Universities Archives - Tennessee Star

New Survey Reveals Students Are Worried About Speaking Their Mind on Campus

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023 Admin

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released a survey Wednesday that revealed a hostile free speech environment at colleges and universities.

Among students, 56% expressed concern about their reputation being damaged because of someone misunderstanding something they’ve said or done, according to the survey. The survey also revealed that attempts to de-platform speakers that students don’t like at the worst five campuses for speech had an 81% success rate and that de-platformings are on the rise on campuses, with 52 incidents in 2022, up from 36 in 2021.

Commentary: Three Observations and Predictions About Affirmative Action in Universities Moving Forward

August 2, 2023August 1, 2023 Admin

Following the recent Supreme Court decision overturning race-conscious admissions, certain sections of the media have adopted an alarmist tone, fueling doomsday predictions. Others are keen to celebrate the end of discriminatory practices that educational institutions have adopted for nearly 60 years.

Universities Seek Ways to Skirt the Supreme Court’s Likely Ban on Race-Based Admissions

May 18, 2023May 17, 2023 Admin

Universities are searching for ways to maintain racial quotas ahead of a likely Supreme Court decision blocking affirmative action.

With the Supreme Court soon to issue a ruling in a pair of cases questioning the constitutionality of affirmative action, which multiple justices appeared ready to rule against during oral arguments, universities are developing plans to maintain the current racial composition of their student bodies without explicitly using racial preferences in the admissions process. Schools have floated ideas such as making testing optional, giving greater weight to students’ socio-economic backgrounds and recruiting based on geographic area.

Commentary: A Modest Proposal for Transforming the Universities

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023 Admin

As the plague of woke totalitarianism continues to besiege American universities, I note that we are finally beginning to see a little pushback. Public universities in Texas offer typical examples of this yin-yang process.

Wisconsin Rep. Gallagher Says U.S. Universities ‘Addicted to CCP Money’

January 19, 2023January 18, 2023 M.D. Kittle

As influence-peddling allegations dog President Joe Biden, the University of Pennsylvania and their think tank offspring, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement, the head of the House’s new committee on China is again warning U.S. higher education is “addicted” to Communist China money. U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) has long been monitoring the Biden administration’s lax enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires colleges and universities to publicly disclose any foreign gift greater than $250,000.

Commentary: Universities Are Losing Their Prestige

December 23, 2022December 22, 2022 Admin

In a famous exchange in the The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway wrote: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually, then suddenly.”

“Gradually” and “suddenly” applies to higher education’s implosion.

Judge Blocks Florida’s Anti-Woke Law at Colleges and Universities

November 19, 2022November 18, 2022 Admin

A federal judge on Thursday blocked Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, from being enforced at colleges and universities.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that the legislation, which prohibits faculty from teaching race in a way that might induce “guilt, anguish or other psychological distress,” cannot be enforced at higher education institutions calling it “positively dystopian.” The ruling comes after two lawsuits by a Florida A&M professor and University of South Florida student and professor who argued the act was unconstitutional.

Commentary: Liberal Arts Colleges Are More Liberal than Universities

October 20, 2022October 19, 2022 RealClearWire

Students often approach me to share the experiences they are having with other faculty on campus. They talk of being deeply uncomfortable asking questions in seminars and share with me how intimidated they are to challenge their professors. They often have real difficulty in sharing views that may run against the progressive, even Marxist, ideas that tend to dominate my campus.

I have been a professor at Sarah Lawrence College—one of the nation’s more elite and politically active campuses—for over a decade now. Liberal activism and ideological infusion into classes have become standard here and at many other liberal arts schools.

Analysis: U.S. Universities Water Down Standards in the Name of ‘Diversity’

September 7, 2022September 6, 2022 Admin

Higher education institutions have implemented diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to vet students and faculty rather than evaluating them on their merits.

Universities have included different DEI initiatives including axing standardized test requirements, mandating DEI statements in applications and curriculum requirements. The initiatives aim to raise diversity and social justice awareness, considering mainly the promotion of understanding and consciousness of DEI.

Open Records Bill Would Mean Major Changes for Pennsylvania ‘State Related’ Universities

July 3, 2022July 2, 2022 The Center Square

A major change in public records requirements for some of Pennsylvania’s best-known universities is working through the General Assembly.

