Latest news with #BobJonesUniversity
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Concert band to play Memorial Day tribute in Greenville
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) — A tribute to the United States of America and its heroes will take the stage in Greenville on Friday night. The concert, known as 'America, the Free and the Brave,' is put on by the Greenville Concert Band. The band will play a selection of American songs, including those that were popular in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and wars that occurred in the 1900s. Our very own Gordon Dill will perform a narration of Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait. The concert starts at 7 p.m. at the Rodeheaver Auditorium at Bob Jones University. Concert tickets are free and can be reserved via the Greenville Concert Band's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Hypocritical outrage over Trump's crackdown on universities
Listening to the doomsayers over the past several weeks, you might believe that America is on the edge of imposing martial law on some of our most revered institutions of higher education — or that the toppling of those institutions is near, through the withholding of federal funds and the withdrawal of their preferred tax status. These naysayers would have us believe that such outcomes risk our very democracy, and that the government has no business applying a heavy hand in the name of protecting Jewish students from violence, intimidation and harassment. They would, however, do well to consider the hypocrisy of their position. Those raising the alarms might imagine an executive order directing federal troops onto campuses in the name of protecting Jewish students. Or they might imagine a Supreme Court decision endorsing the 'weaponization of the IRS against a political adversary of the president' through the revocation of the tax-exempt status of a private university, as Harvard professor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently lamented. Such possibilities are easy to imagine because this has all happened before. The former occurred when President Dwight Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730 on Sept. 24, 1957, ordering federal troops to the campus at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. to enforce racial desegregation. The latter happened in 1983, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Bob Jones University v. U.S. The court ruled that the private Christian university's First Amendment rights did not override the 'fundamental' governmental interest in 'eradicating racial discrimination in education.' In that case, the government opposed Bob Jones University's admissions practices for Black applicants and its ban on interracial dating. I imagine that today's incessant handwringers, raising alarms and fretting over lost freedoms, would have fully supported the presence of federal troops in Little Rock and the revocation of Bob Jones University's tax-exempt status. To them, the argument would have been simple: Schools can enjoy federal assistance or they can discriminate in ways that violate federal law, but they cannot do both at the same time. So why the inconsistency? Why is it permissible to punish Bob Jones for discriminating against Black students but not Harvard for throwing its Jewish students to the wolves? Antisemitism on college campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 has skyrocketed to dizzying levels, with no meaningful steps taken to address it — that is, until the Trump administration forced the issue. Up to that point, 83 percent of Jewish college students either experienced or witnessed antisemitic incidents. Sixty-six percent believed that their university would not prevent antisemitic incidents. Forty-one percent said they were forced to hide their Jewish identities, according to a survey by the Anti-Defamation League. At Cooper Union in New York, Jewish students hid in the library as crowds shouting 'Free Palestine' banged on the windows and doors. Cornell University still employs Professor Russell Rickford, who shouted into a microphone that Oct. 7 was 'exhilarating' and 'energizing.' At San Francisco University, vandals defaced the Hillel Center with the word 'Khaybar,' a reference to early Muslims slaughtering a tribe of Jews. Columbia University still employs Professor Frank Guridy, who held a 'teach-in' class in its encampment, a space Jewish students were only permitted to enter if they disclaimed their identity as 'Zionist.' As the vast majority of American Jews identify as Zionist, almost all Jews were banned from this swath of campus and Guridy's class. Few dispute that the situation for Jews on campus has been dire, nor is there much dispute that universities have failed to protect their Jewish students. Rather, today's apologists for these universities claim to place the sanctity of freedom of speech above all else. Never mind that these same apologists were totally silent when angry mobs shut down university classes or events with pro-Israel speakers. Never mind that not one of them spoke out when the Biden administration's federal investigation of Brigham Young University implicated another First Amendment right — the freedom of religion. This is not about consistency, but rather ideology cloaked by a semblance of virtue. Certainly, there would be no apologies for a university that employed professors who were exhilarated and energized by Ku Klux Klan lynchings, or one in which Hispanic students were forced to hide from angry mobs. By design, federal civil rights laws and federal funding can be weaponized as a cudgel to force wayward recipients of such funds back into compliance with the law. This is a feature, not a bug. They have been used at various points to protect Black, Hispanic, Muslim and gay students. Jewish students have the right to enjoy the benefits of those powers as much as any other minority student. Susan Greene is a partner at Holtzman Vogel, a law firm based in Washington, D.C. Her law firm does work on antisemitism and has cases involving universities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Hypocritical outrage over Trump's crackdown on universities
