Vanderbilt University announced on Thursday that the beginning of the semester will be delayed, due to the rise in positive coronavirus cases.
According to a statement from the university, the new timeline directs students to begin class on January 18. Originally, the semester’s classes began on January 10.
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Vanderbilt University announced last week that they would continue the partnership with the Japanese-based Ono Pharmaceutical Company through November 2023. Vanderbilt has been working with Ono since 2015, and this is the fourth extension of their contract.
“Such a successful cooperative effort is never guaranteed, so it is great to be able to continue and extend what has been Vanderbilt’s longest ongoing drug discovery collaboration with Ono,” said Thomas Utley, senior licensing officer at the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization. “The collaboration is only possible because of the great working relationship that Ono brings to the table.”
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The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF), a Vanderbilt University-based schooling-policy nonprofit, this week announced the creation of its first twelve-member “Teacherpreneur cohort” to consider solutions to what the organization sees as major challenges in education.
NPEF—which aligns itself with progressive causes like “culturally relevant curricula,” higher teacher pay and increased public-school funding—is creating its new program with financial support from the ubiquitous online merchant Amazon, which also owns the information-technology-platform company Amazon Web Services (AWS).
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Vanderbilt University staff on Friday published a press release that announced they’d partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to study whether to convert certain High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.
But by Monday the Vanderbilt press release had vanished. A source told The Tennessee Star on that Vanderbilt’s communications staff posted the press release in error. The press release appeared online before Vanderbilt officials had signed off on it.
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Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Department of Traffic (TDOT) are beginning development of what is being called ‘the smartest roadway in the world.’ While the development only spans about six miles of Nashville’s Interstate 24, leader Dan Work of Vanderbilt University said that,
This research will help make the world’s roadways smarter and safer, with the initial research conducted right here in Tennessee. Beyond the thrill of participating in this never-before-attempted project, we are confident that this work will attract the attention of automakers and contribute to the region’s economy
This project, called the I-24 Mobility Technology Interstate Observation Network — or, I-24 MOTION — consists of 300 ultra HD cameras to anonymously capture details of drivers on the road. Part of the cameras instillation had already begun this summer, and the I-24 MOTION team hopes to have the remaining cameras installed and running by summer 2022.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College are partnering to address ‘educational inequities’ in the Nashville area.
According to the two groups, the project will have the goal of “producing actionable, innovative and scalable research to address racial and social inequities in pre-K-12 schools.”
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Former Vanderbilt professor, Dr. Carol Swain, is hosting a book signing after the release of her new book about Critical Race Theory. Her new book, Black Eye for America, How Critical Race Theory is Burning Down the House, is an Amazon best seller. At the signing, she will be giving a presentation on Critical Race Theory as well as signing new books and taking questions from attendees. The signing will be held at “Brentwood’s iconic Puffy Muffin Bakery and Restaurant this Saturday, August 21st at 3pm,” according to a press release.
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Vanderbilt University officials have announced their COVID-19 masking requirements for the new 2021-2022 school year. Vanderbilt officials said in a Health and Safety Protocols memo that the Nashville-based school has a high vaccination rate of about 94 percent.
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Vanderbilt University announced on Wednesday that it awarded a total of $25,000 to staff and postdoctoral scholars in a giveaway for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Each winner received $1,000. The university held a giveaway handing out thousands of dollars as an incentive to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, despite requiring all students and staff in May to be vaccinated against COVID for the upcoming school year. The deadline to submit vaccination records is this Saturday.
Even if staff are working remotely, the university requires vaccination. Additionally, those who already contracted the virus are still required to be vaccinated.
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Vanderbilt University announced last month that it joined the Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium to further fight racial injustice and foster inclusivity on campus. According to the USS website, consortium membership means Vanderbilt University will probe its history for slavery or racism.
Chancellor Daniel Diermeier praised Vanderbilt University’s decision to further engage in introspection on its systemic inequity and racism.
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Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis announced on Monday that students or employees who opt to not receive the coronavirus vaccine will not be allowed on campus.
