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Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Universities should foster debate and critical thinking. SB 37 will stifle that
Several years ago, on the last day of my argumentation and debate class at the University of Wisconsin, where I taught before coming to the University of Texas, a student approached me. 'The semester is over,' said the student, who sat in the front row with a bumper sticker for then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker on his computer. 'Will you tell me what your personal politics are?' 'To be honest, I'm very far left of the Democratic party,' I told him. 'Damn,' he said, 'I could've sworn you were a Libertarian.' My job as professor is to treat my students with respect. This student did the work: He defended his views with evidence, engaged with material from diverse viewpoints and learned the best scholarship my field had to offer, regardless of whether it lent itself to particular political conclusions. Column: Under SB 37, Texas universities will focus on educating, not indoctrinating | Opinion People from both sides of the political spectrum have accepted the premise that universities silence students. Research partly corroborates this view. A Knight Foundation-Ipsos study on campus free speech found that roughly two-thirds of students self-censor in classroom discussions, especially when the topics involve race, gender, LGBTQ issues or religion. That same study found 60% of students said that campus climate contributes to the stifling of free speech, but the nature of that climate is not defined. The Right has taken this as evidence that conservative students suffer, but the Knight study found that Black students, who are more likely to have liberal or left-leaning politics, are the most likely to report difficulty using their free speech rights. What are we to make of this information? There have always been students who don't feel safe sharing their views. The largest constituency of students who still feel that way are the ones that have historically felt that way. This certainly tracks with my experience as a university educator for the past 25 years. What is missing in analyses about campus free speech and safety is a discussion of power. Many college students are white, and Black students are a small minority. When it comes to national power, it is still unusual to find people of color in positions of power, from the government to the lectern to the board room. When the group you identify with does not have structural power, it is easy to understand why you wouldn't feel safe expressing yourself. This is not the situation that white students find themselves in on campuses, regardless of whether their opinions are in the minority. This is also why classes with Black professors who intervene in that power structure are vital. What to know: House moves to advance SB 37 on faculty senate, core curriculum review. Professors are not here to validate every opinion that may exist on a given issue. My role as professor is to create an affirming environment for students to learn how to defend their views with evidence, to critically interrogate the views they hold, and to learn the best scholarship in my field of study. My job is also to teach students how to think critically, to write well, to solve problems, and to understand those who are different from them. The Texas Legislature is poised to pass Senate Bill 37, which would place ideological litmus tests on courses in the state core curriculum. This proposal is based, at least in part, on the belief that conservative views are being stifled at our universities by professors like me. I vehemently disagree with this premise. I encourage our elected officials to use their critical thinking skills to discern what a university education is for. If it is to prevent students from engaging with diverse viewpoints in their required curriculum, then our democracy is truly at risk. Karma R. Chávez is the chair of the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Universities should foster debate. SB 37 will stifle that | Opinion
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP basks in Trump vs. Harvard battle
Republicans are reveling in President Trump's fight with Harvard University, fulfilling the years-long itch to take on leftists in the Ivy League and 'woke' ideology, all while boosting the populist narrative of fighting elites. Even as the escalating battle gets pushback from Democrats who warn about independence at Harvard and other educational institutions more broadly, Trump is far from crossing any lines for most conservatives. Trump's fight against Harvard and other Ivy League institutions is one that conservatives have been salivating at for years, especially since the on-campus protests against Israel following Hamas's attack in October 2023. But more than anything, Republicans believe this is a perfect situation to paint Democrats into a corner and force them to defend Harvard and similar universities. 'There is a bubble around Boston, New York, and D.C., maybe that thinks highly of Harvard. But these days, those who don't think that Harvard is horribly woke and lost think they're condescending and full of it,' said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who heads the Young America's Foundation, a top conservative organization aimed at activating young conservatives. 'So there's really not a lot of downside to what Trump's doing.' 'They've been able to get away with whatever they wanted before,' Walker said of Harvard. 'And now, even in circles you wouldn't necessarily expect, people are like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.'' Ire on the GOP side has been building for much of the past decade against Ivy League institutions, especially over what they maintain is a left-leaning bias that has stamped out the voices of conservatives on campus. Harvard's battle with Trump is serving as the culmination of those complaints. Republicans cheering on Trump's efforts to cut off federal grants to the school and prevent it from enrolling international students see no political downside. 'The Democrats have become the party of the higher ed administrator — how they talk, their priorities,' said Matt Gorman, a GOP strategist. 