The fictional world of Arundhati Roy
Indian novelist Arundhati Roy is full of rage against the United States, snidely dismissive of free-market capitalism, and an unrepentant Marxist — and in the halls of academe, she’s believed to be one of the most important voices in the world.
The Top 10 Nuttiest Campus Events in N.C. for 2003
Among the highlights: When “Free Expression” isn’t; UNC seeks more illegal immigrants and others from out-of-state; crazy rape stats aplenty; another terrorist speaker; a “diversity czar”; a self-stated friend of terrorists seeking to shut up a newspaper; a professor fired for a tolerance demonstration gone awry; and two UNC schools find the idea of student groups keeping membership and leadership reserved for students who agree with the ideas of the group unconscionable.
Rush Limbaugh meets the new “racism”
Rush Limbaugh found out what a lot of good, beleaguered individuals on college campuses already know — there’s a new definition of “racism” taking hold.
Online sports news site sues N.C. State, UNC for access
The latest court case brought about by the North Carolina Chapter of the Institute for Justice involves two cherished traditions in the state, freedom and sports. It also concerns a rapidly evolving form of journalism, online news media.
Just What the Dirty-Word Is Going On in Wilmington?
This past semester several political items were removed, as soon they appeared, from the student union at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Among them: anti-war flyers labeling President George Bush a “bully,” depicting Lady Liberty impaling a dove by its rectum on a sword, and having the U.S. flag being produced in the exhaust fumes of B-1 bombers; magazines containing a photograph of men engaging in anal sex; a large sign advertising “The Vagina Monologues” that called for all [offensive slang for vaginas] to “Unite!”; and flyers in support of war against Saddam Hussein.
Actually, only the last one was deemed offensive enough for removal from campus. The rest were allowed to stand.
Supreme Court poised to offer long-overdue clarity on racial preferences
By next June the nation’s highest court could finally issue a much-needed clarification of the constitutionality of using racial considerations in college admissions decisions. The Supreme Court took up two cases in which white applicants argued that their applications to the University of Michigan and its law school were turned down because of their race.
The tragic life and death of a poster boy
He was held up as the poster boy of racial preferences in the fight against California’s Proposition 209, the ballot initiative outlawing preferences passed overwhelmingly in 1996. An ardent defender of preferences, in 1995 he was profiled as their best defense in the pages of The Nation, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.
Study finds foreign student program rife with corruption
The Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., released in June a very damning evaluation of the Foreign Student Program. Conducted by George Borjas, Pforzheimer Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the evaluation finds the program rife with corruption and failing abysmally at achieving its advertised benefits.
What’s still OK for public schools: a scorecard
The recent ruling (now on hold) by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to declare the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional and therefore not fit for public schools is just one of the bewildering changes taking place in our public schools. At this moment, maybe it’s time to take stock of what is — and what isn’t — allowed nowadays.
The Supreme Court has another chance to review racial preferences
The stage is set for the Supreme Court to tackle that thorniest of issues, the legality of racial preferences in college admissions. All that remains is for the Court to decide to review the case.