins. "Despite affectionate in-group monikers for big gay men&mdash;chubs, bears, cubs&mdash;the anti-fat stigma that persists in American culture at large still haunts these individuals who often exist at the margins of gay communities."
To help students learn more about the issue, Whitesel "delves into the world of Girth &amp; Mirth, a nationally known social club dedicated to big gay men," which the description later states "has long been a refuge and &lsquo;safe space&rsquo; for such men."
Although not a member of the group himself, Whitesel is "a partial insider as a gay man," and "offers an insider&rsquo;s critique of the gay movement, questioning whether the social consequences of the failure to be height-weight proportionate should be so extreme in the gay community."
Carlos Flores, a student at UCSB, told Campus Reform that he found out about the event through a monthly email newsletter sent out by the Resource Center, and decided to call attention to it with a Facebook post captioned, "Another day, another degenerate email from the UCSB LGBT Center."
Flores said he doesn't mind the fact of the event being held, per se, but does object to the idea that his money might be used to fund it.
"As I understand it, they're using taxpayer money and my tuition dollars to talk about how to sodomize overweight men, which doesn't seem like the best use of that money," he told Campus Reform. "I don't think the university should be using my funds to hold a morally questionable event&mdash;they're free to do it, but I'd rather they spent someone else's money."
Campus Reform&nbsp;contacted the Resource Center to inquire into the source of funding for the event, and eventually received a response from Dean of Students Kim Equinoa, who asserted that funding for the event "comes from student lock-in fees that are voted on/reaffirmed by the student body every four years."
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/FrickePete" >@FrickePete</a>

UPDATED: UCSB to host discussion on 'safe spaces' for 'fat, gay men'

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has released a new <a href="http://news.wisc.edu/23991" >study</a> that supposedly debunks the validity of &ldquo;gaydar,&rdquo; the so-called ability to detect a person&rsquo;s sexual persuasions based solely on appearance.
According to <a href="http://watchdog.org/238143/gaydar-uw-madison-research/" >Wisconsin Watchdog</a>, the lead author of the study and an assistant scientist in the Department of Psychology, William Cox, explained that gaydar doesn&rsquo;t actually exist and is instead a stereotyping mechanism. The study was published in the <a href="http://www.sexscience.org/journal_of_sex_research/" >Journal of Sex Research</a>.
"Most people think of stereotyping as inappropriate," Cox told the university&rsquo;s <a href="http://news.wisc.edu/23991" >news site</a>. "But if you're not calling it 'stereotyping,' if you're giving it this other label and camouflaging it as 'gaydar,' it appears to be more socially and personally acceptable."
The researchers argued that previous studies supporting the validity of gaydar are inaccurate because the photos of people&rsquo;s faces used to determine their sexuality varied in quality. The gays&rsquo; and lesbians&rsquo; photos were higher quality than the straight individuals&rsquo; used in the former studies, Cox&rsquo;s research concluded.
Chris Barncard, the spokesperson for the university&rsquo;s research communications, told Wisconsin Watchdog that &ldquo;Cox conducted the research while serving as a paid assistant scientist in the university&rsquo;s Department of Psychology, doing small projects while working on his dissertation.&rdquo;
Barncard said no university money was used to conduct the research besides the use of school computers and work space. Cox, though, allegedly couldn&rsquo;t remember who paid for the $30 to $50 for Amazon&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome" >Mechanical Turk intellectual employment recruitment site</a>, which helped him find the study&rsquo;s 110 test subjects.
&ldquo;The subjects made between 30 cents and 50 cents for testing their gaydar powers online,&rdquo; said Barncard.
The term &ldquo;gaydar&rdquo; is more widely accepted than UW Madison may think; <a href="http://www.gaydar.net/" >Gaydar.net</a>, the self-proclaimed &ldquo;premier gay dating site,&rdquo; adopted the name.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/bethanysalgado" >@BethanySalgado</a>