'Trump is drawing into this fight intentionally. … He is daring the Democratic Party — which needs to reach working class voters and men, Latinos … to defend the most elite and effete institution in the country against foreign students.' 'Democrats are Wile E. Coyote,' Gorman continued. 'They're running full speed off the cliff and they don't realize until they're five feet off that there's nothing underneath them.' The back-and-forth over foreign students erupted over the past week. The administration initially revoked the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification last Thursday, which was halted a day later by a federal judge in Massachusetts. A hearing is set for Thursday over a possible extension of that temporary order. Trump on Wednesday sounded a typically populist note on the issue, telling reporters that the percentage of international students at Harvard and other schools should be capped at roughly 15 percent — nearly half of the university's current total. 'We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools and they cannot get in because we have foreign students,' he said in the Oval Office. 'I want to make sure that the foreign students are people who can love our country.' 'I am looking out for the country and for Harvard,' he said. 'I want Harvard to do well. I want Harvard to be great again — probably.' The moves have angered Democrats who believe that institutions such as Harvard should be able to operate independently of the administration's wishes. 'Donald Trump is attacking Harvard for refusing to carry out his political agenda. Now, innocent students are caught in the crossfire,' Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently said. She also sought to make the fight about something bigger than Harvard, which could be read as a sign that the institution isn't seen as a sympathetic victim of Trump's ire. 'Harvard is right to fight back. But this isn't just about Harvard — anyone who crosses Trump could be punished. It's a threat to all of us,' Warren said. Even some Republicans are squeamish at the Trump administration's aggressive tactics. Moderate swing-seat Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that while 'Harvard has done a terrible job protecting Jewish-American students,' he had concerns with the approach. 'I am sensitive though to the executive branch declaring war on domestic institutions. We are not an autocracy,' Bacon told The Hill. '[Former President] Biden did some similar attacks on educational institutions and Republicans didn't like those actions. I counsel restraint and focus on putting a spotlight on Harvard's behavior. When students vote with their feet and go somewhere else, that is the most effective.' Some Democrats have signaled they aren't in a mood to defend Harvard, particularly those who thought the Ivy League school and others like it should have more forcefully responded to what they saw as antisemitic protests on college campuses. 'There's a direct line from the antisemitism that was allowed to flourish on Harvard and other elite campuses and the type of antisemitism [recently] in Washington, D.C.,' Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), a Harvard alum, told CNN, referring to the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers in the nation's capital last week. 'Antisemitic words do become antisemitic murders, and the inability of progressives to check and condemn that antisemitism on the left has allowed these tragedies to unfurl,' he said. At the same time, Auchincloss signaled disfavor with Trump's efforts to go after Harvard and other schools. 'But MAGA is not the organization or movement that's going to address that. The hypocrisy on the hard right is just as galling,' he said. 'Neither side is equipped to help build out a liberal, truth seeking culture on these campuses, which is what Harvard needs.' House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — a Harvard alumnus — warned that Trump's actions will hurt the nation, regardless of what one thinks of Harvard. 'Trump is telling the world that its best and brightest are no longer welcome here and that they should fear the vindictive irrationality of American politicians,' Raskin said. Some say there are some risks for Trump in going after Harvard, including that he could trigger a backlash. Christopher Rufo — an activist who has spearheaded much of the conservative backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion policies and critical race theory, an academic framework evaluating U.S. history through the lens of racism that has become a political catch-all buzzword for any race-related teaching — argues that the pushback on Harvard and other Ivy League schools should be centered on complying with federal antidiscrimination laws. Rufo warned about getting too deep into the curriculum in an interview with The New York Times. 'Universities are ultimately going to have to decide what they put into the course catalog. I don't think that the federal government should be micromanaging academic offerings to that extent. I think that's counterproductive. I think it's getting too far into the weeds,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
GOP basks in Trump vs. Harvard battle
Republicans are reveling in President Trump's fight with Harvard University, fulfilling the years-long itch to take on leftists in the Ivy League and 'woke' ideology, all while boosting the populist narrative of fighting elites. Even as the escalating battle gets pushback from Democrats who warn about independence at Harvard and other educational institutions more broadly, Trump is far from crossing any lines for most conservatives. Trump's fight against Harvard and other Ivy League institutions is one that conservatives have been salivating at for years, especially since the on-campus protests against Israel following Hamas's attack in October 2023. But more than anything, Republicans believe this is a perfect situation to paint Democrats into a corner and force them to defend Harvard and similar universities. 'There is a bubble around Boston, New York, and D.C., maybe that thinks highly of Harvard. But these days, those who don't think that Harvard is horribly woke and lost think they're condescending and full of it,' said former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who heads the Young America's Foundation, a top conservative organization aimed at activating young conservatives. 