Georgia Tech students will vote on approving a change to the school&rsquo;s fight song in the interest of gender inclusivity.The second verse of &ldquo;Ramblin&#39; Wreck from Georgia Tech&rdquo; <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.gatech.edu/dist/9/988/files/2021/02/Fight-Song-Lyrics.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reads</a>, &ldquo;If I had a daughter, sir, I&rsquo;d dress her in White and Gold, and put her on the campus to cheer the brave and bold.&rdquo;&nbsp;However, students will be able to vote upon changing the word &ldquo;cheer&rdquo; to &ldquo;join.&rdquo;The spring 2021 student government elections <a href="https://www.sga.gatech.edu/elections/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ballot</a> contains a referendum for amending the lyrics.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15776" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Georgia Tech coughs up $50k to settle free speech lawsuit involving MLK&#39;s niece]</a>In a <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.gatech.edu/dist/9/988/files/2021/03/Fight-Song-Referendum-Bill-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resolution</a> establishing the referendum, the undergraduate student legislature noted that an identical ballot measure was offered six years ago. At the time, 71.29 percent of respondents voted against swapping &ldquo;cheer&rdquo; with &ldquo;join,&rdquo; with 82 percent of alumni and 68 percent of students opposing the change.The resolution also reported that at the time, 70.67 percent of all respondents &ldquo;did not think there was a pertinent issue of gender equality on our campus.&rdquo; The vote was relatively evenly distributed, with 73 percent of alumni and 70 percent of the undergraduate and graduate students agreeing with the statement.The student government noted that the School Chairs of each academic department recently &ldquo;submitted a formal request to honor Georgia Tech&rsquo;s women students&rdquo; by changing the fight song.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15294" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Majority of Georgia Tech profs call for &#39;default&#39; virtual instruction]</a>Caleb Torres, Chief of Staff to the Student Body President at Georgia Tech, told Campus Reform that &ldquo;as of now, the course of action pertaining to the proposed change to the fight song is undecided.&rdquo;&ldquo;We will continue collaborating with the Institute, including the group of School Chairs who proposed the change,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;The referendum is simply helping us collect the opinions of the student body on this important issue.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to Georgia Tech and the student government for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

In 2015, students overwhelmingly shot down the same proposed change.

Georgia Tech may change its fight song to be more gender-inclusive

Nearly 89 percent of students who voted in the University of Virginia&rsquo;s recent Student Council elections approved removing gendered pronouns from their constitution.The first referendum question on the students&rsquo; ballot was entitled &ldquo;Modernization and Inclusion of Student Council Constitution.&rdquo; As University of Virginia Student Council Director of University Relations Noah Strike confirmed to Campus Reform, the updates strike &ldquo;any use of &lsquo;he or she,&rsquo; him or her,&rsquo; or &lsquo;his or hers&rsquo; to the gender-neutral singular &lsquo;they&rsquo; pronoun&rdquo; in the student government&rsquo;s constitution.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16251" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA student newspaper opinion writer: &#39;Stand up&rsquo; to &lsquo;racist family&#39; at Thanksgiving]</a>&ldquo;Seeing as our offices are all gender-neutral (i.e. not limited to &lsquo;men only&rsquo; etc.), the update reflects how students of any gender identity could serve in positions,&rdquo; explained Strike.According to Strike, 25 percent of the student body<a href="https://studentelections.virginia.edu/spring-2021-election-results" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> voted</a> on the referendum question, with 88.75 percent approving the passage. The minimum threshold for passage is a 66.6 percent affirmative vote.Strike told Campus Reform that the team is currently working to update the existing constitution. The current version was last <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ba956a916b6406fa63a6a71/t/5c639444f4e1fc401aec7ed1/1550029892918/Student+Council+Constitution.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amended</a> in February 2008.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16874" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: UVA, fourth best public college in US, lowers academic standards for two more years]</a>According to Strike, the University of Virginia Honor Committee&#39;s governing <a href="https://honor.virginia.edu/documents" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">documents</a> were &ldquo;updated to include gender-neutral pronouns&rdquo; in 2018.As Campus Reform recently reported, the University of Virginia Student Council recently passed legislation to encourage the university to &ldquo;divest&rdquo; from fossil fuel investments.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16898" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Utopian dream? UVA student gov wants &#39;community gardens&#39; instead of fossil fuels]</a>Campus Reform reached out to the University of Virginia for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Nearly 89 percent of the student body voted to scrap gendered pronouns for gender-neutral pronouns, such as “they.”

UVA students scrap gendered pronouns from constitution

A University of Utah campus recreation job posting demands that applicants &ldquo;promote racial equity and inclusivity.&rdquo;The university <a href="https://archive.vn/9okNH" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">published</a> a job ad for a Campus Recreation Director of Student Services who is able to &ldquo;nurture the habit of using a racial equity lens in the operation of the department.&rdquo; The successful candidate will earn between $90,000 and $115,300 annually.The candidate must also be able to develop &ldquo;an efficient diverse department by recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, evaluating and providing development opportunities for all Campus Recreation Services staff members.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17031" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Woke&#39; books authored by &#39;anti-racist&#39; profs infiltrate US Navy reading list]</a>The candidate must also be &ldquo;knowledgeable about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion best practices as they relate to the mission of the department and university as a whole&rdquo; and facilitate &ldquo;a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.&rdquo;Indeed, at least five of the nineteen job responsibilities are directly related to diversity or cultural sensitivity.A student affairs employee at the University of Utah &mdash; who told Campus Reform that &ldquo;having my name attached to anything critical of racial equity would have detrimental effects on my career&rdquo; &mdash; noted how &ldquo;the posting lists &lsquo;promote racial equity&rsquo; is listed first, meaning that it was most important to the job posting.&rdquo;&ldquo;This issue with this is that student affairs professionals are not and should not be activists,&rdquo; the employee explained. &ldquo;For a public institution to institute a purity test and ask their employees to promote and implement a divisive ideology should be unacceptable.&rdquo;The employee also believes that generally speaking, &ldquo;the university is sacrificing their stated mission on the altar of wokeness&rdquo; by emphasizing &ldquo;social justice activism over intellectual development of students and in this instance, effective management of their rec center.&rdquo;Campus Reform has repeatedly reported on universities&rsquo; fascination with ensuring that administrators address race relations. In many cases, universities have hired vice presidents and directors of diversity, equity, and inclusion.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16473" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Rutgers pays new &#39;Equity&#39; VP $300,000, despite projected $200 million COVID losses]</a>Campus Reform reached out to the University of Utah for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Five of the nineteen listed job responsibilities directly relate to racial equity or diversity.

Want to work in the University of Utah’s gym? Better bring your ‘racial equity’ creds.