U. of Wisconsin study debunks 'gaydar'

The president of the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit institution, has apologized for a tweet celebrating the Supreme Court&rsquo;s nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in June.
"Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage nationwide in wake of #SFPride-@USF_LTMC #LoveWins," reads the tweet from USF&rsquo;s official Twitter account and the accompanying photo features a photo of the California State Capitol lit in rainbow colors. The tweet has since been deleted.
University President Father Paul Fitzgerald, S.J. told <a href="http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/4290/Univ-of-San-Francisco-President-Deletes-Tweet-Celebrating-Same-Sex-Marriage.aspx" >Catholic Education Daily</a>&nbsp;that the tweet featured on the university&rsquo;s official twitter account was inappropriate and made in error by an inexperienced staff member. He added that the University of San Francisco (USF) supports the Church&rsquo;s teaching, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
&ldquo;The university regrets any misunderstanding caused by the erroneous post and will provide closer oversight over posts on official social media platforms in the future,&rdquo; reads the president&rsquo;s statement, which was released to the Cardinal Newman Society.
As previously reported by <a href="../?ID=6638" >Campus Reform</a>, <a href="http://imgur.com/a/UWZi9#0" target="_blank">a number of the university&rsquo;s social media accounts made multiple postings</a> featuring the ruling along with student and staff participation in a Pride March.
&ldquo;Fernando, our Coordinator for Community Partnerships is wearing his #USFCA Pride shirt while marching in the Parade today. Show off your best #USFCA Pride t-shirt and tag us on Instagram @McCarthy_Center, Facebook and Twitter @USF_LTMC for a chance to be featured! #usfcaLTMC#SFPride2015,&rdquo; reads a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mccarthycenterusfca/photos/a.212001622168185.58837.206450252723322/998883516813321/?type=1&amp;permPage=1" >Facebook post</a> featured on the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, which is part of the university.
Another post shared on the university&rsquo;s official <a href="https://www.facebook.com/University.of.San.Francisco/photos/a.173420129194.119821.108066499194/10153097466179195/?type=1&amp;theater" >Facebook account</a> is a photo of a card stating "Proudly part of the city that defines the word "pride,"" and featuring the university's official logo.
"Proudly repping at #SFPride- via Mammakarma #bestcityever #scotus #lovewins,&rdquo; reads the post.
A number of photos shared on the USF&rsquo;s social media accounts expressed pride in both the university and participating in the parade. Another post features a large group of young people holding a banner with the university&rsquo;s logo and the hashtags &ldquo;#lovewins&rdquo; and &ldquo;#pride.&rdquo;
The university&rsquo;s mascot attended the pride parade, according to one <a href="https://twitter.com/dustinasmith/status/615271261610979328" >retweet</a>&nbsp;still featured on the USF Twitter account. The &ldquo;Don&rdquo; is wearing a sticker which states &ldquo;Proudly Part of the City that Defines 'Pride.'&rdquo; The two men standing next to him are wearing t-shirts which say &ldquo;Pride 2015: University of San Francisco.&rdquo;
The <a href="http://www.usfca.edu/clubsorgs/lgbtq_caucus/" >LGBTQ Caucus</a> at the university encouraged people to <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tTbPKB1BCIjy1G4lG9Lh1SNM50QXUcb8Ks6h4vtPBAU/viewform" >RSVP</a> to the Pride Parade and San Francisco, which occurred June 28th.
Andrea Wise, co-chair of the USFCA LGBTQ Caucus for Faculty/Staff and Assistant Director of Community-Engaged Learning at the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good said in a <a href="http://mccarthycenter.blogs.usfca.edu/2015/07/01/usfca-sf-pride-2015/" >McCarthy Center blog post</a> that she has helped grow the "USF presence" at the San Francisco Pride Parade "from 75 people in 2013 to 200 participants this year."
"Our spirited marchers are green and gold-clad USF faculty, staff, students, alums, and their families who are committed to the Jesuit calling of respecting the dignity of every person&hellip;.Given the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling, the Pride parade was even more fun than usual, with people holding &ldquo;Love Wins&rdquo; signs, dressing up as the Supreme Court Justices, and glittering up every corner!" she wrote in the post.
The university spokesperson and the chairs of the LGBTQ Caucus did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s requests for comment in time for publication.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="../mvbarillas" >@mvbarillas</a>

University of San Francisco, a Jesuit institution, made multiple social media posts celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage.