'So there's really not a lot of downside to what Trump's doing.' 'They've been able to get away with whatever they wanted before,' Walker said of Harvard. 'And now, even in circles you wouldn't necessarily expect, people are like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.'' Ire on the GOP side has been building for much of the past decade against Ivy League institutions, especially over what they maintain is a left-leaning bias that has stamped out the voices of conservatives on campus. Harvard's battle with Trump is serving as the culmination of those complaints. Republicans cheering on Trump's efforts to cut off federal grants to the school and prevent it from enrolling international students see no political downside. 'The Democrats have become the party of the higher ed administrator — how they talk, their priorities,' said Matt Gorman, a GOP strategist. 'Trump is drawing into this fight intentionally. … He is daring the Democratic Party — which needs to reach working class voters and men, Latinos … to defend the most elite and effete institution in the country against foreign students.' 'Democrats are Wile E. Coyote,' Gorman continued. 'They're running full speed off the cliff and they don't realize until they're five feet off that there's nothing underneath them.' The back-and-forth over foreign students erupted over the past week. The administration initially revoked the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification last Thursday, which was halted a day later by a federal judge in Massachusetts. A hearing is set for Thursday over a possible extension of that temporary order. Trump on Wednesday sounded a typically populist note on the issue, telling reporters that the percentage of international students at Harvard and other schools should be capped at roughly 15 percent — nearly half of the university's current total. 'We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools and they cannot get in because we have foreign students,' he said in the Oval Office. 'I want to make sure that the foreign students are people who can love our country.' 'I am looking out for the country and for Harvard,' he said. 'I want Harvard to do well. I want Harvard to be great again — probably.' The moves have angered Democrats who believe that institutions such as Harvard should be able to operate independently of the administration's wishes. 'Donald Trump is attacking Harvard for refusing to carry out his political agenda. Now, innocent students are caught in the crossfire,' Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently said. She also sought to make the fight about something bigger than Harvard, which could be read as a sign that the institution isn't seen as a sympathetic victim of Trump's ire. 'Harvard is right to fight back. But this isn't just about Harvard — anyone who crosses Trump could be punished. It's a threat to all of us,' Warren said. Even some Republicans are squeamish at the Trump administration's aggressive tactics. Moderate swing-seat Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that while 'Harvard has done a terrible job protecting Jewish-American students,' he had concerns with the approach. 'I am sensitive though to the executive branch declaring war on domestic institutions. We are not an autocracy,' Bacon told The Hill. '[Former President] Biden did some similar attacks on educational institutions and Republicans didn't like those actions. I counsel restraint and focus on putting a spotlight on Harvard's behavior. When students vote with their feet and go somewhere else, that is the most effective.' Some Democrats have signaled they aren't in a mood to defend Harvard, particularly those who thought the Ivy League school and others like it should have more forcefully responded to what they saw as antisemitic protests on college campuses. 'There's a direct line from the antisemitism that was allowed to flourish on Harvard and other elite campuses and the type of antisemitism [recently] in Washington, D.C.,' Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), a Harvard alum, told CNN, referring to the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers in the nation's capital last week. 'Antisemitic words do become antisemitic murders, and the inability of progressives to check and condemn that antisemitism on the left has allowed these tragedies to unfurl,' he said. At the same time, Auchincloss signaled disfavor with Trump's efforts to go after Harvard and other schools. 'But MAGA is not the organization or movement that's going to address that. The hypocrisy on the hard right is just as galling,' he said. 'Neither side is equipped to help build out a liberal, truth seeking culture on these campuses, which is what Harvard needs.' House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — a Harvard alumnus — warned that Trump's actions will hurt the nation, regardless of what one thinks of Harvard. 'Trump is telling the world that its best and brightest are no longer welcome here and that they should fear the vindictive irrationality of American politicians,' Raskin said. Some say there are some risks for Trump in going after Harvard, including that he could trigger a backlash. Christopher Rufo — an activist who has spearheaded much of the conservative backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion policies and critical race theory, an academic framework evaluating U.S. history through the lens of racism that has become a political catch-all buzzword for any race-related teaching — argues that the pushback on Harvard and other Ivy League schools should be centered on complying with federal antidiscrimination laws. Rufo warned about getting too deep into the curriculum in an interview with The New York Times. 'Universities are ultimately going to have to decide what they put into the course catalog. I don't think that the federal government should be micromanaging academic offerings to that extent. I think that's counterproductive. I think it's getting too far into the weeds,' he said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sheboygan letter-writers on political 'hypocrisy' & Evergreen Park plan