The school’s announcement detailed that students and employees must submit documentation of vaccination by August 2. However, some exemptions will be allowed for medical reasons or “sincerely-held” religious beliefs.
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A Vanderbilt University chair said that race-based admissions would prevent minorities from attaining leadership positions and “influential” employment. Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair Professor of Law and Economic Joni Hersch made this assessment in a legal studies research paper, “Affirmative Action and the Leadership Pipeline.” The paper is expected to appear in Tulane Law Review soon.
Hersch wrote the article in response to the ongoing court case, Students for Fair Admissions (SSFA) v. Harvard. In the lawsuit, SSFA alleges that Harvard University discriminates against Asian applicants in its admissions process by engaging in racial balancing.
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One in five Tennessee public school students from across six districts were chronically absent last year during the pandemic. Vanderbilt University’s Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) discovered this during a study of around 150,000 students across about 250 schools. They also discovered that the majority of chronic absenteeism cases occurred among English Learners, minority students, and economically disadvantaged students. The state classifies 10 percent or more of classes missed as chronic absence.
Nowhere did the report mention which six districts were studied. The Tennessee Star asked TERA spokespersons which districts they’d researched. They didn’t respond by press time. TERA noted that these districts’ chronic absenteeism rates have been climbing since 2018, but they’d jumped significantly last year with virtual learning.
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Come fall, Vanderbilt University and Maryville College are requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 – even if the vaccine isn’t fully approved by the FDA. Maryville College was the first to announce a mandate of that nature in this state, issuing their press release late last month. Vanderbilt University issued their announcement on Monday.
Maryville College is the more lenient of the two Tennessee colleges in their mandate: they will allow exceptions for personal preference in addition to medical or religious reasons. The news release didn’t mention an accommodations request deadline. Vanderbilt University made no mention of personal preference-based exceptions – only medical and religious exemptions will be accepted. Their deadline for an accommodations request is June 15.
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Vanderbilt University’s Equal Opportunity and Access office is investigating formal complaints related to its recent student government election, in which a white, Jewish candidate says he faced cyberbullying and defamation.
Student Jordan Gould published a column in Medium last week headlined “When the Social Justice Mob Came for Me” that described how he was called a “white supremacist and a racist confederate” by peers as he ran for student government president.
“We have received several formal complaints related to the student government election and our Equal Opportunity and Access office is investigating these,” Vanderbilt’s spokesperson Damon Maida told The College Fix via email on Friday.
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As their grande finale for Black History Month, Vanderbilt University promoted an expansive reparations plan and membership in Black Lives Matter (BLM) Nashville.
Both events took place on February 26, the last in a lineup of 30 total events. The reparations event, titled “Reparations: An Issue Whose Time Has Come,” was hosted by Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) President Dr. Ron Daniels. The other event was titled, “Plugging in to Black Lives Matter,” and featured BLM Nashville encouraging students to get involved.
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Nashville’s Racial Equity in Arts Leadership (REAL) program received a $50,000 jump-start this week to continue its work. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the program in its Grants for Arts Projects on Thursday, along with over 1,000 other programs across the country. The NEA awarded over $27.5 million in grants.
The REAL program focuses on advancing racial equity in the arts through its speaker series. Topics have included “The New Being: Perception and the Spiritual Existence of People of Color” and “Radical Inclusion.” Participants are leaders in their field that engage in seminars and workshops focused on racial equity within procedures such as hiring or programming events.
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Vanderbilt School of Law Professor Gautam Hans opined that social media companies should be on the offensive when it comes to regulating speech. In a spotlight series called “Ask an Expert” curated by Vanderbilt University, the assistant clinical professor suggested that these platforms ought to modify their approaches to content moderation.
In the brief video, Hans asserted that proactive approaches could improve the current dissatisfaction shared across party lines.
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A Vanderbilt University poll suggested that 88 percent of Tennessee’s registered Republican voters doubt the legitimacy of the presidential election. According to the university, the poll’s purpose was to discover any correlation between support of the COVID-19 vaccine and views on the election’s integrity. The poll lasted 21 days, surveying just over 1,000 individuals. Nowhere in their methodology did the research include the exact number of Republicans, Democrats, independent, and “other” respondents.