The English department at the University of Arizona has released a list of new courses that are scheduled to begin this Fall. One class on this list is titled &ldquo;<a href="https://english.arizona.edu/upcoming-courses" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anger and Resentment in the Wake of Trump and the Coronavirus</a>.&rdquo; <a href="https://english.arizona.edu/people/matthew-abraham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Abraham</a>, an English Professor specializing in &ldquo;Rhetoric and Composition&rdquo; at the University of Arizona, is listed as the instructor for the online course which will last 7 weeks. Abraham is the<a href="https://parlorpress.com/products/the-making-of-barack-obama-the-politics-of-persuasion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;co-editor</a> of &ldquo;The Making of Barack Obama: The Politics of Persuasion&rdquo; and the <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137031945" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">author</a> of &ldquo;Intellectual Resistance and the Struggle for Palestine.&rdquo; The <a href="https://catalog.sbs.arizona.edu/?dept=9&faculty=Abraham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">professor</a> currently teaches several classes including &ldquo;Studies in Rhetoric and Composition&rdquo; and &ldquo;Critical Cultural Concepts.&rdquo; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16951" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Here&#39;s how much American academia spent lobbying the federal government]</a> According to a description of the curriculum, the students will focus on exploring &quot;the role of anger and resentment in the context of understanding this current historical and political movement that has made resistance fashionable again.&rdquo; Division in our nation is due to &ldquo;anger, resentment, and calls for resistance&rdquo; that have been &ldquo;especially prominent since January of 2017,&rdquo; the website states. The brief summary goes on to mention the Coronavirus pandemic and the lack of resources which have caused &ldquo;general disgust directed toward those who look or behave differently.&rdquo; &ldquo;The rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement, #MeToo, and immigrant activism point to a widespread recognition of how systemic abuses of power are being resisted strongly by certain demographic sectors,&rdquo; the course description states. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Collin College fires prof who tweeted about Mike Pence&#39;s &#39;demon mouth&#39;]</a> &ldquo;At the center of this storm of protest and resistance is the presidency of Donald J. Trump, whose unprecedented campaign and election fueled the rise of large-scale resistance movements among women, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, and ordinary citizens intent on defending constitutional norms and mainstream governmental institutions,&quot; the description continues. The course description makes a direct link between the &ldquo;backlash against these movements&rdquo; and &ldquo;the rise of white supremacy and white nationalism.&rdquo; University of Arizona&rsquo;s web page also addresses some questions that will be &ldquo;explored&rdquo; during the class, such as &ldquo;how have other oppositional movements, such as those expressing nativist and racial supremacist sentiments, channeled their anger and resentment in the age of Trump through social media?&rdquo; &nbsp; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17010" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Iowa universities receive backlash for silencing conservative voices on campus]</a> The possible textbooks listed for this course are &ldquo;<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691190785/deaths-of-despair-and-the-future-of-capitalism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism</a>,&rdquo; &ldquo;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Whiteness-Politics-Resentment-Heartland/dp/1541644980" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America&rsquo;s Heartland,</a>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<a href="https://katherinestewart.me/books/the-power-worshippers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism</a>.&rdquo; Alton Zhang, the President of College Republicans at University of Arizona, stated during a phone call with Campus Reform that &ldquo;the U of A CR&rsquo;s are incredibly appalled by these actions&rdquo; and &ldquo;colleges were never meant to be politicized. It&rsquo;s very upsetting to see an Arizona college stoop to this level.&rdquo; &ldquo;When a professor puts together a class like this it makes you wonder what their true intentions are for their students. Because in the end the students are not the ones benefiting from this,&quot; Zhang said.

Students will discuss why “anger and resentment” have become prominent in political movements during the past several years and how they link to “white supremacy and white nationalism.”  

UArizona unveils English course on ‘Anger and Resentment in the Wake of Trump’

The University of California Berkeley is looking to hire a <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">&ldquo;Wellness and Environmental Justice Coordinator&rdquo; that will run environmentally-focused student programs such as &quot;meet-ups with Bay Area QT+ and BIPOC climate activists,&quot; &quot;climate healing circles,&quot; &quot;wellness collaboration days,&quot; and more.To be considered for the <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sfI_Yapdk3QJ:https://www.uzoes.com/us/details/f754529216dbd4454c651dad4038862d+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">job,</a> the applicant must have a &quot;intention of justice and liberation over status quo/reformation,&quot; in addition to a bachelor&#39;s degree and &quot;at least&quot; two years of experience in &quot;sustainability or environmental jobs.&quot; The job is part-time and will pay $23.95-$25.34 per hour. The position is housed in the Student Environmental Resource Center, which is a department within the Dean of Students office. <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16879" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Lawmakers propose tapping academics for $94 million &lsquo;environmental justice committee&rsquo;]</a>According to the center&#39;s <a href="https://serc.berkeley.edu/our-values/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a> it provides &quot;environmental and social justice programming and resources to create a space that values the perspectives and narratives of marginalized and underrepresented students.&quot; This particular position&#39;s duties ar4e to be executed while &quot;centering under-served and historically marginalized populations on campus.&quot; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">&ldquo;We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent the full diversity of California and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community,&quot; the job description states. The coordinator will also be tasked with reinforcing student advocacy and &ldquo;fostering wellness and collectivism&quot; and developing &quot;and/or adapt curriculum surrounding wellness and healing in the environmental movement.&quot; <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14836" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: American University caves to environmentalist students&#39; demands]</a> Despite being a part-time job, the coordinator, according to the job description, will be in charge of &quot;Wellness and Environmental Justice Education and Programming,&quot; &quot;Strategic Program Analysis and Assessment,&quot; &quot;Student Group and Civic Engagement Advising Services,&quot; &quot;Community Engagement and Partnership Creation,&quot; &quot;Student Supervision,&quot; and &quot;Budget Management and Administration.&quot; Dan Mogulof, the assistant vice chancellor for executive communications at the University of California Berkeley told Campus Reform that &quot;The position is in the process of being filled,&quot; and said that the position is a temporary, three year contract.<a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/07/ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-oppression/" style="text-decoration:none;"></a>

Successful applicants must have a "intention of justice and liberation over status quo/reformation."

Berkeley is looking for an employee to run 'climate healing circles' with 'BIPOC' activists

JACOBSON: BLM co-founder’s million dollar mansions a prime example of ‘rules for thee…not for me’

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh tapped a counseling professor to focus upon &ldquo;racial battle fatigue&rdquo; and &ldquo;microaggressions.&rdquo; The university hired <a href="https://uwosh.edu/coehs/people/bowser-ph-d-ncc-teysha/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Teysha Bowser</a> &mdash; who wrote a dissertation called &ldquo;Gendered Racial Microaggressions, Racial Battle Fatigue and Intergenerational Learning with Three Generations of Black Women&rdquo; &mdash; and highlighted her work in an article <a href="https://uwosh.edu/today/94852/new-prof-offers-uwo-professional-counseling-students-perspective-on-racial-battle-fatigue/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted</a> to the university website. Bowser&rsquo;s work examined &ldquo;coping mechanisms in response to racial battle fatigue&rdquo; &mdash; which Bowser defines as &ldquo;a stress response that people of color experience from constantly dealing with racism and microaggressions in their daily lives.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16884" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16884" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Why don&#39;t Black people ski? One prof blames systemic racism]</a> Bowser will incorporate her research into graduate level courses for professional counseling students, according to UW Oshkosh Today. &ldquo;At first, some Black women might feel like the gendered racial microaggressions they experience are not that bad, but then they build up and gradually make an impact,&rdquo; explained Bowser. &ldquo;Counselors should emphasize the need for Black women to check in with themselves and incorporate more balance in their lives, but they also need to understand the context and barriers that may make it difficult for them to do so.&rdquo; &ldquo;While it is important and necessary for Black women to find time to take a breath and be more attuned with what they are experiencing in body, mind, spirit, they will not be able to fully do so if we as counselors are not able to identify and address what prevents them from doing so,&rdquo; she added.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16880" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16880" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Want to fight racism? According to one university, cancel classes and take a nap.]</a> As National Association of Scholars Director of Research David Randall explained to Campus Reform, &ldquo;counseling is already a heavily politicized field&rdquo; and noted that &quot;therapeutic managerialism&quot; has become the &ldquo;raison d&#39;etre of the American elite.&rdquo; &ldquo;A field dedicated to training &lsquo;counselors&rsquo; will have a vested interest in telling society that they need well-paid counsel,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;The racialized version is particularly noxious in that it says that to be black (or a member of any other &lsquo;oppressed&rsquo; group) is to be so mentally damaged as to require permanent &lsquo;counseling.&rsquo; Because our progressive elites ascribe social status to claims to this sort of &lsquo;mental damage,&rsquo; too many Americans are willing to claim they are sufferers, as a means to acquire social status.&rdquo; &ldquo;It is always difficult to tell how many such status-seekers sincerely believe themselves to be mentally damaged,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;But surely too many habituate themselves to the impaired life of the &lsquo;mentally damaged.&rsquo; The counseling profession, along with the other therapeutic managers of American society, certainly lessen Americans&#39; vigor, cheer, and self-reliance.&rdquo; Campus Reform&nbsp;reached out to Bowser and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BenZeisloft?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">@BenZeisloft</a>

