Author: James A. Bacon
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Three Ideas for Protecting Civil Dialogue at UVa
by James A. Bacon On Oct. 11, 2023, journalist Abigail Shrier engaged in a Q&A session at the University of Virginia discussing the transgender movement in the United States. Offended by her views, transgender militants and their allies sabotaged attendance of the event, abrogated an agreement with university authorities restricting where to hold their protest,…
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Rising Costs Pushing UVa Tuition Higher
The Jefferson Council released the following press release this morning (Nov. 9, 2023): CHARLOTTESVILLE—Rising costs, not cutbacks in state aid, are primarily responsible for pushing tuition higher at the University of Virginia. State appropriations for UVa have declined sharply between 2002 and 2022 when adjusted for inflation and enrollment. But tuition has exploded over the…
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A Resolution Concerning the Safety and Rights of Jews at UVa
Jefferson Council President Tom Neale yesterday delivered the following resolution of the Council to University of Virginia president Jim Ryan and the Board of Visitors. — JAB The Jefferson Council, by unanimous agreement of the Officers, Committee Chairs and Board of Advisors, hereby issues the following RESOLUTION supporting the rights of the Jewish students, faculty…
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A Few Thousand Votes Would Have Made a Big Difference
by Shaun Kenney Yeah — I’m a bit bitter over this one. Virginia Republicans did everything we were asked, despite our intuition. We narrowed the talking points, stayed in our lanes, muffled internal criticisms, and allowed the effort to be centralized. Consultants made their money as they do every election and the Democrats outspent us…
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Song Sung Blue
by James A. Bacon Not every General Assembly race has been decided, according to the data displayed by the Virginia Public Access Project, but enough votes are in to conclude that the Democrats won the election. They retained their control of the state Senate and won a narrow majority in the House. Some preliminary observations:…
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Race, Disparities, and Reality
##### sponsored content ##### by James A. Bacon Statistical disparities between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians are at the root of the debate about race in America today. Other than a few powerless voices on the fringe of society, no one questions that racism is evil. With no one admitting to being racist, leftists have…
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The Facts of the Matter
“You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” — Daniel Patrick Moynihan: Dear President Ryan, Provost Baucom, and the Board of Visitors, The former New York senator’s famous quotation perfectly describes the October 8 statement posted by the “Students for Justice in Palestine at UVA” on its Instagram…
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UVa’s Modern-Day Barbarians
by James A. Bacon The latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has stirred up emotions at the University of Virginia more than any event since the George Floyd riots. Not only are students holding demonstrations and counter-demonstrations; faculty, parents, and alumni are chiming in. Eighty University of Virginia professors signed an open letter proclaiming themselves…
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A’s for All!
by James A. Bacon Grade inflation in American universities is a well-documented phenomenon. Nearly half of all grades handed out at Harvard are A’s. The average Grade Point Average (GPA) at the University of Virginia, having drifted steadily upward over the past 30 years, is moving higher at an accelerating rate. One possible explanation —…