A supplementary video summarizing the polling results noted that 83 percent of Democrats pose a large public health problem, as opposed to 47 percent of Republicans. After providing that information, the video noted that 97 percent of Democrats believed nationwide votes from the Presidential election were counted fairly and accurately, as opposed to 12 percent of Republicans.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio to discuss historian Jon Meacham’s recent firing from MSNBC for ethical reasons.
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MSNBC has dismissed Vanderbilt professor Jon Meacham from his job as a network contributor because he did not inform network staff that he was writing speeches for former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
The Tennessee Star left two messages with Vanderbilt University Tuesday, one by phone and one by email. We asked Vanderbilt officials if they planned to relieve Meacham of his duties because of his ethical lapse and lack of transparency.
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Michael Eric Dyson will join Vanderbilt University’s faculty next year, according to a press release that school officials published on Vanderbilt’s website this week.
The Tennessee Star asked former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain to comment.
Swain said she didn’t have much to say about the topic.
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A Vanderbilt University assignment asked students whether the U.S. Constitution was “designed to perpetuate white supremacy,” and the “correct” answer to that question was “true.”
According to screenshots obtained by Young America’s Foundation, students were asked, “Was the Constitution designed to perpetuate white supremacy and protect the institution of slavery?” According to YAF, one student in the class lost points after answering “false.”
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Dr. Carol M. Swain appeared on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends Weekend Edition to discuss the recent backlash facing Vanderbilt University for asking a quiz question suggesting the Constitution may perpetuate White supremacy by protecting the institution of slavery.
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A new poll from Vanderbilt University claims the approval rating for Mayor John Cooper is “sky high,” but only 19 percent of respondents said they identify as Republicans.
Another 45 percent of respondents said they identify as Democrats, while 26 percent said they are Independents and 10 percent said they are “something else.” Only 21 percent said their political views are “very conservative” or “conservative,” compared to 30 percent who said they are “liberal” or “very liberal.” Forty-eight percent said their political views are “moderate.”
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New reports on the Williamson County man diagnosed with the coronavirus indicate he flew home from Boston, and has a son attending Battle Ground Academy.
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Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will teach political science as a distinguished visiting professor this fall, Vanderbilt University announced.
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People in the United States refuse to pass more gun control laws because of white supremacy and “white privilege,” according to a Vanderbilt University professor out of Nashville.
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Vanderbilt University regularly conducts polling of Tennessee political and cultural issues through their Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Their most recent poll has just been released and is getting a lot of media attention. Sadly, the new poll reveals the same pattern of questionable methodology, inaccuracy and political irrelevance that should actually embarrass the University. Previous polls have focused on registered voters rather than likely votes, have been constructed with a favorable tilt towards Democrats in statewide polling despite Tennessee being a solid Republican state, and have usually polled for ridiculously long periods of time that no credible pollster would consider reasonable. For example, their last poll had a scant 7 point margin for Republicans over Democrats and was conducted over eighteen (18) days! Accuracy? In October 2016, just a few weeks before the Presidential campaign concluded, Vanderbilt claimed Trump was leading Clinton by an 11 point margin (44-33 percent). Trump won by 26. In May 2012 Vanderbilt claimed Mitt Romney had a tiny one-point lead over incumbent President Barack Obama in Tennessee; Romney carried the state by over 20 points. In 2018, Vanderbilt said Bredesen had a one-point lead over Blackburn in their poll just two…
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White Tennessee residents endanger their own health by rejecting government health care programs and by embracing pro-gun and anti-tax policies, according to a new book a Vanderbilt University professor just released. The book, Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland, even says “explicit racism” can motivate certain white people to cling to these conservative points of view. This, according to a press release Vanderbilt officials put out this week. Vanderbilt Professor Jonathan Metzl wrote the book. Metzl, according to Vanderbilt’s press release, is a professor of sociology and medicine and a professor of health and society. Metzl did not return The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment this week. Metzl said in the press release that he set out to “understand how white