The professor will incorporate her research into graduate-level courses so that future counselors can “emphasize the need for Black women to check in with themselves and incorporate more balance in their lives.”

UW Oshkosh hires counseling prof who specializes in 'racial battle fatigue'

VIDEO: Students support court packing... until they hear Democrats used to oppose it

Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota is offering race-based &quot;affinity groups,&quot; including a new &quot;weightlifting for women of color&quot; program, according to a statement from the college&#39;s president.&nbsp;President Suzanne Rivera of Macalester College, a private liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minnesota, provided an &ldquo;<a href="https://www.macalester.edu/president/messages/update-on-equity-and-anti-racism-initiatives/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Update on Equity and Anti-racism Initiatives</a>,&quot; which read, &quot;Macalester continues to do the important work of self-assessment with a focus on identifying opportunities to increase the diversity of students, faculty, and staff on our campus and to foster a culture of inclusion in which each member of this community can thrive and flourish.&rdquo;&nbsp;In the update, Rivera wrote about identity-based affinity groups for Macalester&rsquo;s very diverse staff. Rivera noted, &ldquo;Identity-based affinity groups are being established to provide support for underrepresented employees at Macalester. Information about these spaces will be posted on the Employment Services website by the end of the week.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>Rivera continued on to note that &ldquo;50% of our full-time staff hires identified as being a part of a minoritized group,&rdquo; the past year at Macalester collegeIn addition, Macalester College is creating a new Vice President position &ldquo;to lead the college in the fostering of inclusive excellence in learning and teaching, institutional equity, and community flourishing.&rdquo;In the update provided, a number of priorities are outlined, including &ldquo;weightlifting for women of color,&quot; specialization of &ldquo;mental health for &nbsp;LGBTQIA+&rdquo; and an &ldquo;Equity purchasing Initiative,&quot; which &quot;provides resources to help identify minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.&quot;&nbsp;Rivera wrote that, &ldquo; Business Services announced details of our new Equity Purchasing Initiative. This initiative helps us all to consider the ways and the places we spend the college&rsquo;s money.&rdquo; Rivera also wrote that&ldquo; we have been engaged in a search for an additional full-time mental health counselor, with expertise in mental health care for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16955" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Yoga for QTPOC Folx&#39;: Despite segregated rock climbing backlash, Cornell offers more identity-specific classes]</a>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said before that there is still much work to be done as we advance our institutional commitments to equity and inclusion. I&rsquo;m excited to be engaging with so many of you in this important work,&quot; Rivera concluded.&nbsp;Macalester College did not respond to&nbsp;Campus Reform&#39;s request for comment in time for publication.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/hannahkeller77" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@hannahkeller77</a>

The announcement from the college's president is the latest in a nationwide trend toward racially segregated spaces.

Macalester College offers 'weightlifting for women of color'

Students and alumni want a statue of former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick installed at the University of Nevada-Reno.Kaepernick &mdash; who graduated in 2011 and led the school&rsquo;s football team to record victories &mdash; gained national notoriety after kneeling during the national anthem at a San Francisco 49ers football game.Today, Kaepernick focuses much of his efforts on racial activism work. As Campus Reform recently reported, Kaepernick&rsquo;s organization sponsored a series of essays about police reform and racism. One of the writings alleged that to &ldquo;reform the police&rdquo; is to &ldquo;reward the police&rdquo; while they &ldquo;brutalize and kill.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16138" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Colin Kaepernick endorsed Princeton prof: Police are &lsquo;inherently predatory and violent&#39;]</a>A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/638601343411903" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">group</a> called UNR Alumni Campaign for Statue of Kaepernick Kneeling in Mackay Stadium &mdash; which launched following the death of George Floyd and which boasted 1,500 members as of the time of publication &mdash; said that creating the statue &ldquo;would make a very powerful statement to future students, especially Black ones.&rdquo;&ldquo;The university states that it supports inclusion and diversity. Let&rsquo;s see. Does UNR want to be on the correct side of history, or not?&rdquo; reads the group&rsquo;s description.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16609" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Harvard hires Obama-connected firm for police review. The result is unsurprising.]</a>Corresponding with alumni, the Associated Students of the University of Nevada proposed a resolution to install a statue of Kaepernick.Listing Kaepernick&rsquo;s activism credentials, the <a href="http://de5u0yfu98nbk.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/15204535/88-117_S.Res_SupportKaepernickStatue.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resolution</a> states that &ldquo;having a statute of Colin Kaepernick will be representing Black students at the University of Nevada, Reno as well as be representative of social justice movements in response to deep-rooted disenfranchisement of the Black community.&rdquo;UNR spokesperson Kerri Garcia Hendricks told Campus Reform that the president&rsquo;s office is currently reviewing the student government&rsquo;s resolution, which passed in December.&ldquo;We are proud of all of our alumni, Colin Kaepernick being one of the most recognizable,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;We have had students, faculty and alumni talk about how we could recognize the social justice conversation Colin started in this county by taking a knee.&rdquo;&quot;President Sandoval is considering the best way to recognize Colin, looking at the options that are available, such as many of the University&rsquo;s prestigious awards that may be appropriate, such as honorary degrees, Distinguished Nevadan awards and the President&rsquo;s Medal,&rdquo; she added.Campus Reform reached out to the University of Nevada-Reno for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The school’s student government passed a resolution requesting the installation of a Kaepernick statue.

