Tag: James A. Bacon
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The Fruit of School Disciplinary “Reform”?
by James A. Bacon If your son came home saying that a bully had hit and strangled him on the school bus that morning, and if you saw images circulating on social media confirming what he told you, how would you have reacted? Like Taylor Brock, mom of a 7th grader at Walt Whitman Middle…
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More Discouraging News for Virginia Student Test Scores
by James A. Bacon As recently as 2015, the percentage of Virginia high school graduates qualifying for college credit on at least one Advanced Placement test ranked third in the nation. In the 2021-2022 school year, according to data released by the College Board, Virginia’s percentage had fallen to 11th in the country, slipping two…
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News or Commentary? You Decide
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post leads its story about Governor Glenn Younkin’s comments on the indictment of former president Donald Trump this way: RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is famous for being just Trumpy enough to woo MAGA Republicans without alienating more moderate voters, but the former president’s indictment this week by a…
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How Orwellian Is “Student Conduct Software”?
by James A. Bacon More than 1,300 educational institutions across the country use software developed by Charlottesville-based Maxient, which bills itself as the “industry leader” and “most trusted provider for incident reporting and behavior records management.” Clients include most of Virginia’s public institutions of higher education. The recent revelation in The CollegeFix and Wall Street…
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Free Speech and Open Inquiry Are “Non-Negotiable”
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin made a national name for himself by standing up for parents’ rights in public education. His administration has engaged in bruising battles over transgender policy, critical race theory, and educational standards in K-12 schools. His approach to higher-ed issues has been far less contentious. Other than fighting for…
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Alumni Rising
If you’re heartsick at how your alma mater is turning into an incubator of intolerance and hate, you are not powerless. You can organize and push back just as the alumni of The University of Virginia, Washington & Lee University, the Virginia Military Institute, and James Madison University are doing. This eight-minute video produced…
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New Rule: He (or She) Who Shouts the Loudest and Uses the Most Curse Words Wins
This exchange took place at Virginia Commonwealth University during the Students for Life at VCU event. Everyone in the VCU community should be hanging their head in shame at the how the VCU student conducts herself. VCU alumni, are you going to let this slide? Regardless of where you stand on abortion, is this how…
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Pilot Editorial Shows Glimmers of Insight
by James A. Bacon The editorial board of The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press is committed to the proposition that the United States is afflicted by “systemic inequalities” between the races. The publication’s analysis is more nuanced, however, than much of what we read and hear. Opining on the role of credit scores in building wealth…
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If at First You Don’t Succeed….
We’ve been getting feedback from readers wishing to attend the April 25 George Will speech in Charlottesville who have been unable to register. They clicked on the link only to find that the event, accessible through EventBrite, has “sold out.” Nothing sells out that fast, not even free tickets to hear George Will. Our informed…
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Woke Liberalism Is a Dead End for African Americans
by James A. Bacon Earlier this month the Isle of Wight School Board passed a resolution declaring, “There is no systemic racism or bigotry perpetuated by the United States or any governmental entity.” Timothy Sullivan, a former president of William & Mary, James W. Dyke, a former state Secretary of Education, and Alvin J. Schexnider,…
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Who Are the Real Fascists?
by James A. Bacon A familiar tactic of the left has come to Virginia: accuse your enemy of being fascist… while acting like a fascist yourself. A movement has surfaced to disinvite conservative journalist Matt Walsh from Washington & Lee University on the grounds, according to a petition signed by more than 600 students and…
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Recruitment, Training and the Otieno Tragedy
by James A. Bacon Earlier this month, five Memphis police officers were charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols, a young Black man, after severely beating him during a traffic stop. Predictably, the mainstream media framed the story as an example of systemic racism in policing, even though all five police officers also were Black.…
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Who Runs UVa? Part II
Yeah, yeah, another UVa post. Think of it this way: the governance issues at UVa are similar to those of every public university in Virginia. by James A. Bacon In past posts The Jefferson Council has highlighted a recently published screed, “We’re Pissed Off; You Should Be Too,” that criticizes the governance structure of the…
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Marion Smith: a Thinker-Activist with a Global Perspective
*** Sponsored Content *** In The Jefferson Council’s meeting on April 4th, you will hear how the Council is fighting for free speech and intellectual diversity at the University of Virginia, and how our struggle is just one front in a nationwide alumni rebellion to reclaim America’s universities from the left. From Marion Smith, president…
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Glenn Loury Highlights Jefferson Council Event
*** Sponsored Content *** Glenn Loury is one of the foremost African-American intellectuals in the country. No, actually, that’s selling him short. He’s one of the foremost intellectuals – period — in America. As an economics professor at Brown University, an author, a columnist, a podcaster, and a self-described “liberal who has been mugged by…