Americans reconciled support for anti-tax, pro-gun policies in regions struggling with the impact of poor health care and education and high rates of gun death.” He said he focused on three specific areas — Medicaid expansion in Tennessee, school funding in Kansas, and gun laws in Missouri. Metzl said in the press release that he has lived in all three of those states. “In his book, Metzl explains that today’s skepticism…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — If you voted for Donald Trump for president in 2016 then it’s because you are susceptible and Trump whipped you “into a frenzy,” said former Republican Senator Jeff Flake during a visit to Nashville Thursday. Flake made his remarks to perhaps a crowd of 2,000 people at Vanderbilt University as part of the school’s Chancellor’s Lecture Series. The moderators at the event — as well as most of the audience members — seemed hostile to Trump and his voters. Flake, of course, has little love for Trump. Flake told the crowd Trump only won because of “a particularly weak opponent on the Democratic Party side,” referring to Hillary Clinton. “Any of the 17 people he vanquished in the primaries would have won that race. But Trump motivated people to get out and vote,” Flake told the event moderators. Flake compared Trump’s win to what former Republican California Gov. Pete Wilson did in 1994 with Proposition 187. According to The Los Angeles Times, that ballot “sought to stem illegal immigration and address its costs by cutting off state services, including healthcare and public education, to those in the country illegally.” Voters in California passed that referendum, but, as…
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Never-Trumper and now former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is bringing his show Thursday to liberal Vanderbilt University to preach his agenda to a friendly audience at the Chancellor’s Lecture Series. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said, “It certainly hasn’t taken former Senator Flake long to move from criticizing Republicans on the taxpayer’s dime to doing the same thing for even larger payoffs from the #fakenews media and liberal academic institutions. Their favorite Republicans are the ones who attack Republicans, and Flake is only too happy to fill that role. Do they pay him with 30 pieces of silver for each appearance? Based on the overwhelmingly leftwing list of previous speakers at the Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Lectures, Flake is a perfect fit.” Vanderbilt is touting Flake’s anti-Trump record to promote the event, which starts at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. The university’s press release says, “Fresh from a term that included several highly publicized ideological clashes with the president, former Sen. Jeff Flake will visit Vanderbilt University to explain his hopes for American politics going forward.” Flake is being joined by Zoe Chace, producer of “This American Life,” whom the university says produced a show highlighting his work before he…
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First Lady Melania Trump visited Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on Tuesday. The first lady’s visit was part of her “Be Best” campaign, an initiative focusing on the major issues children face, WSMV said. It was Trump’s first domestic trip to highlight the effort, NewsChannel 5 said. She took part in a discussion about babies born addicted to drugs, neonatal abstinence syndrome. The disease, or NAS, happens in newborn infants when their mother takes drugs like heroin, codeine, oxycodone, methadone or buprenorphine while pregnant. Trump visited the kids in the hospital and interacted with them by blowing bubbles and playing with trains, the Lincoln Journal Star said. The First Lady shared how she wants to help educate mothers and children about drug misuse, CP24 said. Monroe Carell’s program helps keep mothers and babies together. #BeBest will continue to bring attention to NAS. A very big thank you to @VUMCchildren & staff for an informative & moving visit. It is a joy spending time w/ such courageous kids & to witness the strength of families who must deal with these tough situations. pic.twitter.com/WuZtjee1EQ — Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) July 25, 2018 “My passion is to shine a light…
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Vanderbilt University has joined with 18 other elite universities in filing an amicus brief in lawsuits seeking an injunction against President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, reports the Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper. Trump announced his decision to end DACA in early September but has given Congress a chance to act. Started by former President Obama with an executive order, the program has granted temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. to young people who immigrated here illegally as children and who meet certain criteria. They can get driver’s licenses and enroll in college. Numerous groups filed suits challenging Trump’s repeal of the program, including 15 states, the University of California system and a number of DACA students. Filed Nov. 1, Vanderbilt’s friend of the court brief is in support of the suits brought by the University of California Board of Regents, six DACA recipients, the state of California and the city of San Jose. “It is incredibly important that these talented young people be able to continue to aspire to be scholars and leaders, and contribute greatly to our nation’s communities,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos said in a statement. “We stand…