Jesuit university president apologizes for tweet celebrating gay marriage

The recent Supreme Court opinion threatens the operations of religious colleges, according to a constitutional lawyer.
&ldquo;If same-sex marriage is really the law of the land, if it's really constitutionally required, isn't there a risk that accrediting bodies are going to start pressuring religious colleges to recognize same-sex marriages for all purposes on their campuses as a condition of accreditation?" constitutional lawyer Gene Schaerr rhetorically asked Tuesday in his analysis of <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf" >Obergefell v Hodges</a>.
Schaerr, a Washington DC-based attorney specializing in constitutional law <a href="http://dailysignal.com/author/gene-schaerr/" >who previously clerked</a> for Justice Antonin Scalia, was speaking at &ldquo; <a href="http://www.heritage.org/events/2015/06/marriage-at-the-supreme-court&mdash;post-decision-analysis" >Marriage at the Supreme Court: Post-Decision Analysis</a>,&rdquo; at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC.
The panel also featured Ryan T. Anderson, a Heritage Foundation research fellow known for his research and writing on marriage, and Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel and Policy Director Carrie Severino. Roger Severino, director of Heritage&rsquo;s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society and Carrie&rsquo;s husband, served as moderator.
Schaerr said that the policies for the &ldquo;special housing&rdquo; for students &ldquo;married in accordance with the beliefs of that particular religious college&rdquo; will also be a &ldquo;serious issue.&rdquo;
Though he said that the federal religious exemption is &ldquo;pretty good,&rdquo; he warned that there are &ldquo;a lot of state employment laws that do not have similar religious exemptions and so religious organizations in those states are going to face a serious issue as to what extent they can apply religious criteria&rdquo; towards hiring employees.
"I think it is import to continue to press for laws at both the federal and state level that will protect the religious liberty of believers, both individuals and institutions, from the various and obvious problems that the Obergefell decision creates,&rdquo; said Schaerr.
In an interview with Campus Reform, Schaerr said that &ldquo;most public universities have already adopted policies that treat same-sex couples essentially the same as opposite-sex couples, so for them it is probably not much of an issue.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The bigger issue for public universities is what they do with students who adhere to the traditional view of marriage and who want to be able to have student groups that advocate that position,&rdquo; said Schaerr.
According to Schaerr, most nonreligious private colleges have adopted policies similar to their public counterparts regarding same-sex couples. He said that private institutions without an official religious affiliation or explicit religious mission that have not adopted these policies will likely &ldquo;face the same kinds of issues that religious schools do&rdquo; but would have a &ldquo;hard time&rdquo; making a similar religious freedom defense.
&ldquo;I think that it&rsquo;s a scary dilemma that schools are going to be facing. Christian and other religious organizations are going to want to stand their ground and the government, especially with the Obama Administration, is going to be pushing the same-sex agenda,&rdquo; said Caleb Redmond, a Georgetown law student who attended the event.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="../mvbarillas" >@mvbarillas</a>

At a panel discussion Tuesday, he warned that many state employment laws do not have strong religious protections.

Constitutional lawyer: gay marriage ruling threatens religious colleges

The University of San Francisco (USF), a Jesuit Catholic institution, celebrated the Supreme Court’s opinion on same-sex marriage on Twitter last week.
The university’s official <a href="https://twitter.com/usfca" >Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/University.of.San.Francisco?fref=ts" >Facebook</a> accounts features a number of postings about the Obergefell v. Hodges decision and the San Francisco Pride Parade, which occurred the same weekend.
"Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage nationwide in wake of #SFPride-@USF_LTMC #LoveWins," reads one <a href="https://twitter.com/usfca/status/614477456548872192" >tweet</a> from USF’s official Twitter account, which features a photo of the California State Capitol lit in rainbow colors.
Ann-Marie Devine, senior director of media relations said that the “University does not have an official statement on the SCOTUS ruling. It is not customary to issue reactionary statements on Supreme Court decisions.”
The Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mccarthycenterusfca?fref=ts" >page</a> shared similar content, including featuring a staff member who participated in the Parade, and encouraged people to send photos of their best “pride t-shirt.” The University of San Francisco and <a href="https://twitter.com/usf_ltmc" >McCarthy Center</a> Twitter accounts retweeted a number of photos of Pride Parade participants wearing t-shirts featuring the USF logo. The school’s mascot also attended, according to one <a href="https://twitter.com/dustinasmith/status/615271261610979328" >photo</a>.
“Fernando, our Coordinator for Community Partnerships is wearing his #USFCA Pride shirt while marching in the Parade today. Show off your best #USFCA Pride t-shirt and tag us on Instagram @McCarthy_Center, Facebook and Twitter @USF_LTMC for a chance to be featured! #usfcaLTMC#SFPride2015,” reads a McCarthy Center <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mccarthycenterusfca/photos/a.212001622168185.58837.206450252723322/998883516813321/?type=1&permPage=1" >Facebook post</a>.
Catholic Church doctrine holds that marriage is between one man and one woman, as expressed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in “ <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20030731_homosexual-unions_en.html" >Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons</a>.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has <a href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/frequently-asked-questions-on-defense-of-marriage.cfm" >said</a> that “the attempt to ‘redefine’ marriage to include two persons of the same sex denies the reality of what marriage is.”
The university’s <a href="http://www.usfca.edu/about/values/" >mission</a>, according to its website, is to promote “learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="../mvbarillas" >@mvbarillas</a>

The University of San Francisco is a Jesuit institution.