Listening to the doomsayers over the past several weeks, you might believe that America is on the edge of imposing martial law on some of our most revered institutions of higher education — or that the toppling of those institutions is near, through the withholding of federal funds and the withdrawal of their preferred tax status. These naysayers would have us believe that such outcomes risk our very democracy, and that the government has no business applying a heavy hand in the name of protecting Jewish students from violence, intimidation and harassment. They would, however, do well to consider the hypocrisy of their position. Those raising the alarms might imagine an executive order directing federal troops onto campuses in the name of protecting Jewish students. Or they might imagine a Supreme Court decision endorsing the 'weaponization of the IRS against a political adversary of the president' through the revocation of the tax-exempt status of a private university, as Harvard professor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers recently lamented. Such possibilities are easy to imagine because this has all happened before. The former occurred when President Dwight Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730 on Sept. 24, 1957, ordering federal troops to the campus at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. to enforce racial desegregation. The latter happened in 1983, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Bob Jones University v. U.S. The court ruled that the private Christian university's First Amendment rights did not override the 'fundamental' governmental interest in 'eradicating racial discrimination in education.' In that case, the government opposed Bob Jones University's admissions practices for Black applicants and its ban on interracial dating. I imagine that today's incessant handwringers, raising alarms and fretting over lost freedoms, would have fully supported the presence of federal troops in Little Rock and the revocation of Bob Jones University's tax-exempt status. To them, the argument would have been simple: Schools can enjoy federal assistance or they can discriminate in ways that violate federal law, but they cannot do both at the same time. So why the inconsistency? Why is it permissible to punish Bob Jones for discriminating against Black students but not Harvard for throwing its Jewish students to the wolves? Antisemitism on college campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 has skyrocketed to dizzying levels, with no meaningful steps taken to address it — that is, until the Trump administration forced the issue. Up to that point, 83 percent of Jewish college students either experienced or witnessed antisemitic incidents. Sixty-six percent believed that their university would not prevent antisemitic incidents. Forty-one percent said they were forced to hide their Jewish identities, according to a survey by the Anti-Defamation League. At Cooper Union in New York, Jewish students hid in the library as crowds shouting 'Free Palestine' banged on the windows and doors. Cornell University still employs Professor Russell Rickford, who shouted into a microphone that Oct. 7 was 'exhilarating' and 'energizing.' At San Francisco University, vandals defaced the Hillel Center with the word 'Khaybar,' a reference to early Muslims slaughtering a tribe of Jews. Columbia University still employs Professor Frank Guridy, who held a 'teach-in' class in its encampment, a space Jewish students were only permitted to enter if they disclaimed their identity as 'Zionist.' As the vast majority of American Jews identify as Zionist, almost all Jews were banned from this swath of campus and Guridy's class. Few dispute that the situation for Jews on campus has been dire, nor is there much dispute that universities have failed to protect their Jewish students. Rather, today's apologists for these universities claim to place the sanctity of freedom of speech above all else. Never mind that these same apologists were totally silent when angry mobs shut down university classes or events with pro-Israel speakers. Never mind that not one of them spoke out when the Biden administration's federal investigation of Brigham Young University implicated another First Amendment right — the freedom of religion. This is not about consistency, but rather ideology cloaked by a semblance of virtue. Certainly, there would be no apologies for a university that employed professors who were exhilarated and energized by Ku Klux Klan lynchings, or one in which Hispanic students were forced to hide from angry mobs. By design, federal civil rights laws and federal funding can be weaponized as a cudgel to force wayward recipients of such funds back into compliance with the law. This is a feature, not a bug. They have been used at various points to protect Black, Hispanic, Muslim and gay students. Jewish students have the right to enjoy the benefits of those powers as much as any other minority student.
