Federal Judge Says West Point Can Continue Using Race in Admissions

West Point

A federal judge allowed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday to continue considering race as a factor in its admissions process.

Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the same group whose lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina prompted the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action in June, sued West Point in September. U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern, a Trump appointee, declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the military school’s use of race, noting in his 27-page ruling that it is currently “mid-admissions cycle.”

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University of Minnesota Axes Legacy Admissions After SCOTUS Block of Affirmative Action

The University of Minnesota is ditching legacy admissions, a mechanism by which children of alumni get preferential treatment within the admissions process, following a Supreme Court ruling that blocked the use of race-based affirmative action policies, a university spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina’s affirmative action admissions policies were unconstitutional. In light of the ruling, the University of Minnesota decided it will no longer consider race, ethnicity, legacy or employment in its admissions process, a university spokesperson told the DCNF.

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Commentary: New Hampshire U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster’s Very Un-American Fourth of July

by Michael Graham   If you’re at one of the many Fourth of July celebrations across New Hampshire this week and happen to spot Congresswoman Annie Kuster in the crowd, please loan her your copy of the Declaration of Independence. In particular, this part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Kuster does not concur. Instead, Kuster declared on the eve of Independence Day weekend that she believes some people are more equal than others. Kuster made the statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling that racial preferences violate the “all men are created equal” principles of the Constitution. Rather than celebrate equal treatment, Kuster attacked the Court and defended the race-based policies Harvard and the University of North Carolina used to reject qualified applicants based on their skin color. In particular, Kuster supports the policy of turning away qualified Asian students in the name of “diversity.” Why does Annie Kuster support anti-Asian discrimination? You’ll have to ask her. (Kuster will not respond to questions on the topic from NHJournal.) It’s…

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Social Media Use in Children Linked to Significant Brain Changes

Person on phone with Twitter open

A new study from the University of North Carolina shows children and teens who frequently check social media may become more sensitive in the long term to “social feedback” in the form of “likes” and “dislikes” at a time when the brain is experiencing significant developmental changes.

In the study, published at the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, researchers Maria Maza, et al, investigated whether the frequency with which middle-school age children check their Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat social media accounts is associated with long-term changes in brain development as they mature further into adolescence.

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University of North Carolina Quietly Scrubs Race-Based Criteria from Fellowship Program

A University of North Carolina (UNC) nutrition fellowship program scrubbed criteria that made the fellowship exclusive to black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students after a civil rights complaint was filed alleging the program violated federal anti-discrimination laws, the program’s website reveals.

UNC’s Fellowship for Exploring Research in Nutrition originally claimed students must be a “Racial/ethnic background of [BIPOC] that is historically marginalized in academia and the field of nutrition in the United States” to be considered, according to a Dec. 19 snapshot of the website. However, the current website appears to have removed the criteria from the list.

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Diversity and Inclusion, Anti-Racism Featured Prominently in the MBA Programs Training America’s Future Corporate Leaders

MBA programs at universities across the country have added diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) initiatives into their program curriculum, orientations, leadership, events, and student groups.

Below is a list of how some universities across this country are training the future woke leaders of American businesses.

The list includes Michigan State University, where Disney CEO Bob Chapek received his MBA degree.

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Supreme Court Will Consider Landmark Challenge to Harvard, University of North Carolina Affirmative Action Policies

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions, a decision that could eliminate a practice that in recent years primarily benefitted black and Hispanic applicants.

The high court says it will hear challenges to policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that use students’ race as one criteria to decide who should gain admission.

In the case against Harvard, challengers say the same practices that have for close to four decades helped black and Hispanic students — not necessarily applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds — gain admissions have hurt Asian-American applicants.

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Hundreds of Sociology Syllabi Contain Liberal Bias Across Assignments and Readings, Survey Finds

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Campus Reform obtained copies of the syllabi from Spring 2021 undergraduate sociology classes at six universities.

Universities include: the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Ohio State University–Columbus, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign.

In total, Campus Reform surveyed 201 undergraduate course syllabi across these institutions. This number included 25 100-level introduction to sociology courses, which are sometimes taken by non-majors to fulfill general education requirements. The results of the survey, divided into the categories of assignments, biased language, and common textbooks and readings, are below.

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Federal Taxpayers Pay Millions to Fund Program That Funds Students to Promote Critical Race Theory

Students walking on college campus

Federal grant records show the U.S. Department of Education has awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to fund critical race theory training for future educators at several colleges across the country.

In 2016 under the Obama administration, the federal government awarded its first five-year grant of $1,116,895 to North Carolina Central University (NCCU) for “training” college students in critical race theory.

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‘Social Responsibility Speaks’ Diversity Consultant Was Paid $4,000 for Her Talk on Right-Handed ‘Privilege’

Administrators had Greek life participants at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to sit through an intersectionality seminar, which touched on a wide range of intersectionality-related issues — including the notion that right-handed people have a special degree of “privilege.”

Campus Reform obtained a copy of the contract for the event, which shows that the speaker, Christina Parle of Social Responsibility Speaks, earned $4,000 for her talk on right-handed “privilege.” 

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University of North Carolina Course Says WWII Was ‘Japan’s Attempt to Roll Back Euro-American Colonialism’

The University of North Carolina is offering a class called “Global Whiteness,” which involves student presentations on Trump and interracial hookups on campus. 