Jesuit university celebrates gay marriage ruling on social media

Student advocates on the stairs of the Supreme Court responded to today&rsquo;s close 5-4 decision which made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states.
Throngs attended to advocate their views on marriage and family in anticipation of the Court&rsquo;s opinion on <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf">Obergefell v Hodges</a>. Some chanted &ldquo;Equality Now!&rdquo; while others sang hymns at the peaceful demonstrations. As the decision became known, a huge number from the crowd cheered.
A large number of same-sex marriage advocates gathered in front of a group of young pro-traditional marriage demonstrators a short time before the ruling, blocking them from view.
<img style="float: left; padding: 7px;" src="../img/CROBlog/6631/FullSizeRender.jpg" alt="" width="316" height="239" />&ldquo;There&rsquo;s still hope for the future,&rdquo; said Joshua Denton, a Thomas Edison State College student, who held a sign depicting a mother, father, and their children. He added that he supported &ldquo;natural marriage because I think it is the most conducive to a healthy society&rdquo;.
Denton, said the ruling was &ldquo;discouraging,&rdquo; comparing it to the Court&rsquo;s legalization of abortion in all 50 states in 1973. Roe V. Wade resulted in a 7-2 decision by the Court. He said young people are increasingly pro-life despite that ruling and expected &ldquo;the same type of effects&rdquo; regarding the same-sex marriage debate.
Yvonne Agduyeng, a Wesley Theological Seminary graduate student and youth minister, said she was &ldquo;elated&rdquo; by the decision and said she does not personally believe in &ldquo;putting up walls for other people&rdquo; regarding obtaining marriage licenses.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="../mvbarillas">@mvbarillas</a>
This article has been amended since its initial publication.

The Supreme Court of the United States legalized gay marriage nationwide this morning in a 5-4 ruling.

Students react to SCOTUS gay marriage ruling

An art exhibit featuring the blood of gay men will soon be displayed at American University.
The private university in Washington, D.C. will debut an exhibition titled &ldquo;Blood Mirror&rdquo; by New York City-based artist <a href="http://www.jordaneagles.com/works/" >Jordan Eagles</a> beginning in September. According to the <a href="http://www.american.edu/cas/museum/gallery/upcoming.cfm" >university</a>, one piece of artwork included in the exhibition is a &ldquo;powerful sculpture created from the blood of 9 gay men.&rdquo;
Eagles, who is gay, developed the 7-foot-tall installation as a way of sending a message to the Food and Drug Administration regarding its current policy prohibiting men who engage in sexual activity with other men from donating blood. In July, the FDA is slated to partially lift the ban to allowing for blood donations from men who have abstained from sexual activity for the 12 months prior.
While a step in the right direction, Eagles says the FDA should lift the ban entirely. He describes his artwork as statement on the number lives that would have been saved had homosexuals always been able to give blood.
&ldquo;This discriminatory policy is part of our gay history and part of our nation&rsquo;s history, and the sculpture asks us to reflect on discrimination in our country, as well as the homophobia that exists around the world,&rdquo; Eagles told the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/14/blood-mirror-gay-blood_n_7573234.html" >Huffington Post</a>, adding that &ldquo;the sculpture is a work in progress [and] will never be finished until the FDA&rsquo;s blood donation policy is fair for all people.&rdquo;
According to Huffington Post, the nine men whose blood is featured in the exhibition range from a Nigerian gay rights activist and an identical gay twin to a transgender male couple and openly gay 88-year-old priest.
&ldquo;Each man is currently ineligible to donate blood under the FDA&rsquo;s current policy&mdash;but since they cannot donate their blood to save lives, they&rsquo;ve chosen to donate their blood for art,&rdquo; stated a press release sent to Huffington Post.
American University did not respond to Campus Reform&rsquo;s request for comment on whether the university paid to feature Eagles&rsquo; work.
H/T: <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/06/american_university_presents_artwork_made_of_homosexual_blood.html" >American Thinker</a>.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/gabriellahope_" >@gabriellahope_</a>

He says his artwork is a statement on the number of lives that would have been saved had gays always been able to give blood.