Yet, while expansive, it would leave the public with less information about higher education than is available in other states.

Universities Reinstate Mask Mandates Around the Country

May 30, 2022May 29, 2022 The Center Square

As the school year draws to an end, American universities around the country are reinstating mask mandates.

The University of California Los Angeles sent out an email to its students on May 26, stating that its mask mandate “will go back into effect beginning Friday, May 27 and remain in place through Wednesday, June 15.”

Tennessee Public Colleges, Universities Will Freeze Tuition Rates for Next School Year

May 23, 2022May 22, 2022 The Center Square

Tuition at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities will not increase for the next school year after a vote from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission froze those tuition rates for the first time.

The board sets annual tuition and fee ranges that must be followed by the state’s public universities, colleges and Tennessee College of Applied Technology campuses.

Private Christian Baylor University Launches ‘Official’ LGBTQ Students Group While Side Group Pushes Radical Agenda

April 27, 2022April 26, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Baylor University has established an “official” group for LGBTQ students who say they require “safety,” “support,” and “resources,” though a longstanding “unofficial” group will continue to push its radical agenda inconsistent with the private Christian school’s biblical values.

“I feel like the administration got a better idea of the queer experience on campus and I feel like the students were able to get a better idea of the administration’s intentions,” said Lor Duncan, co-president of the new group called Prism, reflecting on the university’s decision to conduct “listening sessions” with students throughout the last semester.

Georgia Public Universities Eliminate Per-Semester Special Institutional Fee

April 26, 2022April 25, 2022 The Center Square

When Georgia’s fiscal 2023 budget starts on July 1, students will see a bit of a reprieve on their bills.

The budget includes $230 million for the University System of Georgia (USG) to eliminate a so-called Special Institutional Fee (SIF). The fee ranges from $170 to $544 per semester, depending on the institution.

Arizona’s Universities Get Approval to Increase Tuition

April 11, 2022April 10, 2022 The Center Square

Arizona’s governing body for the state’s three public universities has given the go-ahead to make an education more expensive.

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) voted to approve tuition and fee hikes at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. Tuition increases will range from 2% to 3.5%.

Florida Universities Can Now Ask Students About Their Political Beliefs

April 5, 2022April 4, 2022 Admin

Florida’s public colleges and universities can now administer surveys to students and employees asking about their personal political beliefs and their impressions of the campus climate starting Monday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in 2021 requiring the Florida Board of Education (BOE) “to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” that is “objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid” and “considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community … feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.” The results will then be compiled and published, according to the law.

Texas Lt. Governor Proposes Eliminating Tenure to Rid CRT from Public Universities

March 8, 2022March 7, 2022 Admin

The Texas Lieutenant Governor has stated his priority to eliminate tenure in an attempt to stop Critical Race Theory (CRT) from “poisoning the minds of the next generation.”

During a Feb. 18 press conference, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick argued that academia has been infiltrated by “tenured, leftist professors” and called for additional oversight methods to crack down on the controversial curriculum.

Patrick defined CRT as “an offshoot of critical legal studies, which is an offshoot of a socialist program (which says) that everything that happened in life is based on racism.”

Universities That Received Billions in COVID Relief Are Still Imposing Delays, Remote Instruction

January 18, 2022January 17, 2022 Admin

In 2020, the federal government gave American colleges and universities approximately $14 billion in relief through the CARES Act. As part of the $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, the CARES Act allocation mandated that approximately half its funds be used for emergency student aid.

Now, nearly two years after President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act in March 2020, numerous institutions that received aid are delaying in-person learning due to the Omicron variant.

By Jan. 7, seven out of 10 University of California campuses announced “revisions to their winter quarter or winter semester plans.” Winter sessions precede the spring semester, which traditionally starts in mid-to-late January.

New Bill Could Prohibit Critical Race Theory in State-Funded Schools, Universities

January 11, 2022January 10, 2022 Admin

Indiana may effectively ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) tenets from being taught in public schools and universities.

Senate Bill 167, which is sponsored by seven Republican lawmakers, states that no “state educational institution” can “engage in training, orientation, or therapy” that includes stereotypes on the basis of “sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, [and] political affiliation.”