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The editorial board of the Vanderbilt University student newspaper wrote an opinion piece Wednesday criticizing the school for not doing enough to denounce Columbus Day, which was Monday. The editorial described Christopher Columbus as being worse than notorious American serial killers. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry issued a proclamation urging people to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Metro Council passed a resolution urging the same. More than 50 cities and a few states celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday. The editorial board of the Vanderbilt Hustler said that “Vanderbilt’s silence on the matter is problematic.” “Yes, an indigenous professor was invited to talk about the indigenous genocide. But Vandy needs to go further,” the opinion piece said. The editorial board said it hopes that next year “Vanderbilt will stand against the actions of predatory settlers and stand with indigenous people.” In its opinion piece, the editorial board did not attempt an even-handed scholarly examination of Columbus and his work. Instead, it pandered to the progressive hysteria about Columbus, going so far as to say that if the Italian explorer, who sailed for Spain and made the Americas known to Europe, were alive today, “he would be a national villain, making Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer look…
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Nashville’s private liberal arts universities weighed in on President Trump’s DACA decision this week, saying ending the program is a mistake. In sentimental, emotional statements, the presidents of Vanderbilt, Belmont, Lipscomb and Trevecca described ending DACA as an offense to the values of their universities. They’re not the only ones reacting negatively. Several hundred protesters condemned Trump during a march Tuesday along West End Avenue organized by immigration activists. However, conservative Tennessee politicians and others are praising Trump or are offering more nuanced reactions. The Trump administration announced Tuesday morning that it would begin winding down the program in March unless Congress acts. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has allowed young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to obtain temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. if they meet certain criteria. Many are now young adults. There are nearly 800,000 DACA recipients nationwide and more than 8,300 in Tennessee. DACA was started by former President Obama with an executive order, which critics said was an unconstitutional overreach of his authority. Trump made a campaign promise to end DACA but as president had sent mixed signals before his administration announced early Tuesday that it would effectively…
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Vanderbilt University was criticized in a recent report that analyzed the extent to which conservative views are welcomed on university campuses. The Heterodox Academy (HxA) in June released its second Guide to Colleges, which ranks the top 150 U.S. universities based on their acceptance of viewpoint diversity. The HxA is a group of scholars that advocates for “a more intellectually diverse and heterodox academy.” The HxA gave Vanderbilt a score of 43 on a 100 point scale. The higher the score, the more likely you are to find intellectual diversity and dissent, according to the study. The study draws from publicly available sources of information. Vanderbilt earned praise for endorsing the Chicago Principles on free expression this spring when updating the faculty manual, reports Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper. But the school took a big hit because it is considered an “unsafe zone” for conservative students by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) guide to Choosing the Right College 2014-2015. That came as a result of a 2011 policy that required campus religious organization to not only accept members regardless of their beliefs, but also to open up leadership positions to those members, limiting the groups’ ability to consistently uphold their values. Vanderbilt also lost points because of…
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Tennessee teachers surveyed this past spring reported frustration with statewide standardized exams, while administrators surveyed showed more confidence in them. A majority of teachers disagreed with the statement, “Overall, information received from statewide standardized exams is worth the investment of time and effort.” Sixty-five percent disagreed, while only 35 percent agreed. For administrators, it was nearly the reverse. Thirty-eight percent disagreed, while 62 percent agreed with the statement. More than 38,000 educators completed the extensive annual Tennessee Educator Survey created by the Tennessee Department of Education and Vanderbilt University’s Tennessee Education Research Alliance. That number represents 56 percent of the state’s teachers and 60 percent of administrators. Other findings included teachers’ frustration with what they view as insufficient instructional and planning time. A big drain on their time, according to survey results, is a program called Response to Intervention (RTI²) designed to help struggling students. According to a summary of the findings, teachers are burdened with administering screenings, using progress monitoring tools and meeting with other teachers and administrators, as well as fitting intervention periods into their schedules. Teachers, especially those new to the classroom, also expressed concerns about the amount of time needed to address student behavior. The survey results also raised…