Students and alumni want statue of Colin Kaepernick on campus

A University of Florida professor gave students a &quot;Diversity Bingo&quot; extra credit assignment, which called for students to find people of various ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.The course, titled Problem Solving with Computer Software, is a general requirement course for all business majors at the University of Florida. &quot;Diversity Bingo&quot; was offered to students in the class as an extra credit assignment.&nbsp;The assignment appears within a chapter dedicated to problem-solving specify, using groups and critical thinking strategies. Within this chapter students learned about Problem Definition, Idea Generation, and Decision making. The professor also included this assignment as being relevant to the material. <a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16934" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Macalester College student gov approves &lsquo;care packages&#39; with &#39;priority&#39; for Black students]</a>Students were informed of the opportunity to complete the extra credit Diversity Bingo assignment in an online announcement, which read, &ldquo;we are talking about diversity and how a diverse team would be more effective when addressing the complexity and different challenges that are inherent to open-ended problems.&rdquo; Giving instructions for students to &ldquo;Look for other students who can fit into the description.&rdquo;Students were encouraged to find others who fit into categories, including &quot;a person who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual,&quot; &quot;a person with special needs,&quot; and &quot;has celebrated &#39;Ramadan.&#39;&quot;&nbsp;Students could also find others who fit into categories such as those who have had their &ldquo;last name mispronounced,&rdquo; &quot;is a first or second-generation immigrant to the U.S.,&quot; or &quot;has Black African Ancestry.&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=16901" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Five top law schools partner with alumni to create &#39;Social Justice Legal Foundation&#39;]</a><a href="https://www.eng.ufl.edu/eed/faculty-staff/john-mendoza-garcia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Mendoza-Garcia</a> is the professor who teaches the class. Within the syllabus of his computer class, students can see a picture of the Black Lives Matter logo. Mendoza-Garcia writes that he is aware of the &ldquo;systemic racism that have [sic] been present in our society.&quot;Mendoza-Garcia also mentions in his syllabus that he has become &ldquo;anti-racist&rdquo; and invites students &ldquo;to be anti-racist as well.&rdquo; Additionally, he mentions &ldquo;if you are Black and you are reading this syllabus, please remember that you matter, and your success in this class matters to me.&rdquo;&nbsp;UF student Zachary Forbes told Campus Reform he thinks the assignment &ldquo;teaches the wrong message about problem-solving.Forbes believes that students &ldquo;should look for people with the experience and expertise for the problem at hand,&quot; that the physical characteristics or background &ldquo;shouldn&rsquo;t determine whether you reach out to them or not.&rdquo; Students should be taught to &ldquo;stand out within their field based on their work and devotion to the subject,&quot; Forbes said.&nbsp;Forbes identifies as being from a Portuguese family that moved to Massachusetts, but he would &ldquo;want to be hired as a manager or accountant based on the fact that I&rsquo;m damn good at it, not based on the fact that I look more brown than my peers.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to the professor for comment, who informed this correspondent &quot;it is best if you do not write a story about an assignment in the CGS2531 class while you are one of the students in that class,&quot; adding &quot;I can consider writing a note again after the class is over.&quot;Asked to clarify that statement, the professor elaborated that &quot;it is because you are a student in my class, and there is a conflict because of that asymmetric relationship.&quot;&quot;Any comment you or any student has regarding an assignment in my course or any UF course should be provided to the instructor through teaching evaluations. Such evaluations are only accessible to instructors after we have submitted final grades to the registrar. This post-course access to students&rsquo; comments about the class is because of the asymmetric relationship students and instructors have,&quot; Mendoza-Garcia said.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ajmunguia23</a>

The assignment instructs students to find peers with certain race and ethnicity-based attributes. 

EXCLUSIVE: 'Anti-racist' prof with BLM syllabus offers 'Diversity Bingo' extra credit

At the University of Michigan, a dean under fire for &quot;offensive characterization&quot; of Asians has issued an apology calling himself &ldquo;part of the problem.&rdquo;Michigan Law Dean <a href="https://www.law.umich.edu/dean/pages/default.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark West</a> has published several books on Japanese culture, including Secrets, Sex and Spectacle: The Rules of Scandal in Japan and the United States and&nbsp;Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law. After pushback over the book covers, the dean <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2021/03/mich-dean-books/2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> in an email to students that the covers will be redesigned.Courtney Liss, a third-year University of Michigan law student, shared tweets on March 17 about the <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372291665294200835?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">book covers</a> and her March 16 email to the college&rsquo;s deans, calling on them to <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372291672822972418?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">release a statement</a> about &ldquo;anti-Asian xenophobia and racist attacks.&rdquo;&nbsp;Liss has been <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1373449590259789825" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rallying</a> for the book covers to changed for three years.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17135" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Prof claimed on class assignment that Trump supported Japanese internment camps, student alleges. Here&#39;s what he actually said.]</a>A <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyLiss/status/1372378200978898945?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a> released by West on March 17 discussed inequalities, the Atlanta shooting, calling on the community to &ldquo;eliminate anti-Asian sentiment and all aspects of racism.&rdquo;&nbsp;Days later, the dean shared with UM law students how his books on Japanese culture have &ldquo;contributed to a narrative that promotes a two-dimensional and offensive characterization of people, and especially women.&rdquo; The <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2021/03/mich-dean-books/2/?rf=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">email</a>, published by Above The Law, states that the dean initially saw the covers as &ldquo;edgy,&rdquo; but began changing the book covers in spring 2020.&nbsp;&ldquo;We as an institution have been grappling with the structural racism in American life and with our own role in addressing it...I have been reflecting on choices I have made that are, quite simply, part of the problem,&rdquo; Dean West said in the email.West shared that he found himself &ldquo;increasingly uncomfortable&rdquo; with the imagery and believed the books would have gone out of print sooner. The dean is now working with the publishers to completely change the covers on his books and on the publisher&rsquo;s website.<a href="https://campusreform.org/?id=16878" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Want more info on UMich China ties? That will cost you $1,200.]</a>&ldquo;I am glad to see Dean West is recognizing the racist and sexist stereotypes that his book covers portrayed and working to change the book covers,&rdquo; Liss told Campus Reform. &ldquo;This is a great step in creating a more equitable law school and I hope to see Dean West and the rest of the administration continue to confront these issues as they arise.&rdquo;Campus Reform reached out to West and the university for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SergeiKelley?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@SergeiKelley</a>

A UM law student has been campaigning for the college to release a statement on anti-Asian racism. 

'#StopAsianHate': UMich dean caves to left, changes book covers amid claims of racism

An anonymous Instagram account claimed that Black students at Adelphi University received lynching threats. Although the university sent two warnings to the student body, local police found no evidence of hate crime threats.Black at AU &mdash; an account that seeks to &ldquo;discuss the institutional racism at Adelphi university&rdquo; &mdash; sounded the alarm that students had been targeted with racially motivated threats.&ldquo;ALERT!! Students are threatening to lynch Black students in retaliation to this page,&rdquo; read the post. &ldquo;Students addresses have been posted. Be safe.&rdquo;The students tagged NPR, CNN, and racial activist Shaun King in the post.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>In response to the anonymous post &mdash; which included no corroborating evidence &mdash; the school sent a statement to the student body.&ldquo;There have been recent incidents of students using racial slurs, hateful comments, and reported threats of violence and retaliation on social media &mdash; and sadly, this is not the first time these issues have occurred,&rdquo;<a href="https://www.adelphi.edu/news/a-joint-statement-from-faculty-and-administration/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;said</a> Adelphi President Christine Riordan. &ldquo;To those among us who have been targeted, directly and indirectly, we hate that this has happened to you, and we hate that we have not yet found a way to stop it.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17031" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Woke&#39; books authored by &#39;anti-racist&#39; profs infiltrate US Navy reading list]</a>&ldquo;Ignorance, racism, hate and violence hold no place in the Adelphi community, yet those things keep happening here,&rdquo; continued the communication. &ldquo;We know there is no place at Adelphi for inexcusable messages of white supremacy and anti-Blackness, but such racist attacks are a stark reminder of the work we need to do to combat systemic inequality and ongoing racism in our very own community.&rdquo;Adelphi University Strategic Communications Director Todd Wilson directed Campus Reform toward another statement published the following day.The second statement admitted that public safety and local police officers &ldquo;have continued to ask for direct evidence of threats from those who have received them firsthand and none have been submitted for investigation.&rdquo;&nbsp;Nevertheless, the university enlisted &ldquo;an external cyber/digital forensic firm to add to the police investigations.&rdquo;&quot;After an investigation this week by public safety and the Garden City police, we do not currently have any substantiated claims or specific examples of threats of racially motivated violence or harm to our community members. We do not have any names of people perpetuating these crimes,&quot; the university said in a statement.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The university sent two communications to the student body, even though local police found no evidence of hate crime threats.