The state senate bill was read Jan. 4. A House version, House Bill 1040, has been introduced but makes further provisions that prohibit the teaching that “socialism, Marxism, totalitarianism, or similar political systems are compatible with the principles of freedom upon which the United States was founded.”

Commentary: It’s Time to End Race-Conscious Admissions Policies

December 28, 2021December 27, 2021 Admin

It’s no secret that there is an obsession with race among our nation’s colleges.

On every campus, there seems to be another multicultural center for BIPOC students, or a class on how to be woke, or a bias response team.

And while the country is finally waking up to just how far left American society has drifted recently, such politics have been the norm on college campuses for years.

Trump Pick for Arizona Governor: Let Students Sue for Tuition Refunds to End Woke Brainwashing on Campus

December 9, 2021December 9, 2021 Admin

GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake proposes holding schools and colleges accountable for teaching students critical race theory by allowing parents to file complaints with K-12 schools and giving college students the ability to sue their state universities.

“They shouldn’t be teaching this garbage, where we’re teaching our kids to hate our country,” Lake told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Tuesday’s episode. “We need to have real American history.”

Proposed Law Would End Ohio Sales Tax on Guns, Ammunition, Knives

October 28, 2021October 27, 2021 Admin

Sales tax would no longer be collected on guns, ammunition and knives in Ohio if a bill planned for introduction in the state House of Representatives becomes law.

State GOP Rep. Al Cutrona recently announced he will introduce legislation that would exempt those items from sales tax, saying the move would help make gun, ammunition and knife retailers and manufacturers more competitive with neighboring states.

Commentary: Ground Zero of Woke

October 27, 2021October 26, 2021 Admin

Many of our once revered and most hallowed institutions are failing us. To mention only the most significant ones: our top-ranking military echelon, the leadership of our federal investigatory and intelligence agencies, the government medical establishment—and of course the universities.

For too long American higher education’s reputation of global academic superiority has rested mostly on the sciences, mathematics, physics, technology, medicine, and engineering—in other words, not because of the humanities and social sciences, but despite them. The humanities have become too often anti-humanistic. And the social sciences are deductively anti-scientific. Both quasi-religious woke disciplines have eroded confidence in colleges and universities, infected even the STEM disciplines and professional schools, and torn apart the civic unity of the United States. Indeed, much of the current Jacobin revolution was birthed and fueled by American universities, despite their manifest hypocrisies and derelictions.

Arizona Universities to Follow Federal Order for Workers to be Vaccinated

October 20, 2021October 19, 2021 The Center Square

Workers at the University of Arizona must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

That’s the news from university President Robert Robbins in response to President Joe Biden’s order that any public or private organization that benefits from federal tax dollars must install a vaccination mandate.

Commentary: Canceling Columbus at American Universities

October 11, 2021October 10, 2021 Admin

For years, Campus Reform has covered the trend of colleges across the country replacing Columbus Day with “Indigenous People’s Day.” Fueled by concerns of honoring “colonialism” and “genocide,” universities are opting for scrapping remembrance of the explorer all together.

University of Michigan History and American Culture Professor Gregory Dowd is one of many academics who assert that the country as a whole needs to end Columbus Day recognition completely in favor of Indigenous People’s Day. His view was promoted by the university ahead of the holiday this year.

Faculty in Universities Unwilling to Sponsor of Conservative Student Clubs

September 20, 2021September 19, 2021 Admin

Conservative students across the country are facing difficulty when they attempt to start a right-leaning student organization on campus due to a lack of faculty members willing to serve as the advisor.

Most universities require prospective student organizations to obtain a faculty advisor before the school will consider recognizing the organization as an official on-campus club.

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to Begin Search for Nikole Hannah-Jones Replacement in Fall

July 20, 2021July 19, 2021 Admin

A week after journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones spurned its tenured job offer, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tells The College Fix it will attempt to fill her vacant position this fall.

“We have two open Knight Chairs to fill,” Hussman School of Journalism and Media spokesperson Kyle York told The Fix in an email. “We are building search committees and plan to begin searching in the fall.”

Hannah-Jones was offered a prestigious Knight Chair at UNC, a position endowed by the Knight Foundation to teach and practice journalism. Even though she eventually turned the school down after they reversed course and offered her a tenured position, UNC will keep the Knight endowment.