American University to host art made of gay blood

A report published in <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6215/1366.full" >Science</a> in December 2014, featuring a UCLA-funded study on voting for same-sex marriage, has been <a href="http://retractionwatch.com/2015/05/20/author-retracts-study-of-changing-minds-on-same-sex-marriage-after-colleague-admits-data-were-faked/" >retracted</a> by an author after a follow-up study done at Stanford found eight &ldquo;irregularities&rdquo; in the data.
UCLA grad student Michael LaCour and Columbia researcher Donald Green claimed in an <a href="http://www.mikelacour.com/experiments/" >experiment</a> that a 20 minute conversation between gay canvassers and voters increased the likelihood that people outside of the gay community would vote for same-sex marriage. The study stemmed from efforts in 2013 by the Los Angeles LGBT Center to advocate for gay marriage through conversational efforts, the <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2015/05/20/study-retracted-after-ucla-graduate-student-confesses-to-falsifying-data/" >Daily Bruin</a>, UCLA&rsquo;s campus newspaper, reports.
LaCour described his research on his <a href="http://polisci.ucla.edu/content/michael-j-lacour" >website</a> as follows:
&ldquo;I report results from a field experiment assessing whether gay or straight canvassers were more effective at encouraging voters to support same-sex marriage. I find that both straight and gay canvassers produce short-term change in support for same-sex marriage, but only gay canvassers produce enduring effects that also spread to other members of the household.&rdquo;
After learning of the impressive outcome of LaCour and Green&rsquo;s study, Stanford Assistant Professor David Broockman and UC Berkeley grad student Joshua Kalla were motivated to run a similar, more detailed experiment; they launched their pilot study on May 6, 2015. They found eight <a href="http://stanford.edu/~dbroock/broockman_kalla_aronow_lg_irregularities.pdf" >irregularities</a> in the original data produced by LaCour and Green which they analyzed thoroughly and presented to Green. By May 19, 2015, LaCour had confessed to falsely describing at least some of the data collection and Green has submitted a letter of retraction to Science and displayed it on his <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/donaldpgreen/cv-07-2011" >website</a>.
The Broockman and Kalla report noted, &ldquo;We report a number of irregularities in the replication dataset posted for LaCour and Green (Science, &ldquo;When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality,&rdquo; 2014) that jointly suggest the dataset (LaCour 2014) was not collected as described.&rdquo;
An example of such irregularities was the absence of any single normal deviations from a survey response of 3160 members included in the study. One would have to fake the data to mold an outcome as favorable and clean of deviation as in LaCour&rsquo;s findings.
&ldquo;In most survey response data we would expect to see at least one such deviation,&rdquo;
Kalla, Broockman, and Yale Assistant Professor Peter Aronow said. &ldquo;We were saddened by the possibility that the data contained serious flaws.&rdquo;
Upon being notified by Green on possible flaws in the research, Science included a public <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/05/20/science.aac6184" >alert</a> on their website: &ldquo;On 19 May 2015, author Green requested that Science retract the paper because of the unavailability of raw data and other irregularities that have emerged in the published paper. Science is urgently working toward the appropriate resolution, while ensuring that a fair process is followed. Science is publishing this Editorial Expression of Concern to alert our readers to the fact that serious questions have been raised about the validity of findings in the LaCour and Green paper.&rdquo;
LaCour responded in a <a href="http://www.mikelacour.com/6z3v6aje56z5f8hv0dnrm4vs31yn91" >statement</a>, &ldquo;I appreciate your patience in my forthcoming comprehensive report, as I gather evidence and relevant information, since I only became aware of the allegations about my work on the evening of May 19, 2015, when the not peer-reviewed comments in "Irregularities in LaCour (2014)," were posted online.&rdquo;
In addition, he posted on his <a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" > Twitter</a> feed, &ldquo;I read &ldquo;Irregularities in LaCour (2014),&rdquo; posted by posted at <a href="http://t.co/SJ3jE89XeD" > http://stanford.io/1FuBv3L </a>on May 19, 2015 by Broockman et al. I&rsquo;m gathering evidence and relevant information so I can provide a single comprehensive response. I will do so at my earliest opportunity.&rdquo;
News of the incident has upset a wide range of academics and laypeople. The original study had been featured in major publications such as <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/555/the-incredible-rarity-of-changing-your-mind" >This American Life</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/health/gay-marriage-canvassing-study-science.html?_r=0" >The New York Times</a>, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-gay-canvassing-20141211-story.html" >The Los Angeles Times</a>, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/gay-marriage-how-to-change-minds-1424882037" >The Wall Street Journal</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/01/30/2015/scientists-and-the-public-disagree-on-key-issues.html" >Science Friday</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/12/11/one-conversation-can-change-minds-on-same-sex-marriage-study-finds/" >The Washington Post</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/08/same-sex-marriage-opinions_n_5112513.html" >Huffington Post</a>, and <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/4/8/5592214/simply-talking-to-people-about-same-sex-marriage-makes-them-more" >Vox</a>.
