Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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What It Means to Be a Citizen
by James A. Bacon The 4th of July, commemorating our nation’s declaration of independence, is an occasion to think about what we appreciate about America. Amidst our social breakdown, culture wars, and vitriolic politics, that’s not an easy thing to do. Among the most demoralizing aspects of our times is the abysmal level of understanding…
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Culture Wars about College Admissions Tend to Ignore Guaranteed Entry from Virginia Community Colleges
by James C. Sherlock Much angst has accompanied the Supreme Court’s decision banning overt racial preferences in admissions to colleges as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The conversations in the comments to Jim Bacon’s article on admissions were as split philosophically/politically as is anything else these days.…
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Patriotism in Virginia
by Robin Beres In less than a week, Virginians, like Americans everywhere, will celebrate Independence Day. This year, despite high inflation, high gas prices, a sharply divided electorate, and rising crime rates, there seems to be a growing consensus that we celebrate this occasion with all the gusto we can muster. Despite the holiday falling…
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Men Need Not Apply
by James A. Bacon Mark R. Perry, a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), has filed 841 complaints over the years against universities whose policies and practices discriminate against men. So far, the Office of Civil Rights has opened 28 investigations just based on more than 100 complaints he’s filed for Do No…
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The Problem Isn’t Guns, It’s Richmond
by Shaun Kenney Do you ever sit around and wish that a public figure would actually stand up and call out a problem for what it is? Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears is out there doing just that when it comes to Richmond’s rising tide of violence. Virginia Democrats have responded to last week’s tragedy at…
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Probing UVa’s Gender Gap: Is It an Admissions Problem?
by James A. Bacon As highlighted in our last post, the University of Virginia admits significantly more women than men. The split in the undergraduate student body is roughly 54/46. My aim in pointing out the disparity was not, as some readers presumed, to argue for special preferences for men; admission to UVa should be…
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Darkness Comes to Hokietown
by James A. Bacon Wokeness is so all-pervasive in Virginia higher-ed that I cannot possibly keep readers abreast of it all. Today I settle for quoting the thoughts of others. Today The Wall Street Journal op-ed section highlights litigation surrounding Virginia Tech’s Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT). The advertising catchphrase “see something, say something” calls…
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The Incoherence of DEI Ideology: the Gender Gap
by James A. Bacon Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Virginia is incoherent in theory, arbitrary in practice, and riddled with contradictions. Nowhere is DEI policy more muddled than UVa’s treatment of men and women. UVa’s long-term goal is to recruit a student body that “looks like Virginia” in its racial/ethnic composition. Yet…
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School Boards, Model Policies and Parental Rights in the Raising of Children
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Beach School Board will vote tomorrow. The announced subject will be transgender rights in schools. It is couched by The Virginian-Pilot as the school board defending transgender students against “unnecessarily cruel policies.“ As opposed, one supposes, to necessarily cruel policies. The local paper refers, of course, to the Youngkin…
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Back in Vogue at UVa: Viewpoint Diversity
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia leadership normally keeps its Board of Visitors meetings running on such a tightly scripted schedule that board members rarely get an opportunity to engage in free-wheeling discussion. But Rector Whitt Clement and President Jim Ryan made an exception Friday during the board’s June meeting: they set aside…
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UVa’s Undergraduate Female/Male Demographics vs. Diversity, Equity and Federal Law
by James C. Sherlock The University of Virginia measures its diversity efforts by statistics. We’ll hold them to their own standards. That seems only equitable. President Ryan has said that the demographic composition of students is easy to measure. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, proving him right, proudly displays a Diversity Dashboard. All eyes,…
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UVa President Ryan Has “No Idea.” Golly Gee.
by James C. Sherlock As a follow-up to yesterday’s story on the slide show for the UVa Board of Visitors on DEI at the University, I think it only fair to offer President Ryan’s preamble to that presentation. To summarize: He cannot imagine what all the fuss is about; but He assures that DEI efforts…
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Virginia Democrats Have New Tourism Twist
by Olivia Gans Turner Recently North Carolina passed a bill to prevent abortions after 12 weeks. This new law may save many lives in North Carolina, but most abortions actually happen earlier, in the first weeks of pregnancy. Now Virginia Democrats are announcing their intention to make Virginia a destination state for abortions. In the…
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Appeals Court Upholds TJHSST Admissions Policy
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For all the ink that has been used on this blog concerning the “illegal” and “unconstitutional” new admissions policy at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, here is a story that has strangely escaped comment here: the federal appeals court has upheld the policy. In a 2-1 decision, the…
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Martin Brown Is Absolutely Correct: To Achieve Real Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, “DEI” Must Die
by J. Kennerly Davis Martin Brown, a senior aide to Governor Glenn Youngkin, created quite a stir when he told an audience at the Virginia Military Institute that “DEI is dead.” Democrats in politics and the media jumped on the remark, and the Governor’s support of Brown, to assert that the Youngkin administration is hostile…