University admin sounds alarm over anonymously reported hate crimes. There's just one problem.

The search is on for a new chief diversity officer at the University of Florida.&nbsp;The individual who previously held that position was paid $288,400 in 2019 alone, according to UF&#39;s campus newspaper <a href="https://www.alligator.org/article/2021/03/chief-diversity-officer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Alligator</a>. Asked how much the next CDO would make, UF spokesperson Hessy Fernandez told Campus Reform, &quot;The salary to be offered to our next CDO will be competitive and commensurate with education and experience.&quot; In 2017,<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Campus Reform reported</a> that the average salary of diversity officers at that time was a whopping $175,088.&nbsp;The University of Florida&#39;s Chief Diversity Officer position is charged with various duties, including oversight of &ldquo;<a href="https://news.ufl.edu/2020/07/racial-justice-research-fund-release/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">racial justice grants</a>.&quot; The position was <a href="https://www.alligator.org/article/2018/05/uf-hires-first-ever-chief-diversity-officer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">created</a> in 2018, with the seat first being filled by Antonio Farias who, in 2018, had stated after some controversial events at the university that they represent &ldquo;something systemic in the culture that needs to be addressed.&rdquo; Farias added that in the U.S. there is a &ldquo;very checkered history when it comes to questions of exclusion and inclusion.&rdquo;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17044" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Students support boycotting Panda Express for &#39;cultural appropriation&#39;]</a>Farias also oversaw &ldquo;the foundation of an inclusive culture,&rdquo; where the university trained more than 300 faculty and staff in what they call &ldquo;Crucial Conversations.&rdquo;The chief diversity officer also<a href="https://news.ufl.edu/2020/07/racial-justice-research-fund-release/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;oversees&nbsp;</a>the &ldquo;Racial Justice Research Fund.&rdquo; The goal of this fund is to &ldquo;inform understanding of the Black experience, racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion on campus and beyond.&rdquo;&nbsp;Grants distributed from this fund range from as low as $15,000 to as much as $75,000.&nbsp;For years, research has shown these diversity head positions do <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=11311" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">very little</a> in terms of racial equality. Universities over the years have spent more money on the problem, which has <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=13471" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shown</a> to neither increase diversity amongst the staff, nor the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=13290" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">student body</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://campusreform.org/article?id=17040" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;The endpoint of critical race theory&#39;: Columbia University faces backlash for segregated graduations]</a>While these programs have <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=11347" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cost millions</a> of dollars, universities continue to accept billions in <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=14787" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">federal funds</a>.Zachary Forbes is a student at the University of Florida who told Campus Reform that &ldquo;universities are like mini versions of actual governments, they invent fake problems and then throw money at those fake problems in order to make it look like they&rsquo;re doing something productive.&rdquo;Forbes further stated that admission rates for each demographic are bound to change year to year and that &ldquo;UF thinks that&rsquo;s an excuse to pay someone $300,000 to complain about it.&quot;Forbes further pointed out that if the University would like to change admissions rates, it should &quot;remember that they chose to go completely online last year and still charged the same tuition to sit alone in our rooms behind a screen.&quot;&nbsp;Forbes added that the &quot;lower-income households don&rsquo;t want to throw away money for a useless year of college, so you see a bigger percentage of upper-middle-class students with stable family income.&quot;Forbes ultimately concluded that &quot;the COVID policies are at fault, but UF would never admit that cause they need to pander to COVID fear too.&quot;&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ajmunguia23" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ajmunguia23</a>

However, despite the lucrative pay, studies have shown that initiatives led by people in such positions have done little to increase diversity.

UF 'Chief Diversity Officer' search continues, despite studies showing it's a waste

Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas threatened to discipline a student journalist attempting to carry out basic inquiries. The university backtracked after the student sued in response and federal officials intervened.According to a <a href="https://d28htnjz2elwuj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/02094158/Doc.-1_Nally-v.-Graham_Complaint.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">suit</a> filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, Jared Nally &mdash; editor-in-chief of The Indian Leader &mdash; the university &ldquo;is violating the First Amendment by retaliating against them for engaging in protected expression and journalistic activities and by enforcing a sweeping and vague policy on campus expression that was applied to Nally to impose an unconstitutional prior restraint.&rdquo;The suit stated that Haskell President Ronald Graham issued Nally a &ldquo;directive&rdquo; demanding that he avoid criticizing university officials or &ldquo;requesting information from government agencies while identifying himself as a student journalist.&rdquo; Referring to the school&rsquo;s code of conduct, Graham also &ldquo;threatened disciplinary action if Nally failed to show Haskell officials &lsquo;appropriate respect&rsquo; by continuing to engage in these protected activities.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16431" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: MSNBC host Joy Reid lands journalism teaching gig]</a>As detailed in a <a href="https://d28htnjz2elwuj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/26122201/FIRE-Letter-to-Haskell-Indian-Nations-University-October-26-20201.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letter</a> sent to administrators by the Native American Journalists Association, the Student Press Law Center, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Nally provoked Graham&rsquo;s directive by asking the local police department for confirmation of the death of a prominent community member&rsquo;s death so that he could write a death notice.&ldquo;Your &lsquo;directive&rsquo; to Nally is an appalling and unequivocal departure from the First Amendment, betraying willful blindness to the basic concepts of constitutional rights,&rdquo; read the letter.Haskell withheld $10,000 in the newspaper&rsquo;s funding &ldquo;without any notice or explanation.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16999" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Top scientific journal pushes diversity litmus test for would-be authors]</a>The lawsuit also mentioned that three decades ago, the same district court ruled in favor of student leadership of The Indian Review after the school temporarily halted publication &ldquo;in retaliation for critical coverage.&rdquo;&ldquo;Haskell is making it very clear that they put institutional reputation above student rights,&rdquo; said FIRE attorney Katlyn Patton in a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/lawsuit-student-reporter-sues-university-president-for-forbidding-journalism/?utm_source=FIRE_Update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Update&show_popup=false" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not only defending Jared&rsquo;s constitutional rights, but the rights of all Haskell students, and student reporters across the country. In doing so, we&rsquo;re showing public institutions that the First Amendment is non-negotiable.&rdquo;United States Bureau of Indian Education spokeswoman Klarissa Jensen told Campus Reform that the department &ldquo;does not comment on matters in active litigation.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16944" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: St. Joseph&rsquo;s prof placed on paid leave after criticizing reparations]</a>Days after Nally&rsquo;s lawsuit became national news, Graham issued another directive silencing Haskell employee criticism of his administration.The <a href="https://d28htnjz2elwuj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/25092506/Haskell-Indian-Nations-University-Directive-to-Employees-March-11-2021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">directive</a> said that Graham had faced &ldquo;detractors&rdquo; since he assumed the role of university president, and told &ldquo;employees, supervisors, and managers&rdquo; that they are &ldquo;always expected to be professional and conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively&rdquo; on the school.&ldquo;Derogatory opinions regarding coworkers, colleagues, and supervisors or administration is not protected under &lsquo;academic freedom&rsquo; and is not consistent with the standards of conduct expected of all Federal employees,&rdquo; it read.&quot;Now Haskell has chosen to open another front in its war on free expression,&rdquo; FIRE program officer Lindsie Rank told Campus Reform. &ldquo;Haskell administrators took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I implore the university to end its betrayal of that oath and respect people&rsquo;s basic rights.&rdquo;In early April, however, Graham backtracked on his administration&rsquo;s speech policies after the Bureau of Indian Education <a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-2-haskell-0-as-university-rescinds-misguided-directives-muzzling-faculty-speech/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">intervened</a>.&ldquo;Haskell&rsquo;s latest directives sent a clear message to faculty: The administration is watching and is prepared to violate the Constitution to protect its reputation,&rdquo; said Rank. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re relieved that the BIE finally stepped in to preserve faculty rights, but the Haskell administration has repeatedly tried to suppress dissent, and the BIE &mdash; which operates the university &mdash; should have acted long ago to end the pattern of rights violations endemic to Haskell.&rdquo;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The administration has since backtracked on its speech policies.