Many have taken to <a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour/status/601059197678002176" >Twitter</a> to lambast LaCour.
<blockquote>
. <a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a> That you are going to the same School I did is gross, way to fuck it up for all of us dude
&mdash; Ron Loren Pitts&trade; (@RonLPitts) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonLPitts/status/601146895667462144" >May 20, 2015</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a> what are you most proud of hurting; <a href="https://twitter.com/UCLA" >@UCLA</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/science?src=hash" >#science</a> in general, or <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGBT?src=hash" >#LGBT</a> rights?
&mdash; Padraig Fagan (@SionnachOghma) <a href="https://twitter.com/SionnachOghma/status/601190437005701120" >May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a> Who was your actual collaborator? Dr. Oz ?
&mdash; Drew (@ArrogantLizard) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArrogantLizard/status/601199263486517248" >May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a> the fact that you removed your grants from your cv is proof enough that you lied, a lie that significantly reduces any credibility
&mdash; Ray Sin (@raysin80) <a href="https://twitter.com/raysin80/status/601220160578519041" >May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a> I have to concede that you have balls to fabricate data in a study like this. We all got <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lacoured?src=hash" >#Lacoured</a>. Where is Brian Williams at?
&mdash; Jay Mall (@Osmolarity) <a href="https://twitter.com/Osmolarity/status/601297115164246016" >May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
I wonder if knocking on <a href="https://twitter.com/UCLaCour" >@UCLaCour</a>'s door &amp; having a 22-minute chat about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/academicintegrity?src=hash" >#academicintegrity</a> might influence his views (&amp; data)?
&mdash; jtneill (@jtneill) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtneill/status/601336299400736770" >May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
The Williams Institute at UCLA, a funding source acknowledged in the report, denied involvement in the research. Lauren Jow, a spokeswoman for the Williams Institute, told the <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2015/05/20/study-retracted-after-ucla-graduate-student-confesses-to-falsifying-data/" >Daily Bruin</a>, &ldquo;We did not provide funding for that study, [and] Michael LaCour has not received funding for any other project.&rdquo;
Jow later claimed that she had only learned of UCLA&rsquo;s funding of the research on Wednesday morning.
On February 24, 2015, LaCour had eagerly announced via <a >Facebook</a> that he was offered a position as an assistant professor at the Princeton University&rsquo;s Department of Politics and Woodrow Wilson School. He said,
&ldquo;In 6 months I will move across the country to begin my dream job of being a college professor. I've accepted an offer to be an Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Woodrow-Wilson-School/114452365238638" >Woodrow Wilson School</a> and the Department of Politics at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PrincetonU" >Princeton University</a>.
I feel like a fan being plucked out of the crowd (by Bono) to play with U2 during a concert! Just kidding, but really, what I am most grateful for is getting to do the thing I love. Thank you to all my mentors, old and new [. . .] for believing in me before I believed in myself. I can't wait to start!&rdquo;
Additionally, the news of his future position at Princeton was posted on the Ivy League university&rsquo;s <a >website</a> on April 29, 2015.
&ldquo;This American Life featured Michael LaCour's work in its <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/555/transcript" >podcast</a> on whether, and how, minds can be changed on charged issues, including gay rights and abortion. <a href="http://www.mikelacour.com/" >LaCour</a> will join the faculty in the Woodrow Wilson School and Department of Politics at Princeton University this summer, and will be a CSDP faculty associate.&rdquo;
When Campus Reform inquired about Princeton&rsquo;s future plans for LaCour as assistant professor, Princeton spokesman Martin A. Mbugua said in a brief email, &ldquo;At this time the individual is not a Princeton University employee. We will review all available information and determine the next steps.&rdquo;
In a short phone conversation, Mbugua curtly said to Campus Reform, &ldquo;I sent you an email... That's all I have to say."
It is still unclear at the moment whether LaCour&rsquo;s original offer for a faculty position at Princeton still stands.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/PardesSeleh" >@PardesSeleh</a>

A blockbuster study last winter has been retracted by one of its authors after irregularities with its data have come to light.

