POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Resolution 2017-9. On the Proposal to Bar UNC Centers and Institutes from Engaging in Legal Actions The Faculty Executive Committee resolves: We respectfully urge members of the UNC Board of Governors to vote “no” on the proposed change to Section 400.7 of the UNC Policy Manual entitled “Involvement of Centers and…
BY HANK REICHMAN On July 1, Georgia’s new “campus carry” law went into effect. The law, similar to legislation recently enacted in other states,most notably Texas, allows weapons permit holders to carry firearms on campus except at a sporting venue or in a student dormitory. On July 25, a Kennesaw State University student was robbed…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Under the heading “Trump’s Fraud Commission Has Big Problems,” Vox has offered the following summaries of those problems, with links to articles providing more detail: During and after the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump released a relentless stream of allegations of widespread voter fraud across the country, with no evidence to…
BY HANK REICHMAN Responding to the Trump administration’s decision to replace the National Commission on Forensic Science with an in-house law enforcement task force and a yet-unnamed adviser, four prominent associations of scientists, led by the 120,000-member American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), on June 9 called on the Justice Department to reverse…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH I have read about several faculty members who are using the Trump presidency as the topic for courses in various disciplines. When I was younger, I would have been tempted to try to develop a composition course around the topic, but with age, I have become somewhat less recklessly masochistic.…
BY HANK REICHMAN In two free speech decisions with minimal direct relevance to higher education, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled, first, that the federal government cannot refuse to register trademarks that the government deems offensive on racial, religious or similar ground and, second, that a North Carolina law making it a felony for a…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Earlier today I was privileged to participate in a stimulating discussion of free speech on campuses on the radio call-in show “Your Call” on KALW-FM in San Francisco. Participating in the call were moderator Renee Kemp; Samantha Harris, director of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE);…
BY JOHN K. WILSON On Friday June 2, the Evanston Public Library held a hearing that may lead to the firing of librarian Lesley Williams this week. Her alleged crime? Posting a message on her personal Facebook page criticizing the library’s efforts at racial equity. This makes it an important case in the wake of…
BY ROBIN MEADE I can’t title this article “I Won” because I already used that title. But now I have won a $125,000 settlement and reinstatement after being fired for criticizing the administration of Moraine Valley Community College. The fact that I keep winning in court should provide everyone with hope and embolden those in…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH On its website, PEN America has published an item on writers and artists detained and interrogated as a result of the Trump administration’s travel ban. The article includes the following anecdotes, the second of which involves a distinguished historian invited to speak at Texas A&M University: “The bestselling children’s book author Mem Fox,…