BY HANK REICHMAN In 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 11, also known as the “campus carry” law, at a shooting range. The law permits the concealed carry of guns in dorms, classrooms, and buildings at state universities and community colleges, while leaving individual schools some latitude to keep parts of their properties firearm-free, extending…
BY HANK REICHMAN Readers of this blog may be familiar with the regular National Public Radio (NPR) feature “Science Friday.” Last week one 35-minute segment, “Science in the Crosshairs,” focused on governmental and other threats to the academic freedom of scientists. It began with fetal tissue research: After furor erupted over a video seeming to…
BY HANK REICHMAN Seven in ten University of California workers in clerical, administrative and support services struggle to put adequate food on the table, according to a new study reported in today’s Los Angeles Times. The study, conducted by Occidental College, found that 45% of 2,890 employees surveyed throughout the 10-campus UC system went hungry…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Most Americans know California’s Napa Valley as a tourist destination and the source of many of the country’s finest wines. But people live there too, of course, and many of them go to school. Specifically, many attend Napa Valley College, the local community college. Last week Doug Ernst, the public information…
BY HANK REICHMAN The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that “University of Tennessee officials are investigating a claim of sexual harassment after reports surfaced online that a student received a zero on a geology quiz for answering a question about his lab instructor’s name with that of a semifamous lingerie model. Neither the student nor the…
BY HANK REICHMAN [CORRECTION: Professor Mann has pointed out to me that the damage award was made two years ago. Someone tweeted a link to a story on it this week and I mistakenly thought it was current. Nevertheless, the issue certainly is still alive] The Virginia Supreme Court has [in July 2014] ordered the…
BY HANK REICHMAN In a potentially landmark victory for the free expression rights of student athletes and other student employees, the National Labor Relations Board has declared that Northwestern University must eliminate “unlawful” rules governing football players and allow them greater freedom to express themselves, ESPN reported today. The ruling found that as employees the…
BY HANK REICHMAN Today Harvard University entered the seventh day of its standoff with striking dining hall workers, who have walked out for the first time in over 30 years. The cafeteria staff are demanding affordable health care and base pay of $35,000 for year-round workers. But while low-paid dining hall workers strike, the wealthiest…
BY HANK REICHMAN On Monday, October 10, the ongoing — indeed, seemingly interminable — battle to save the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) from losing its accreditation at the hands of the rogue Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) will reach yet another critical turning point. On that day an ACCJC visiting…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Last week I posted excerpts from an op-ed piece about the search for a new UC Berkeley Chancellor published in the Daily Californian, the campus newspaper, by leaders of the Berkeley Faculty Association. They endorsed the Statement of Principles enunciated earlier in the week by the Council of University of California…