Was a landmark study on gay marriage faked? Looks like it

Gay men are misogynistic, too, an event at Dartmouth College will teach students on Monday night.
Hosted by the Ivy&rsquo;s Inter-Community Council (I-CC), a student organization, the event called &ldquo;Gay Men Can Be Misogynistic, Too,&rdquo; claims that &ldquo;[g]ay male culture has a problem...and its [sic] benefiting from patriarchy and misogyny too.&rdquo;
&ldquo;And being gay (...or human) does not absolve you of accountability,&rdquo; an email promoting the event said, obtained by Campus Reform.
According to its <a href="https://sites.dartmouth.edu/icc/" >website</a>, the I-CC claims to advocate for a more inclusive campus by serving as liaisons for: &ldquo;Women, Men, International, Black/African American, Latina/o, Pan Asian, Native American, LGBT, Multi-faith, Greek letter, Accessibility, Athlete, Environmental Justice, and Socioeconomic Class.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The I-CC advocates for the interests of various groups/communities at Dartmouth to the administration, the alumni and other outside groups in order to help ensure that the Dartmouth community remains a healthy, nurturing environment for all students,&rdquo; the group&rsquo;s website states.
The notion that gay men are culpable of misogyny isn&rsquo;t a new argument. Rapper Azealia Banks <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/13/azealia-banks-feuding-stone-roses-disclosure-perez-hilton" >claimed in an interview</a> with The Guardian last year that &ldquo;a lot of gay men are way more misogynistic than straight men.&rdquo;
Around the same time, Charmed actress Rose McGowan <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/11/05/rose-mcgowan-gays-are-more-misogynistic-than-straight-men/" >claimed</a> that she was &ldquo;really upset&rdquo; with the gay community and accused gay men of being misogynistic just as much, if not more so, than straight men.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/K_Schallhorn" >@K_Schallhorn</a>

A panel hosted by the Ivy League school's Inter-Community Council claims that "[g]ay male culture has a problem...and its [sic] benefiting from patriarchy and misogyny."