Ohio Colleges, Universities Oppose Senate’s Higher Ed Reform

June 7, 2021June 6, 2021 The Center Square

What some are calling one of the most significant pieces of higher education reform in years in Ohio is also drawing opposition from state colleges and universities.

The Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee held its fourth hearing Wednesday on Senate Bill 135, which bill sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said was a bold plan to enhance higher education and workforce development.

Cirino’s plan addresses student debt, allows more low-cost higher education options that include the state’s community colleges and requires high schools to inform students of career options that require associate degrees or certificates, rather than only four-year degree options.

Over 100 American Colleges Demand Students Get Vaccinated

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 Admin

As American schools begin the process of slowly reopening at all academic levels, over 100 colleges and universities are implementing the strictest requirements by demanding that all students receive a coronavirus vaccine before returning to school, according to CNN.

In the beginning of April, only about 14 campuses had announced such a policy. But by the end of the month, that number had increased exponentially. Only a handful of the schools have included possible exemptions for various medical, religious, or personal reasons. The majority of schools demanding such mandatory vaccinations are private schools.

Florida Bill Allows Colleges, Universities to Sponsor Charter Schools

April 29, 2021April 28, 2021 Grant Holcomb

On Monday, the Florida Senate passed SB 1028 which would allow Florida’s colleges and universities to sponsor an unlimited number of charter schools. Under current law, colleges and universities can, through the Florida Department of Education’s approval, sponsor one school.

A state university is permitted to work with a school district to develop a charter school but can only sponsor one. Now, there is no limit to the amount of charter schools an institution can sponsor.

Florida Legislature Hearing Bills to Curb Foreign Influence

April 25, 2021April 24, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The Florida Legislature is working through two pieces of legislation aimed at curbing foreign influence in Florida’s colleges and universities, primarily research institutions.

The Florida House has already passed HB 7017 unanimously and sent it to the Senate for consideration. The bill will require state agencies and political subdivisions to disclose foreign grants and donations of over $50,000 or more to the state. Also, all donations of any size will be required to be reported from seven hostile nations. Among those nations deemed hostile are: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela.

Three More Universities Close China-Funded Confucius Institutes

March 9, 2021March 8, 2021 Admin

Confucius Institutes across the country are closing, the most recent being at Michigan State University, the University of South Carolina, and Colorado State University.

MSU began its Confucius Institute in 2006 and USC followed in 2008, according to The State newspaper. Both schools will discontinue their programs by the end of 2021. Colorado State University also recently announced that its Confucius Institute will close by the end of June.

While national intelligence officials, including President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the CIA, have warned that Confucius Institutes serve as a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party, these schools are not closing their institutes for this reason. Rather, each of the three schools cited former President Donald Trump moving to restrict the amount of funding for universities with Confucius Institutes.

Swain Joins the Ingraham Angle to Discuss the Lowering of Grammar Standards for College Students of Color

July 25, 2020July 24, 2020 Julie Carr

Dr. Carol M. Swain appeared on Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle with Laura Ingraham on Friday to discuss the lowering of traditional grammar standards for college students of color.

Diversity Delusion: Author Heather MacDonald Says, ‘Diversity is a Parasite on the Body of a College’

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 Julie Carr

In a special interview Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed a very special guest, Heather MacDonald to the show.

Professor Finds Lower College GPAs Among Conservatives Compared to Liberals

July 30, 2019July 29, 2019 Admin

Research finds that conservatives on average earn higher GPAs and test scores in high school, but ultimately receive lower GPAs in college when compared to their liberal classmates, at least partly due to liberal ideological bias. This grade discrepancy is even more evident in the humanities and social sciences, as compared to the more objective STEM fields.

Commentary: Limousine Liberalism Goes Mainstream

December 2, 2018December 1, 2018 Admin

by Scott Yenar and Jackson Yenar Suburbs are the battleground in American politics. Republicans continue to increase their hold on rural America and Democrats continue to dominate the cities. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), when it was clear the Democrats would retake the House, remarked, “We’ve got to address the…

Commentary: The Fight Being Waged on the Academic Battlefield

November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 Admin

By Garland Tucker The violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 have fueled a deep-seated leftist desire to re-write American history. Demands to topple statues, remove portraits, rename buildings, and repudiate founders—all in an effort to cleanse any objectionable reality from our history—have reached a fever pitch. The parallel…