This Kansas student is suing his university for over alleged First Amendment violations

Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2021/march/headline-893995-en.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amended</a> a previous executive order to ease up on COVID-19 restrictions, effective on April 1, allowing up to 50 people to gather for indoor events and up to 100 people to gather for outdoor events. However, Virginia Polytechnic Institute announced it would not follow these guidelines but maintain previous restrictions that limit indoor gathering to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 50 people.&nbsp;Alyssa Jones, president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Virginia Tech, contacted her school following Northam&#39;s announcement that he would ease COVID-19 restrictions.&nbsp;In a March 23 email obtained by Campus Reform, Student Engagement and Campus Life told Jones that &ldquo;after April 1st groups are permitted to have up to 50 people in attendance for indoor events.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16688" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia Tech president admits US has lost trust in overly politicized higher ed]</a>Then, on March 24, one day after Jones&#39; inquiry, Virginia Tech<a href="https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2021/03/unirel-hughes-wilson-statement-032.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;announced&nbsp;</a>that it would not adopt Northam&rsquo;s new guidelines. &ldquo;On-campus gatherings outdoors must be 50 people or less, indoor gatherings must be 10 people or less,&rdquo; stated the school&rsquo;s announcement.&nbsp;the university&#39;s decision to maintain previous restrictions was in line with that of the city of Blacksburg, which <a href="https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/local-news/new-river-valley-local-news/gathering-limits-to-remain-in-the-town-of-blacksburg-virginia-tech/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">decided</a> shortly after the governor&rsquo;s announcements that it would maintain a 50 person limit for both indoor and outdoor events.On March 25, the school reached out to Jones and informed her that it had previously given her &ldquo;misinformation.&quot; Jones then reached out to <a href="https://dsaleadership.dsa.vt.edu/index/Kristen_Abell.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kristen Abell</a>, Interim Director of Communications, to inquire about students attending events of 50 people or more outside of campus and the town of Blacksburg.On March 26, Abell told Jones that students are allowed to attend events of any capacity &ldquo;as long as whatever gathering you&rsquo;re attending is following the guidelines for that area. Our restrictions are just limited to the Blacksburg/campus area.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16018" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia Tech. prof says phrase &#39;American people&#39; is racist, so is beer]</a>Virginia Tech Event Services also responded to Jones, stating in an email obtained by Campus Reform that &ldquo;you are welcome to host your event outside of Virginia Tech&rsquo;s Campus following the Blacksburg ordinance of 50 people capacity limit indoors and outdoors.&rdquo;The 10 person limit for in-person events on campus has been in place since <a href="https://campuslife.vt.edu/secl_services/event_planning/resources.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">November 16</a>, in accordance with the governor&rsquo;s previous order.&nbsp;Ryan Glennon, Regional Field Coordinator for Campus Reform&#39;s parent organization the Leadership Institute, explained that the event in question is supposed to be a speaker event put on by the TPUSA chapter as well as the Network of Enlightened Women chapter.&nbsp;Glennon reached out to Lorraine Spaulding, paralegal for the town of Blacksburg, who confirmed that the town&rsquo;s ordinance allows for a 50 person capacity at events both indoors and outdoors. While Virginia Tech has increased the number of people allowed at outdoor events, <a href="https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2021/03/unirel-hughes-wilson-statement-032.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">it has not increased</a> the limit on indoor events since November.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17062" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Athletes&#39; privilege: Virginia colleges bend COVID-19 rules for March Madness players]</a>Laken Land, president of the Network of Enlightened Women at Virginia Tech, told Campus Reform &ldquo;I called Event Services at Virginia Tech to inquire about these changes and see how they would affect student organization activities on campus.&rdquo;Land explained that she &ldquo;called on March 24,&rdquo; and told the school that she is &ldquo;the president of the Network of Enlightened Women&rdquo; and &ldquo;was interested in reserving an outdoor space on campus for a speaker event in mid to late April.&rdquo; The school informed Land that &ldquo;Virginia Tech was going by the new policy changes and would allow [the] organization to have a 100 person gathering outdoors on campus.&rdquo;&ldquo;Two days later I was informed by a fellow conservative organization leader that Virginia Tech was choosing to go against the new guidelines and had reversed their social gathering numbers back to 10 indoors and 50 outdoors.&rdquo; Land continued, &ldquo;Irregardless of affiliation, why is the university not following guidelines set forth by the CDC, the state of Virginia, and the town of Blacksburg?&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16888" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia Tech uses federal COVID aid money to refund students $100]</a>Alyssa Jones explained to Campus Reform that &ldquo;Virginia Tech is making it seem like they are following the Blacksburg town ordinance&rdquo; but added that this is &ldquo;misleading to students&rdquo; because the university actually has different guidelines.&nbsp;&ldquo;Virginia Tech has received a lot of backlash from the community for their COVID-19 policies,&rdquo; she stated, referencing an Instagram post from the school that received over 300 comments which were almost all negative.A March 2 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL8DHsSnqYf/?igshid=11cjori81g9sj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram post</a> from Virginia Tech announced a virtual commencement ceremony for spring 2021 graduates. Members of the university community were not satisfied with the school&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;One student commented, &ldquo;VT saying &lsquo;invent the future&rsquo; but they can&rsquo;t even figure out how to safely space out small masked groups of students in their many large outdoor spaces.&rdquo; Hundreds of other comments piled on expressing the same negative emotions.VT then<a href="https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2021/03/unirel-commencement-ceremonies.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;announced</a> on March 18 that it would be hosting &ldquo;multiple in-person commencement ceremonies in Lane Stadium.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to the CDC&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/considerations-for-events-gatherings.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">guidelines</a>, &ldquo;the size of the event should be determined based on whether attendees from different households can stay at least 6 feet (2 arms length)&rdquo; apart.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16823" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Virginia bill would create reparations scholarships]</a>Virginia Tech has multiple <a href="https://graduatelifecenter.vt.edu/space-reservations/descriptions.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">venues</a> available to host events, including a 550-seat auditorium and a &ldquo;4,000+ square-foot&rdquo; multipurpose room. According to a &ldquo;space calculator,&rdquo; if students used the multipurpose room they would be able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing with <a href="https://www.banquettablespro.com/social-distancing-room-space-calculator" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">111 guests</a> in attendance.Tim Sands, President of Virginia Tech, previously <a href="https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/03/president-covid-march17-message.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stated</a> that &ldquo;we will continue to follow guidance from state and national health officials and the governor&rsquo;s office, adapting and updating our plan as needed.&rdquo;&nbsp; The university is also planning to return to fully <a href="https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2021/03/unirel-fall-2021-plans.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in-person</a> learning during the next school year.&nbsp;Campus Reform reached out to Sands for comment but he did not respond to the request.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/abbyystreetman" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@abbyystreetman</a>

However, the university announced that it would not be enforcing the governor's new order after informing the TPUSA chapter president that she was allowed to host an event with up to 50 people. 