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Our members define our legislative priorities and advocacy efforts, and we make sure our professional learning activities align with our member needs. We invite you to attend Leader U on June 30, 2017, at MTSU.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee–College administrators who provide students with safe spaces are robbing them of a good education, retiring Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain said Monday evening in her final lecture at the school. The topic of her speech was “Political Correctness and the Decline of American Universities.” Swain, a nationally-known speaker and author who has taught law and political science at Vanderbilt since 1999, is famous for her bold Christian conservative views that have upset many on her university campus. Swain said universities across the country are encouraging progressive groupthink at the expense of a free exchange of ideas, which has a moderating influence that tends to drive out extremes. It’s “a very dangerous thing to do,” she said. Even though she disagrees with the idea of safe spaces, Swain said the irony is that it’s conservatives who would need them, because they are the ones being shamed into being compliant or silent. Those championing safe spaces don’t need the protections. “They actually own the campus,” she said. “They run the campus.” Swain cited problems that conservative thinkers and writers – namely Ann Coulter, Charles Murray and Heather Mac Donald – have had recently with being invited to speak on college…
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The Williamson County School Board voted this week to eliminate class rank, citing its declining importance in applying for college. The new policy takes full effect for the class of 2020. Class rank will be restricted to the top 10 percent for 2018 and 2019. While schools will not rank students numerically, there will still be honors recognition using the Latin system with the following GPAs: Summa Cum Laude 4.25 and above, Magna Cum Laude 4.00-4.24 and Cum Laude 3.75-3.99. Valedictorian and salutatorian will be chosen using criteria for academic performance and community service. High schools nationwide have been moving away from using class rank for more than a decade, but the trend was initially met with frustration by college officials. Back in 2006, The New York Times reported that “many college deans deplore the trend, saying it forces them to either recreate class rank, make less informed decisions or overemphasize results on standardized tests.” William Shain, then the dean of undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt University, told The Times, “There’s a movement these days to not let anybody know that a kid has done better than other kids.” The push for eliminating class rank is motivated in part by a desire for…
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Carol Swain will give a lecture at Vanderbilt University next week titled “Political Correctness and the Decline of American Universities.” It will be her final lecture as a Vanderbilt professor of political science and law. In January, the nationally-known academic and author announced that she will retire in August. “I will miss the students and the rhythm of campus, but I will not miss what American universities have allowed themselves to become,” she said in her announcement. Swain, who came to Vanderbilt in 1999, has been popular among conservatives for her bold conservative Christian views. However, they have made her the subject of much criticism. In 2015, Vanderbilt students started a change.org petition to have her suspended for “bigotry, intolerance and unprofessionalism.” The petition said that Swain’s “hate-filled prejudices negatively impact her work” and provided links to two pieces of Swain’s commentary, one criticizing fundamentalist Islam and the other criticizing gay marriage. The petition was unsuccessful but Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos offered only tepid support in her defense. In announcing her retirement, Swain said that she looks forward to spending time “writing, speaking, and making myself available for my next assignment.” Her lecture on Monday, April 24 is free and open to…
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Conservative professor and author Carol Swain said at Saturday’s Spirit of America Rally that too many Christians are being misled into supporting a political party that doesn’t represent Christian values. Swain, a professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt University, said many Christians are being “duped” by the Democratic Party. She accused Democrats of obfuscation and hypocrisy in not caring enough about high rates of abortion among blacks and Hispanics, which she said is tantamount to “genocide” and would be called that if endorsed by conservatives. She also said some Christian religious and political leaders are advocating positions that reflect aspects of “socialism, Marxism and communism.” Swain said progressives are influencing the culture with “deception, lies and more deception.” Part of the problem, she said, is that people calling themselves Christians don’t have a deep understanding of biblical teachings and the gospel. “They’re just out there with a label.” Initially a supporter of Ted Cruz in the 2016 primary race, Swain later defended President Trump against attacks from Christian Never Trumpers. She said Saturday that she believes “the Lord’s hand was on this election,” referring to Trump’s victory in November, and that Christian conservatives can play a role…
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