Here are this week's letters to the editor of the Sheboygan Press. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views. (Editor's note: This letter is in response to the April 26 letter to the editor 'It's time to admit we all shelter in the same country,' by Art DeJong.) When Scott Walker and the Republicans took over the Wisconsin Supreme Court and got rid of all the 'laws' made by Democrats, I didn't hear one peep out of you or your fellow Republicans. I didn't hear anyone saying the 'law is the law' when Republicans on the Supreme Court took those very rights you state in your letter away from the citizens of this state. Here is where you are wrong. People of this state used to have all those rights. Until Scott Walker and your fellow Republicans took them away. You don't want a woman to make her own choices. People should not be allowed to negotiate for a better work environment and better wages. All schools must be for-profit schools paid for by the taxpayer. Private for- profit schools don't have to follow state regulations. Is this a good use of the taxpayer money? I think we have given enough taxpayer money to the wealthy. Not to mention rigged elections as a result of redistricting. Fair and honest elections? Give me a break. As for buying the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, I guess you forgot about the millions of dollars Elon Musk and other Republicans poured into the election. Not to mention that your party wants to imprison any judge who does not agree with them and gives the U.S. Supreme Court the finger when it rules against them. Can you see the hypocrisy? Robert R. Ries Sheboygan I appreciate the Sheboygan County Cycling club's commitment to support bike-riding activities, but the scope of the proposed changes to Evergreen Park are concerning. Widespread development throughout the park with the sole focus of attracting a large influx of bikers is a major change in usage. Safety should be a high priority. All proposed trails are 'multi-use trails,' 4 to 5 feet wide. This is barely enough room for a couple walking side-by-side, without a child or pets, and is absolutely not wide enough for bikers and pedestrians to safely share. For shared-use paths, safety guidelines require a minimum 10-foot width. A minimum 'line of sight' distance of 30 feet is recommended so bikers and pedestrians can safely see what's coming and adjust. Considering the winding nature of all of Evergreen's trails, large numbers of trees will need to be cut next to existing trails, with complete removal of swaths of trees and shrubs between the curves and switchbacks — contrary to the SCC claims that few healthy trees will be removed. Ignoring these standards means accepting bicycle-bicycle and bicycle-pedestrian crashes as a common hazard, and open the city up to lawsuits. Most of the proposed features — the Pump Track, two separate Skill Zones, Kids' Bicycle Playground, Training Zone, Advanced Features Zone — do not need trees, hills or trails. Are there any alternative locations where large numbers of trees would not need to be removed and the character of a wooded park would not be forever changed? This proposal has many shortcomings. Steve Griffith Sheboygan Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to news@ and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@ Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel. This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan letters to the editor on Evergreen Park, political hypocrisy
Irish Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
MusicTown returns to the National Concert Hall
MusicTown returns to the National Concert Hall for the second year running and for an extended five-day period of multi-room live collaborations, running from June 14 to 18. MusicTown is a shapeshifting programme of live events created to reflect this ever-changing world of live music in Dublin City. Within this programme, there is music as experimental theatre, a reflection of one of history's great singers/composers by a group of young musicians, an all-ages DIY afternoon show, a 62-year-old songwriter performing his solo work live for the first time, a sensational young performer from Fermanagh summoning the ancient and the modern, and much, much more. Staged throughout the nooks and crannies of the National Concert Hall, this year's MusicTown will feature main auditorium performances from Fermanagh sensation Róis collaborating with Crash Ensemble; Glasshouse tackling the works of Scott Walker; and Crash Ensemble once again, this time joining forces with former Revelino man Bren Berry, who charmed audiences with his debut album earlier this year. Playing a pivotal role in 2025's MusicTown programme, Crash Ensemble will also collaborate with acclaimed vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Anna Mieke in a performance featuring interpretations of existing and developing work. Also on the bill is a very special - and very rare - performance from Operating Theatre, the music/theatre group formed in the 1980s by godfather of Irish electronic music and renowned composer Roger Doyle, alongside acclaimed actor Olwen Fouéré. Operating Theatre were recently honoured by Caroline Polachek, who released a version of their song 'Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth'. Cellist Eimear Reidy and experimental all-rounder Natalia Beylis come together in The Kevin Barry Room for a matinee performance of She Came Through the Window to Stand by the Door and other works for piano and cello, creating evocative and intoxicating music that conjures webs of woodland landscapes, kosmische moonrises and odysseys of drone. Foggy Notions consistently platforms the most exciting emerging talent from Ireland and abroad and MusicTown ensures this continuity. Irish/French artist Goldbug will be joined by Crash Ensemble for a very special showcase of music from his forthcoming album, co-produced with Chris W Ryan, and mastered by Heba Kadry - which follows an art rock tradition, with a sound that nods as much to the lo-fi sampling of downtempo electronic music as it does to the orchestral compositions of old Disney soundtracks. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