Fox News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
FLASHBACK: Liberals are fine with Harvard getting a tax break but were against it for a Christian college
Democrats are now defending elite universities like Harvard and Columbia from threats to their federal funding and tax-exempt status for allegedly violating public policy despite once championing the same legal precedent now being used against them. The left championed the 1983 Bob Jones University v. United States ruling, which upheld the IRS' decision to revoke tax benefits from a religious college that banned interracial dating. At the time, Democrats agreed with the federal government's argument that no institution engaging in discrimination should receive public funds, even on religious grounds. Now, as the Trump administration cites that very precedent in urging the IRS to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status over claims the university is tolerating antisemitism and campus unrest, the left is accusing the administration of violating free speech laws to target ideological opponents. "The Bob Jones case is a very strong precedent in the government's corner on this," Joe Bishop-Henchman, vice president of tax policy and litigation at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "The Bob Jones precedent makes it a hard case for Harvard to win. It'd be a lot easier if that case wasn't there, because I think they'll have to argue that they're being singled out, that this is politics," he said. "If the administration can argue that it's a violation of public policy, then the Bob Jones precedent follows." Today, Bob Jones University, a Christian liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, has a student body of more than 2,700. In 1983, it had policies banning interracial dating and marriage among students and expelled students who violated that policy. The IRS said that because of those racially discriminatory policies, the school did not qualify for tax-exempt status. The school argued that revoking its tax-exempt status violated its religious freedom and that it was being punished for adhering to sincerely held beliefs. However, the government countered that it should not subsidize organizations—through tax breaks—that defy established public policy, particularly laws against racial discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of the federal government in the landmark Reagan-era case. The justices determined the IRS was allowed to deny tax-exempt status to schools that practice racial discrimination since it was against public policy. Even though the school claimed religious freedom, fighting racial discrimination was a "compelling government interest." "That is the letter of what Bob Jones said, but maybe it shouldn't just be one university," Henchman said. The high court held that the institutions failed to provide the "beneficial and stabilizing influences in community life" required to receive special tax status supported by taxpayers, according to the judicial archive Oyez. Because of their bans on interracial relationships, the schools could not meet that standard. The justices concluded that racial discrimination in education conflicted with a "fundamental national public policy." While acknowledging the schools' religious beliefs, the Court found that the government may limit religious liberties when it is necessary to serve an "overriding governmental interest," in this case, prohibiting racial discrimination. As the court noted, "not all burdens on religion are unconstitutional." As such, the Trump administration argues that Harvard's handling of antisemitism on campus should disqualify the university from keeping its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The IRS is expected to make a final decision soon, according to a report from CNN, which first broke the story.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Upstate college administrator competes in 4 triathlons in 4 days to raise $1M
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – By Thursday, an Upstate university administrator will have completed four triathlons over the course of four days. Dr. Matthew Weathers is the Chief Enrollment Officer for Bob Jones University. Weathers has undertook a difficult task — completing in four triathlons over the course of four days. Tuesday was the second day of the IRON40 fundraiser, a multi-day event to raise $1 million dollars for students in need of financial assistance. 'The IRON40 is a project, we call it the IRON40 because this year I actually turn 40, and I was thinking of something I could do for my 40 birthday year that is creative, fun and I could help a good cause,' Weathers told 7NEWS. Throughout the event, Weathers will swim 9.6 miles, cycle 448 miles and run 104.8 miles. 'Realistically, I have been doing full distance triathlons for several years, I have never done four in a row,' Weathers said. Weathers said he hopes his blood sweat and tears will help him reach his goal of $1 million dollars. 'I am a firm believer in Christian education and it's equipping these young people, not just to learn how to make a living but to truly how to live for their created purpose that God made them to be,' Weathers explained. Students commended Weathers' work to help the cause. 'I think it's awesome, if there is anyone who is going to do it, he's the guy, I mean how often can a college student say an administrator at the school is doing something for such a great cause,' said Trenton Goldsmith, a graduate student at Bob Jones University. Weathers is not alone on the journey, in fact, Goldsmith is also joining in. 'A lot of student and faculty members were joining us, it was awesome,' Goldsmith. 'There were conversations the whole time, I looked down at my watch and were already 2 hours in I was like man, it feels like we have been running for 20 minutes not two hours.' The biking and running portions of the IRON40 are held on campus, while the swimming will occur off-site. The event will wrap up on Thursday. Supporters and community members are encouraged to cheer on Weathers. You can learn more about the event and how to get involved online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