Campus Reform obtained the fall 2021 syllabus, covers the concept of race since the 19th century, but also contains what appears to be revisionist narratives of American history, specifically World War II. 

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New Documents Detail Behind-the-Scenes Turmoil at the University of North Carolina Journalism School Over Nikole Hannah-Jones Hiring

A little more than a week ago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that Susan King, dean of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, would be resigning from her position.

King, who took over the dean position in 2012, announced she would be keeping the position until a replacement is named.

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Memo Reveals University of North Carolina Plan to Sideline ‘Diversity of Thought’ Ahead of Nikole Hannah-Jones Appointment

Nikole Hannah Jones

A memo obtained by Campus Reform reveals that the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media considered “diversity of thought” to be in conflict with its efforts to achieve social justice objectives.

Hussman Dean Susan King wrote the August 1, 2020 memo to university Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz. She stated, “There is a fundamental conflict between efforts to promote racial equity and understandings of structural racism, and efforts to promote diversity of thought. These two things cannot sit side by side without coming into conflict.”

King wrote the memo in anticipation of Nikole Hannah-Jones joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty and teaching a class based on the “1619 Project.” 

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

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.

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University of North Carolina Grants Tenure to ‘1619 Project’ Author Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones

The University of North Carolina’s Board of Trustees voted on June 30 to grant tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the “1619 Project,” who will be the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.

It is rare for a university to grant tenure to someone who has not climbed the academic ranks through teaching and research. Tenure, which virtually guarantees job security, is usually the result of a multi-year process, not a privilege granted before a professor teaches a single class.

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University of North Carolina Revokes Tenure Offer for ‘1619’ Founder Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones

The University of North Carolina, after briefly considering the possibility of offering a full-time tenured position to Nikole Hannah-Jones, has ultimately reneged and turned down the offer due to mounting pressure, the New York Post reports.

Jones, the founder of the controversial “1619 Project” and an alumnus of the university, is now reportedly being considered for a mere five-year contract where she would instead serve as a “professor of practice.” The decision was ultimately made by UNC’s board of trustees, even though the left-wing faculty of the university overwhelmingly supported hiring her full-time.

Susan King, dean of UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media, called the decision “disappointing” and “chilling,” before baselessly claiming that Jones “represents the best of our alumni and the best of our business.”

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Commentary: Once a Proud Tradition, College ‘Common Reading Programs’ Have Been Reduced to Political Fluff for Freshmen

by Chris West   Many colleges assign “common readings” to incoming students as an intellectual experience outside the classroom to set the bar for the academic rigor that professors expect of students. This tradition is most students’ first taste of the university. This well-meaning tradition, however, has become highly politicized and the quality of reading has significantly decreased over the years. Works like The Iliad and Catcher in the Rye have disappeared, replaced by books written by comedians from The New York Times best seller list. The classics have been traded out for the ephemeral. This change is emblematic of the university. Incoming students are no longer prepared for rigorous, intellectually challenging material. Instead, they read “timely” political books that are only relevant during the current news cycle. North Carolina colleges, public and private, have followed national trends. Eight of the 16 University of North Carolina schools have a common reading program, and seven of the 29 private schools. No North Carolina school, public or private, chose a book published before 2010. Within the UNC system, six of the eight assigned readings have been published since 2012. That recency bias matters because the books are often left-leaning and these programs signal what political ideas campus administrators…

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Commentary: Why Is the University of North Carolina Funding a ‘Hub for Social Justice?’

by Magdalene Horzempa   Campus protests started in the 1960s, but protests on today’s college campuses have a different vibe. While protests in the past pitted students against university leadership, protests in the present are supported and accommodated by presidents and administrators. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for example, college officials waste resources on political activism and social justice projects housed within the Campus Y, Chapel Hill’s “hub for social justice.” Although a substantial portion of its revenues come from gifts and the University Foundation, the Campus Y benefits from its status as an official part of the university as well as generous university funding. Its primary purpose is to push progressive politics to all students on campus, from freshman orientation through graduation. If UNC-Chapel Hill bankrolled a right-wing campus organization that encouraged students to hold pro-life protests, take gap years to work for conservative politicians, and otherwise shaped students to teach them about “conservative philosophy and activism,” the outrage would be constant. Yet, when all the above is done for “social justice” and left-wing causes, nothing seems amiss. Founded in 1860, the Campus Y “is the longest standing Y in the nation” and has housed intramural sports, the…

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Commentary: University of North Carolina’s Leadership Crisis Exposes Academia’s Feckless Mindset

Carol Folt’s tenure as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came to an abrupt end last week, thanks to her failure to grasp political realities and her defiant support of the school’s radical social justice crowd. She challenged the system’s governing body, the Board of Governors, by having the pedestal of the Civil War memorial known as “Silent Sam” removed. In response, the Governors gave her a couple of weeks to clean out her desk instead of letting her finish the spring semester as she intended. It should hardly surprise anybody that Folt ran afoul of the university system’s ultimate authority to promote the social justice agenda. After all, she has always sided with the radical diversity agenda against more prudent interests; there is ample evidence from her days as provost and interim president at Dartmouth College as well as her time at UNC. Once the Confederate statue known as Silent Sam was pulled down by a howling mob of protesters in August 2018, Folt’s end was inevitable. It was obvious that the mob’s action had official imprimatur, with police from the campus and the city of Chapel Hill “standing down” while the bolts connecting the…

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