Virginia Tech claims to follow the science on COVID...but it does just the opposite

<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">On Sunday, Assistant History Professor at the University of Massachusetts Asheesh Kapur Siddique, sent out a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AsheeshKSi/status/1381247227931283457" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">tweet</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;claiming that colleges have &quot;too many conservatives&quot; on campus. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The problem with academia today is that it has too many conservatives. They run the university. They sit in admin &amp; on university boards enforcing manufactured austerity, combating unionization, &amp; casualizing most of the professoriate.&mdash; AKS (@AsheeshKSi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AsheeshKSi/status/1381247227931283457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;The problem with academia today is that it has too many conservatives. They run the university. They sit in admin &amp; on university boards enforcing manufactured austerity, combating unionization, &amp; casualizing most of the professoriate,&rdquo; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Siddique wrote on Twitter. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Campus Reform&nbsp;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">contacted <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Siddique about this claim. When presented with a study published by the<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/partisan-registration-and-contributions-of-faculty-in-flagship-colleges" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">National Association of Scholars</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">showing that college professors donate to Democrats ninety-five times more than to Republicans, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Siddique insisted this was not relevant.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16060" style="text-decoration:none;"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16060" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">[RELATED: Nearly 99% of College Board employees&#39; political donations go to Democrats]</a> <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;Partisan political affiliation has nothing to do with the teaching or research work that goes on in universities,&rdquo;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Siddique&nbsp;said in response to the study.&nbsp; <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">After<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;Campus Reform<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;inquired to Siddique about <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16945" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Critical Race Theory</a> and the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16038" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">1619 Project</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;being taught in college courses, he responded by urging people to, &ldquo;Look at any business school or econ department, where free market / small government orthodoxy reigns.&rdquo; Siddique then&nbsp;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">referenced a 2018 article from<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/148368/ideology-business-school" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The New Republic</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;that criticizes American MBA programs for teaching American economics, referring to them as, &ldquo;Ideological institutions committed to a strict blend of social liberalism and economic conservatism.&rdquo; <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Campus Reform&nbsp;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16084" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">reported</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;on hundreds of business school professors who endorsed President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15660" style="text-decoration:none;"></a><a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15660" style="text-decoration:none;"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15660" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">[RELATED: Students at Emory business orientation asked to put race next to Zoom names]</a> <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">When asked if he believed this is representative of college culture and academia as a whole, Siddique simply replied, &ldquo;Yes&rdquo;. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nicole Neily, President of<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<a href="https://speechfirst.org/" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Speech First</a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">, criticized Siddique for his factually &quot;incorrect&quot; premise, citing a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/11/08/college-administrators-are-more-liberal-other-groups-including-faculty-members" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">study</a> showing that university administrators, on average, lean more left than their professors. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&quot;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Dr. Siddique&#39;s factual premise is incorrect; Sarah Lawrence professor Samuel Abrams the ideological composition of university administrators several years ago, and found that they actually lean farther left than even university professors,&quot; Neily told Campus Reform. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Neily then encouraged Siddique to &quot;welcome&quot; different perspectives. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&quot;Intellectual diversity is an essential component of higher education; there&#39;s a reason that studies are peer-reviewed, and dissertations are defended before committees. Uniformity of thought, opinion, and background can lead to devastating blind spots and groupthink - so scholars who are committed to high-quality scholarship should welcome different perspectives.&quot; <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Campus Reform&nbsp;<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">contacted UMass for comment. The article will be updated accordingly. <span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/_addisonsmith1" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Lora,serif;color:#cc0000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">@_addisonsmith1&nbsp;</a>

He insisted to Campus Reform that this "problem" includes culture on campus.

Prof: ‘The problem with academia today is that it has too many conservatives’

Mainstream media outlets are citing a San Francisco State University project to prove a rise in anti-Asian hate. For a variety of reasons, however, the project offers no meaningful statistical insights.<a href="https://stopaapihate.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://stopaapihate.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://stopaapihate.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stop AAPI Hate</a> &mdash; an initiative of the Asian Pacific Policy &amp; Planning Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and San Francisco State University &mdash; began gathering reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in March of 2020. Mainstream media outlets are citing the report as evidence of a surge in anti-Asian racism since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020 -- but the report offers no parallel data before that date, so it simply cannot substantiate such a claim. The project&rsquo;s site allows visitors to self-report incidents of alleged racism and discrimination. Although the site permits users to upload files and links to substantiate allegations, it is possible to submit a report with no accompanying evidence. &ldquo;Do you think specific parts of your identity were targeted in this incident?&rdquo; asked one question on the report form.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17095" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17095" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17095" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Ivy League schools accused of anti-Asian discrimination condemn anti-Asian hate]</a> The group&rsquo;s first annual <a href="https://secureservercdn.net/104.238.69.231/a1w.90d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210312-Stop-AAPI-Hate-National-Report-.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> covers 3,795 incidents recorded by the site between March 2020 and February 2021. Of these incidents, the vast majority &mdash; 68.1 percent &mdash; involved verbal harassment or name calling. The self-reported findings also indicate significant skews in terms of gender and age that could call the project&rsquo;s statistical significance into question. Over two-thirds of respondents were female, and individuals above the age of 45 represented only 21 percent of the reports. However, individuals older than 45 years <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/241488/population-of-the-us-by-sex-and-age/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">represent&nbsp;</a>nearly 65 percent of the United States population.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17105" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17105" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17105" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: NY Times column: &#39;Stop vilifying China&rsquo;s Confucius Institutes.&rsquo; Chinese state media: &lsquo;good article.&rsquo;]</a> In an article for <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/539083-attacks-on-elderly-asian-americans-cause-advocates-to-stand" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, one journalist reported that Stop AAPI Hate &ldquo;received a shocking number of firsthand reports of anti-Asian hate across 47 states and Washington, D.C. &mdash; more than 2,800 of them.&rdquo; An article for <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/anti-asian-attacks-san-francisco-bay-area-racism-covid.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Slate</a> cited the project to claim that &ldquo;instances of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans were prevalent through 2020 as the coronavirus overtook the U.S.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asian-american-violence-discrimination-house-judiciary-hearing-watch-live-stream-today-2021-03-18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asian-american-violence-discrimination-house-judiciary-hearing-watch-live-stream-today-2021-03-18/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asian-american-violence-discrimination-house-judiciary-hearing-watch-live-stream-today-2021-03-18/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/25-percent-asian-american-youths-racist-bullying-n1240380" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NBC News</a>, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/12/asian-hate-incidents-covid-19-lunar-new-year/4447037001/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USA Today</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/opinions/asian-hate-crimes-us-avlon/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN</a>, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-16/anti-asian-hate-pandemic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LA Times</a>, <a href="https://www.oprahmag.com/life/a33432883/racist-attacks-asian-americans-coronavirus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oprah Magazine</a>, and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/we-have-been-through-this-before-why-anti-asian-hate-crimes-are-rising-amid-coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PBS</a> also cited the project in reports, many of which claimed the existence of a &quot;rise&quot; in &quot;crimes&quot; or &quot;attacks. National Association of Scholars Director of Research David Randall referred Campus Reform to his <a href="https://www.nas.org/storage/app/media/Reports/Social%20Justice%20Education%20in%20America/NAS_Social%20Justice_Report-Web.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> on San Francisco State University&rsquo;s extensive emphasis upon social justice education. &ldquo;The entire point of social justice education is to subordinate academic research to progressive activism &mdash; and producing this sort of website, intended to gather factitious data to support progressive policy, is exactly what they now think is their academic mission,&rdquo; Randall explained to Campus Reform. &ldquo;Certainly real academics would care more about best existing practices for collecting and reporting data, and seek to provide information to be used for any policy response whatsoever.&rdquo; &ldquo;All citizens, especially including journalists, should undertake due diligence to determine whether a supposedly neutral source of data is really the product of progressive activism, especially that disseminated via the camouflage of social justice education,&rdquo; he added. Campus Reform reached out to Stop AAPI Hate for comment; this article will be updated accordingly. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

