What Will Happen to ‘U.S. News’ Rankings?
"The question in the admissions world right now is fairly simple: Will the moves by leading law schools against the rankings of U.S. News & World Report spread to undergraduate institutions? ... Many have been waiting for a similar push by undergraduate colleges. But thus far, they have been disappointed." – Inside Higher Ed, 12/5/22
Only 4 percent of faculty donations went to Republicans in 2022: College Fix analysis
"The College Fix analysis found that when faculty donations were broken down between Democratic candidates and organizations versus Republican candidates and organizations, 96 percent of faculty donations went to Democrats. In total, university faculty donated about $3.75 million to Democrats, while approximately $160,000 went to Republicans." – The College Fix, 12/5/22
Kansas Judge Quits KU Law Over Speaker Controversy
"Kansas Supreme Court justice Caleb Stegall is leaving his adjunct position at the University of Kansas, rankled by the way administrators handled a controversy over a conservative speaker. Stegall, who earned his law degree at KU, taught appellate advocacy at the law school." – Inside Higher Ed, 12/5/22
The NCAA’s Own Goal
"As colleges and universities began waiving testing requirements during the pandemic, the NCAA followed suit. At the time, this decision was justifiable given that testing centers and schools were closed, students were not learning the requisite course material, and access to test preparation opportunities was limited for many students. The relevance of this rationale has faded over the past two years." – James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, 12/5/22
Institutions of Lower Learning
"As if you needed any further evidence that even our most prestigious institutions of higher learning have degenerated into woke indoctrination mills aimed at deconstructing the moral, intellectual, and cultural underpinnings of our civilization, a new course catalog for Princeton University reveals that the Ivy League school will begin offering its students courses on BDSM and fetishism next year." – FrontPageMag, 12/5/22
A Legal Impasse or a Turf War?
"Three California community colleges are fighting to start new baccalaureate programs, which their leaders insist would fill critical local workforce needs and help students who couldn’t otherwise afford to pursue a four-year degree. But their plans have faced repeated roadblocks from the California State University system." – Inside Higher Ed, 12/5/22
Our Devastating Education Schemes
"Little did I know that when I was teaching in the 1990s and 'multicultural education' became all the rage that it was just the beginning of an onslaught of radical endeavors that show no sign of abating. As 2022 winds down, let’s take a glimpse at a small sampling of the schemes that have been inflicted on America’s children over the past few years." – American Greatness, 12/4/22
Woke Insanity Detected in Another Patient: Tulane School of Medicine
"It now appears that Tulane School of Medicine has revised its mission to ensure that our faculty and students receive indoctrination that divides us into either 'oppressors' or 'victims.' This mindset, as unreasonable as it is inflexible, is degrading our ability to deal with the health-care world as it really is." – National Review, 12/3/22
"By taking the step of becoming first 'test optional' and then 'test blind,' UC has joined a growing list of US colleges and universities that are not requiring SAT or ACT scores for consideration in the admissions process. ... Those who had been following UC’s deliberations about retaining or abandoning standardized-admissions tests may be surprised by the UC announcement." – Quillette, 12/3/22
DeSantis helped flip school boards. They’re now making a mark.
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, pressing his education culture war, took the extraordinary step of endorsing school board candidates in nonpartisan races. Now the winners are beginning to make their mark. Since Election Day, newly conservative school boards in two counties have moved to push out their superintendents." – Washington Post, 12/3/22
“Balanced Representation!”
What’s not to like??
Don’t we apply that rule to ordinary life… in all ways….at all times? And aren’t the results of “balanced representation” always superior to outcomes which are demographically unbalanced? Of course they are!
I used to prefer good, well-trained dentists….dentists who were good at dentistry….but then I read this study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, which told me: “The underrepresentation of Blacks, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives among dentists raises concerns about the diversity of the dental workforce, disparities in access to dental care and in oral health status, and social justice.” And now I am convinced that social justice and diversity (which flow only from “balanced representation”) are vastly more important than being good with cavities and teeth. Huzzah!
I used to think that being a Basketball Wizard was and should be the primary qualifier for being in the NBA, but I have seen the light and have come to despise those incredibly unbalanced and unrepresentative teams which are filled to overflowing with really good players who all — dare I say it — look the same and display, always, the same incredible level of talent. Where are the short, uncoordinated Hispanics and Native Americans? Where are the fat White Guys who can’t dribble? Where — for God’s sake — are the women??? Women comprise 50% of the population and yet there’s not a single one on any NBA team? Can’t we trade a Stephen Curry to get, say, a Nancy Pelosi or a Kim Kardashian in the Golden State uniform? And just wait until that “balanced representation” team plays Houston next year!
And what about plumbing? Every time I hire a plumber, they all look like they grew-up in the exact same Plumbing Family (they all certainly buy the same gap-waist pants)! What’s up with that? Of course, they all have done a great job with all those plumbing things, but c’mon! What’s really important here? Great, cost-effective plumbing solutions installed by expert plumbers….or balanced demographic representation among all those who drive plumbing trucks? All I know is next time a pipe bursts, I’m gonna wait until I get a trans-gendered Black immigrant (I just hope he knows something about plumbing) before I accept an unrepresentative solution in my flooded basement.
And sadly, as I look back at all the women I dated, they were — in retrospect — pathetically unrepresentative of all the various demographic possibilities which are out there. I just hope my wife understands as I seek to — belatedly — make that population sample significantly more balanced.
“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.” That totally balanced, totally representative, totally equal future — it can’t get here fast enough. Vonnegut would be so proud!
You sir — or madam — are a gifted wordsmith.