Dartmouth College panel: gay men are misogynistic, too

Stony Brook University&rsquo;s <a href="http://stonybrookgqa.org/" >Graduate Queer Alliance</a> (GQA) is demanding the school apologize for hosting a conservative Christian during a recent debate, citing the importance of debate and open dialogue.
The debate, held on campus in late April at the SUNY school, pitted Dr. Michael Shermer, a science writer and <a href="http://www.michaelshermer.com/2005/06/why-i-am-an-atheist/" >atheist</a>, against Dr. Frank Turek, a Christian apologist, to debate &ldquo;Morality, Science or God,&rdquo; according to an almost three-hour long video uploaded to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBrs-kAZluw&amp;feature=youtu.be" >YouTube</a> by the <a href="http://www.newyorkapologetics.com/" >New York Apologetics</a>.
In an <a href="http://sbstatesman.com/2015/04/30/letter-to-the-editor-hate-speech-requires-transparency/" >editorial</a> penned for The Statesman, Stony Brook&rsquo;s student newspaper, the GQA decried Turek, his faith, and the comments he made during the debate, specifically on same-sex attraction.
&ldquo;Turek&rsquo;s propaganda is so far from the truth that it should be self-evident in the 21st century and especially to the millennial generation that currently attends Stony Brook that a speaker who holds these beliefs should not be given such a prestigious platform to speak in the first place,&rdquo; the GQA members wrote. &ldquo;This is not an issue of free speech, not least because the views that Dr. Turek expresses have already been evaluated and exchanged in public forums countless times, and it has been concluded that they are indeed wrong and harmful.&rdquo;
The GQA lauded the school&rsquo;s &ldquo;rich history&rdquo; of liberalism and activism, but criticized students&rsquo; &ldquo;roaring applause&rdquo; of Turek&rsquo;s &ldquo;homophobic comments&rdquo; during the debate, which approximately 500 people attended.
&ldquo;We may live in a country and a world where many of people do in fact agree with Dr. Turek. However, this does not change the fact that what he is saying is factually incorrect and truly harmful to students,&rdquo; the alliance wrote. &ldquo;Again, disagreement and debate on social and moral matters, even when there is a common set of facts, is the crux of a liberal university culture. Free and open debate should be encouraged, but not when what is being said is so clearly wrong and so clearly harmful to others.&rdquo;
The New York Apologetics, an organization that is dedicated to defending Christianity by looking for evidence and proofs, handled the funding of the debate between the two scholars. An official within the organization told Campus Reform that the group aims to foster discussion between experts on topics of morality and Christianity.
&ldquo;Our particular take on this is that we believe that in order to understand both sides of an argument, you really need to hear from experts on both sides,&rdquo; Nick Mitchell, a spokesperson with the New York Apologetics, said in an interview with Campus Reform.
According to Mitchell, discussions between individuals that the group hosts do not foster animosity; in fact, Mitchell said Shermer and Turek went to dinner after the debate at Stony Brook and communicate frequently.
As for the debate at the public institution, it was &ldquo;centered around the question of anchoring morality in general,&rdquo; according to Mitchell, who said the New York Apologetics decided to bring in two experts in that field.
Yet according to the editorial, the GQA recently passed a resolution that demanded censure of Stony Brook&rsquo;s <a href="http://socialwelfare.stonybrookmedicine.edu/" >School of Social Welfare</a>&rsquo;s decision to host the debate&mdash;in the &ldquo;dark&rdquo; and in a &ldquo;flawed manner&rdquo;&mdash;and are demanding an apology from all administrators responsible for the event.
&ldquo;At the Graduate Queer Alliance, we believe in free speech, we believe in the freedom to practice one&rsquo;s faith, we believe in diversity,&rdquo; they wrote. &ldquo;We support these things even if opinions are different from our own. However, we are vehemently against pointless bigotry of any sort. Together with other LGBTQ* groups and other clubs and organizations on campus, we are passing resolutions against Turek&rsquo;s hate-speech.&rdquo;
The students also promoted an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1627582690793377/" >event via Facebook</a> for in order to draft a statement and plan their course of action to express their disapproval.
&ldquo;Our rage does not come from this one event, but rather the insidious, and explicit micro/macro aggression we experience everyday on this campus,&rdquo; the event description reads. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time Stony Brook took homophobia, queerphobia and transphobia seriously.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s ridiculous that this group is trying to force a school to apologize for something that happened over two weeks ago,&rdquo; a Stony Brook student told Campus Reform,speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
&ldquo;This group acts like they are victims of oppression,&rdquo; the student said. &ldquo;If forcing a school to apologize for hosting a debate that featured alternative opinions is your biggest worry, then you are not oppressed.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It bothers me that anyone would call for the suppression of a speaker with whom they disagree,&rdquo; the student continued. &ldquo;It wasn't like this guy was attacking gays as people. He just said he didn't agree with one aspect of their lifestyle. This kind of PC leftism is just so totalitarian and dividing, and I am very concerned with the amount of power it has on college campuses.&rdquo;
According to a disclaimer at the top of The Statesman editorial, GAQ is &ldquo;an all-inclusive group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people and their allies to create a sense of community for those in sexual and gender minorities.&rdquo; The group&nbsp;is the first graduate queer organization at Stony Brook.
"Incidentally, we do not demand an apology from the school for hosting Frank Turek, rather we ask for an apology for hosting an incredibly controversial speaker in a manner that was hidden from the students, faculty, and staff of the university," Matthew Wipperman, a member of the GQA, said in an email to&nbsp;Campus Reform. "At the GQA, we are committed to the free and open exchange of ideas; however, in order to do this ideas must be exchanged and evaluated in the public sphere."&nbsp;
Wipperman said the group is also attempting to "expose" Turek's "bigotry towards gays and other groups" and show that the debate "failed to capture any sense of the integrative complexity or sophistication due to its biased setup."
The <a href="https://www.thefire.org/" >Foundation for Individual Rights in Education</a> (FIRE), a non-profit organization that serves as a watchdog for civil liberties in academia, has <a href="https://www.thefire.org/schools/stony-brook-university/" >given Stony Brook</a> an overall &ldquo;yellow light&rdquo; rating of its speech codes, primarily citing the school&rsquo;s sexual misconduct policy.
Stony Brook officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Campus Reform.
The dean of the School of Social Work also did not respond to an emailed request for comment in time for publication.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/K_Schallhorn" >@K_Schallhorn</a>

The GQA says that the objection "is not an issue of free speech" because Turek's views have been exchanged countless times before in public forums and "it has been concluded that they are indeed wrong and harmful."