The project is based on self-reported data and offers no meaningful statistical insights.

Mainstream media outlets cite unscientific SFSU project to prove rise in anti-Asian crimes

Several professors told Campus Reform that they are required to direct all requests for comment to White House spokesman Andrew Bates.

Biden’s court packing committee contains an army of profs open to altering Supreme Court

Universities are announcing that they will require the COVID-19 vaccine for returning students. &ldquo;More than 90 million U.S. residents have safely received one or more doses of a currently approved COVID-19 vaccine,&rdquo; explained Cornell University President Martha Pollack in a <a href="https://statements.cornell.edu/2021/20210402-vaccination-fall-instruction.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement,</a> &ldquo;and recent data indicate that these vaccines not only protect those inoculated from serious infection, but also are protective for asymptomatic infection and the risk of transmission of virus to others.&rdquo; Therefore, Cornell &ldquo;intends to require vaccination for students&rdquo; returning to one of its campuses in the fall.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16344" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16344" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16344" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Cornell offers &#39;person of color&#39; exemption for flu vaccine requirement]</a> &ldquo;Medical and religious exemptions will be accommodated, but the expectation will be that our campuses and classrooms will overwhelmingly consist of vaccinated individuals, greatly reducing the risk of infection for all,&rdquo; continued Pollack. The school also unveiled a &ldquo;COVID-19 Proof of Vaccination&rdquo; tool &mdash; a form that all students, faculty, and staff will be required to complete beginning on April 15. Brown University will likewise <a href="https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-04-06/fall-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mandate</a> &ldquo;COVID-19 vaccines for all undergraduate, graduate and medical students who will engage in in-person instruction.&rdquo; Exemptions &ldquo;will be granted to students, and reasonable accommodations will be provided as determined by applicable law.&rdquo; The university is working to determine whether vaccination should be a requirement for Brown employees as well. In contrast, a spokesperson for Columbia University &mdash; another Ivy League <a href="https://covid19.columbia.edu/content/faqs-regarding-sars-cov-2-vaccine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">school&nbsp;</a>&mdash; told Campus Reform&nbsp;it is &ldquo;strongly recommending, but not mandating&rdquo; vaccination for eligible persons.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16849" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16849" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16849" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Cornell renames English Department as part of &#39;decolonization efforts.&#39; Check out the new name.]</a> Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway, pointing out that the vaccine will be available to all Americans by the end of May, <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-require-covid-19-vaccine-students" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> that &ldquo;adding COVID-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students.&rdquo; Northeastern University also <a href="https://news.northeastern.edu/coronavirus/university-messages/student-vaccination-requirements-for-fall-2021/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> that all students &ldquo;will be expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the first day of classes.&rdquo; Students are permitted to &ldquo;request religious and medical exemptions to the policy.&rdquo; In the fall of 2020, universities across the United States began implementing flu vaccine requirements as part of efforts to fight COVID-19.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15875" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15875" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=15875" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Universities mandate flu shots as part of COVID fighting efforts]</a> Campus Reform reached out to Cornell University, Rutgers University, and Northeastern University, but did not receive a response. Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/BenZeisloft" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BenZeisloft</a>

Some schools are not mandating the vaccine, but are instead “strongly recommending” them.

Colleges nationwide mandate COVID vaccine for returning students

During a Cleveland, Tennessee City Council meeting, Lee University communication professor <a href="https://www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/communication-arts/faculty.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rondall Reynoso</a> told council members that the city can take antiracist actions without removing its Confederate statue.&nbsp;Reynoso instead proposed that the city construct a partial cylinder around the statue to conceal it from most angles. The monument in question is an off-campus Confederate statue that has become a prominent location for protesters, both in support of and against, to gather after Lee University students started a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/cleveland-tennesee-remove-the-confederate-statue-in-downtown-cleveland" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">petition</a> demanding that the statue be moved.<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: Confederate statue vandalized amid nationwide riots]</a>But because the local United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter technically owns the portion of land on which the statue sits, the city and state&#39;s hands are tied when it comes to calls to move the monument. Reynoso, however, has come up with a possible workaround.&nbsp;Because the land immediately surrounding the statue is public, Reynoso proposed constructing a partial cylinder around the monument. <center><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FClevelandBanner%2Fposts%2F10157716063233231&show_text=true&width=552&height=484&appId" width="552" height="484" style="border:none;overflow:hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></center> The cylinder would be as tall as the statue, but it would contain multiple openings to allow passersby to see through if want to. There would also be one large opening in the cylinder that would prevent any obstruction of sight to people driving past it.&ldquo;It would not be solid, however,&rdquo; Reynoso told the <a href="http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/partial-cylinder-around-statue-proposed,114384" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cleveland Banner</a>, &ldquo;There would be doors and windows cut in the cylinder, which [would allow] the Confederate monument [to be] seen and approached.&rdquo;<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15083" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[RELATED: &#39;Stunning image&#39; shows &#39;toppled&#39; George Washington statue at GWU]</a>The cylinder&rsquo;s outside would feature inscribed quotes from a variety of civil rights activists. Reynoso further stated that the inside of the cylinder would showcase the &ldquo;history which the Confederate monument sought to erase and the Jim Crow era that it sought to normalize&rdquo; by presenting images made by Black artists. &nbsp; Activist groups, such as <a href="https://clevelandbanner.com/stories/emancipate-cleveland-introduces-itself,113826" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Emancipate Cleveland</a>, oppose Reynoso&rsquo;s proposal.&nbsp;Emancipate Cleveland member Ryan Farcelli told the Cleveland Banner, &ldquo;the Black community in Cleveland has clearly stated the existing Confederate statue must be moved to a museum or cemetery where it can stand in proper context, and that remains our focus and goal.&rdquo;A Lee University spokesperson told Campus Reform&nbsp;that they do not endorse his proposal.&quot;Professor Reynoso has the freedom to engage in the discussion, but the university does not endorse his proposal,&quot; the spokesperson said. &quot;Neither the statue, nor the proposed cylinder are on Lee University property, so the feasibility of the idea could only be determined by city and state officials and other private property owners involved.&quot;Reynoso did not respond to Campus Reform&#39;s request for comment.&nbsp;Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/KestecherLacey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@KestecherLacey</a>