Tag: University of Virginia
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“Our Life Is Always Threatened”
by James A. Bacon Last week an unidentified White man draped a noose from the statue of Homer at the University of Virginia. Without any evidence of the perpetrator’s motive, University Police and President Jim Ryan promptly proclaimed the incident a hate crime. Yesterday, a group of 60 or so students gathered near the statue…
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Presumed Racist Until Proven Innocent
by James A. Bacon Around 11:15 p.m. last Wednesday, a White male dressed in dark clothing climbed the statue of the blind poet Homer on the grounds of the University of Virginia and hung a noose around its neck. The next day University President Jim Ryan declared the incident to be a “hate crime” and…
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Sorry, Lefties, But Racists Don’t Invest In Black Enterprise
by James A. Bacon The broadsides against Bert Ellis are going national. Inside Higher Education, the higher-ed trade publication, has published an article highlighting the growing controversy over Ellis’ appointment to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. The article quotes Eva Surovell, editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily, whose articles sparked the furor, as saying…
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A Lie Is Born
by James A. Bacon It is horrifying to watch in real time how the media generates falsehoods and then spreads them without correction. About two weeks ago The Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Virginia, published an article about a 47-year-old controversy in which Bert Ellis, who then was a tri-chairman of…
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Woke Limbo: How Low Can You Go?
by James A. Bacon The bar for triggering Virginia Democrats gets lower by the day. The latest limbo contortion is a call by the Democratic Party of Virginia and the University Democrats at the University of Virginia for the resignation of Bert Ellis, a recently appointed member of the UVa Board of Visitors, who has…
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As Anti-Jefferson Rhetoric Swells, Ryan Stands Silent
by James A. Bacon Here is what passes for logic at The Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper of the University of Virginia, a university once reputed for the excellence of its education: We reject how the University’s physical environment — one that glorifies racists, slaveholders and eugenicists with statues and buildings named in their honor…
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Want a Woke Version of UVa History? Go on a Student-Guided Tour
by James A. Bacon In June 2022 a University of Virginia alumnus took his college-bound daughter to visit Mr. Jefferson’s university. UVa was one of the young woman’s two top choices, and she looked forward to a tour of the Lawn and the Grounds. But disillusion set in quickly. At the orientation, a senior assistant…
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Outrage Is No Substitute for Thought
UVa students push back against learning about other viewpoints. by Shaun Kenney WARNING! This is a long one . . . so pour your favorite scotch or cup of coffee and be prepared to consider alternate viewpoints that may offend. As the libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick remarks, “My thoughts do not aim for your assent,…
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A Shameful Shallowness of Intellect
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia Student Council has called for the immediate resignation of alumnus Bert Ellis from the Virginia Board of Visitors, and chastises Governor Glenn Youngkin’s decision to appoint him as “rewarding behavior that endangers students.” Ellis stands in a long line of violent racist oppressors, says the proclamation. “From…
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Wonders Never Cease: WaPo Gives Fair Treatment to Alumni Rebellion
by James A. Bacon Every once in a while The Washington Post reminds us of the kind of newspaper it used to be — capable of producing balanced journalism. Education reporter Susan Svrluga has published an article describing the rise of what I (not she) call the alumni rebellion. She cites the concerns of Virginia-based…
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$8 Million a Year for Higher-Ed’s Non-Lobbyist Lobbyists
by James A. Bacon When Donald J. Finley retired from the Virginia Business Higher Education Council (VBHEC) earlier this year, Virginia’s higher-ed industry lost one of its most effective advocates in Richmond. As Charles Kelley with McGuire Woods Consulting tweeted at the time: “Don is the best example of a true public servant, and he’s…
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College Admissions and the Legacy Dilemma
by James A. Bacon The issue of legacy admissions to prestigious colleges and universities poses a ticklish problem for conservatives who support meritocratic criteria and oppose racial preferences. There is nothing meritocratic about giving preferential treatment to family members of alumni who, by virtue of having graduated from a prestigious institution, already enjoy a leg…
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The Far-Reaching Implications of the Federal Case of a UVa Medical Student
by James C. Sherlock This space has hosted commentary before on the case of KIERAN RAVI BHATTACHARYA, Plaintiff, v. JAMES B. MURRAY, et al., Defendants. Mr. Murray is sued in his role as University of Virginia Rector. This case relates to Bhattacharya’s suspension and dismissal from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the…
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Did Mandated Vaxes at UVa Reduce COVID Transmission?
by James A. Bacon Well, well, well. The indefatigable Walter Smith has obtained new data from the University of Virginia through the Freedom of Information Act that put the efficacy of the university’s mandated COVID vaccinations in a new light. Recall that the university “disenrolled” 238 students for declining to get double vaccinated or qualifying…
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A Letter to an Old Friend
by James C. Sherlock This article is rendered as a letter responding to an old friend and mentor, the University of Virginia, my alma mater. I can imagine the University’s response to my last article on its culture: The changes we have experienced in the culture of the University, its pervasive progressivism, which some may…