Amidst a budget crisis, Pennsylvania State University offers in-state tuition rates to qualifying illegal immigrants while American citizens across the country are charged out-of-state tuition.
An admissions page on the university’s website states that “Undocumented students, with or without DACA, can be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet Penn State’s residency requirements.”
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Nearly 400 Pennsylvania State University professors have signed a letter that defends antiracism teaching and administrative practices targeted in a lawsuit objecting to giving black students inflated grades.
The four-paragraph “Letter in Support of Antiracist Faculty at Penn State” denigrates a recent lawsuit filed against the university by Zack De Piero, who taught English at the school’s Abington campus and has since filed a lawsuit that alleges he was discriminated against because of his race. He is white.
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Pennsylvania State University employees racially discriminated against a white professor who resigned in opposition to race-based grading and diversity trainings that argued white people are racist, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Zack De Piero, who taught English at the school’s Abingdon campus, left in 2022 after working there for four years, according to the suit, which describes his departure as a “constructive termination,” arguing the school more or less forced him to resign.
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The Pennsylvania House Freedom Caucus (PAFC) this week issued an ultimatum to the Pennsylvania State University: Either your hospitals will stop providing puberty blockers to children or funding won’t be forthcoming.
Penn State Health operates six hospitals in central Pennsylvania. The PAFC is castigating the university-run system for “prescribing experimental puberty blockers and providing “‘gender-affirming care’ to children as young as FIVE YEARS OLD.”
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The Pennsylvania State University has reportedly yet to answer a Philadelphia-based free-speech nonprofit’s request that the school confirms adherence to freedom of association.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) asked Penn State to do so after a brief disagreement this spring between administrators and the College Independents. This student group hosts political discussions featuring “a wide variety of viewpoints.”
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Pennsylvania’s legislative elections are 18 months out, except for the Delaware County-based 163rd district whose voters will decide on Tuesday which party controls the state House.
Democrats enjoyed a one-seat majority since session began last December, but sexual-misconduct allegations prompted the resignation of Democrat Mike Zabel, who represented the district covering Aldan, Clifton Heights, and Collingdale as well as parts of Darby and Upper Darby. Republican Katie Ford is campaigning to flip the seat red while Zabel’s party picked Heather Boyd to keep hold of it.
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According to a new analysis by the nonprofit American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Pennsylvania ranks 46th among states for economic performance and 35th for economic outlook.
Now in its 16th edition, ALEC’s Rich States, Poor States compares states’ economic posture based on 15 policy factors. Pennsylvania’s performance only ranked ahead of West Virginia, Connecticut, Alaska and — in dead last — Louisiana.
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Pennsylvania State University (PSU) student leaders voted on Wednesday to set aside $3,000 for transgender students to legally change their names, the student newspaper Daily Collegian reported.
The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) unanimously agreed to cover the costs for students who want to change their legal name through the university’s Student Legal Service department, the Collegian reported. Students can receive a voucher to cover the costs associated with the service which can reportedly amount between $150 and $200 when a name is changed for reasons other than divorce.
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A free speech watchdog group Thursday morning named several prominent colleges and universities to its list of the top ten worst colleges in the country for freedom of speech based on specific times the institutions reportedly violated students’ and faculties’ rights.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) named Hamline University, Collin College, Emerson University, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Loyola University New Orleans (NOLA), Texas A&M, Pennsylvania State University, Emporia State University, Tennessee Tech University and the University of Oregon as the worst institutions for free speech in its 12th annual report, shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The report detailed the worst cases of censorship the watchdog faced at higher education institutions in 2022.
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by Alexa Schwerha A Pennsylvania State University sociology professor reportedly instructed straight students to watch “gay or lesbian porn” to learn if they are bisexual, Fox News reported. Sam Richards told students in SOC 119 that watching porn could make them realize that they are attracted to members of the same sex, according to Fox News. The Dec. 6 lecture was about “A Conversation on Trans Issues, [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists], and The Binary.” “If you’re straight, watch gay or lesbian porn and see how quickly you feel aroused,” Richards reportedly said. “And how you can’t control that. You’ll realize that, ‘Oh, d—, I could be sexualized by people who are like me.’” He then reportedly said the everyone is “at some level non-binary” and “easily bisexual.” He also addressed, specifically, the straight and male students about watching porn. “Watch gay porn. See if you feel that feeling. If you feel that feeling, look in a mirror, and say huh, maybe I’m just feeling some things that I’m just afraid to release,” he reportedly said. “And maybe you release that and maybe you’d be surprised that maybe you actually are fine being more bisexual.” The lecture was reportedly uploaded to the class YouTube but now appears to have…
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Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities are moving ahead with tuition increases in spite of Republican lawmakers’ exhortations that they freeze their prices.
Earlier this week, state Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) sent a letter to the administrators of Temple University, Lincoln University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State University to urge them not to further economically burden students or their families as inflation rages. Soon thereafter, GOP leaders of the state House of Representatives sent their own message to the four schools which operate independently but rely heavily on state funding.
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State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) this week wrote to Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities to urge them to abandon their planned tuition increases and freeze in-state tuition in light of skyrocketing inflation.
The senator noted that the Keystone State’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget allots $600 million in total to Lincoln University, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State University. Those institutions are also getting $40 million in new discretionary funding from Gov. Tom Wolf (D). With such generous state subsidies, Mastriano reasoned, partially public universities should make every effort to avoid putting new pressures on students and their families.
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After an April 27 event held by the pro-free speech group Uncensored America at Pennsylvania State University, the campus group was hit with more than $1,800 in security fees from the school.
The event was a debate on the topic ‘Ukraine is Evil’, featuring Elijah Schaffer, a reporter for Blaze Media, and Steven “Destiny” Bonnell, a political YouTuber.
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As July begins, Pennsylvania enters into Fiscal Year 2022-23 without an FY 22-23 budget.
Republicans who control the General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf have yet to agree on all facets of the spending plan. Altogether, the governor has proposed allotting $43.7 billion in taxpayer money in the next budget cycle, a figure that Republicans have said is too high.
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A bill to create a performance-based funding incentive for three public universities passed the Pennsylvania House Education Committee on Monday, with all 15 Republicans supportive and all 10 Democrats opposed.
Beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-24, the bill would apply to Pennsylvania State University, Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh, three of Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities. (The fourth, Lincoln University, is a historically black institution that relies primarily on commonwealth funding.)
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State Rep. Eric Nelson (R-Greensburg) on Wednesday announced a proposal to redirect $580 million previously allotted to three major Pennsylvania universities to a college voucher program.
Under the representative’s measure, students from households with up to $100,000 in annual earnings would receive yearly grants of as much as $8,000 per year for higher education. Those from households earning between $100,000 and $250,000 would get vouchers of $4,000. These payments would be managed via an expansion of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), an agency Nelson said has demonstrated an ability to efficiently oversee Pennsylvania students’ financial assistance.
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With midterm elections this year, Pennsylvania’s 2022 congressional re-districting plans are under scrutiny. The state lost one congressional district last year, bringing the total number down to 17.
The proposed map is not finalized, but FiveThirtyEight reports that three congressional districts will likely be “highly competitive seats.”
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Song Guo Zheng, a former researcher at Ohio State University and Penn State University, pleaded guilty to using millions in federal grants to increase medical expertise for China.
Zheng — a professor who led an autoimmune research team for both universities — received $4.1 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health for research projects. Instead of using the funds to benefit the United States, he developed China’s expertise in immunology, according to the Department of Justice.
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