BAMN Declares Total Victory in Arizona
Ward Connerly's "Ground Zero" Campaign Against
Affirmative Action Turns to Quicksand
"Super Tuesday" Becomes "Super Lose Day" for the enemies of civil rights
Late Friday afternoon, the campaign manager for the deceptively named "Arizona Civil Rights Initiative" (ACRI) – a state ban on affirmative action – announced that ACRI was dropping their challenge to the finding of the Arizona Secretary of State that ACRI did not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. "BAMN's fraud-blockers prevented Connerly from obtaining petition signatures by lying to qualified voters about the aim and effect of the initiative, so he was forced to resort to outright forgery and fraud" said Shanta Driver, National Chairperson of BAMN, and chief strategist of BAMN's campaign to stop ACRI. "BAMN's campaign in Arizona shows that any reactionary initiative, no matter how well funded, can be stopped by a small group of determined people who stand on principle, tell the truth and won't be moved," she added. "In Michigan, Ward Connerly and Jennifer Gratz's operation was found to be riddled with fraud by a U.S. Federal Judge. In Oklahoma, they withdrew their petitions in the face of accusations of fraud, because they knew they couldn't withstand a challenge. In Missouri, they dared not even risk a challenge by filing their petitions. Now in Arizona, home of John McCain, over 40% of their signatures were found to be invalid. These con artists should not be allowed to peddle their lies and deception in any state of the nation." said George Washington, the attorney representing BAMN in its lawsuit against ACRI.
For more information about how BAMN defeated Connerly in three states in 2008, contact:
Shanta Driver 313-407-4865
George Washington 313-963-1921
Donna Stern 313-468-3398
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Profiling and Harvard police
The Boston Globe
September 2, 2008
IF UNADDRESSED and unresolved, the intermittent charges of racial profiling on the part of Harvard University police officers could undermine confidence in the nation's top- ranked educational institution. University president Drew Gilpin Faust made a smart move last week by turning to an independent police review committee for answers.
There should be plenty of research opportunities for former Suffolk County district attorney Ralph Martin, who is heading the six-member committee. Black students and faculty at Harvard complain that they draw unwarranted police attention. Police queried students at a field day last year sponsored by two black student groups, though the participants had a permit. A prominent black professor has been mistaken for a robbery suspect. Last month, two Harvard officers were placed on administrative leave after a confrontation with a black high school student who was working on campus.
Harvard Police officers receive the same academy training given to recruits who join major municipal police departments. And minority officers comprise a respectable 22 percent of the 65-member force. But that is no guarantee of success when dealing with the concerns of minorities on or off campus. The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association is now designing a curriculum to counter racial profiling with help from the State Police and police leaders from Boston, Woburn, Brookline and other municipalities. University police at Harvard and elsewhere should be integrated into this effort.
The age and experience of campus police officers could be a significant factor, according to Northeastern University criminologist Jack McDevitt, a national specialist on racial profiling. Campus officers who are marking time while awaiting appointments to city police departments, says McDevitt, may be inviting problems by looking for action where little exists. Universities often fare better with older or more experienced officers whose idea of a good day runs more along the line of helping a foreign dignitary than conducting a foot chase. [To read the entire editorial, go to: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/09/02/profiling_and_harvard_police/ ]
September 2, 2008
IF UNADDRESSED and unresolved, the intermittent charges of racial profiling on the part of Harvard University police officers could undermine confidence in the nation's top- ranked educational institution. University president Drew Gilpin Faust made a smart move last week by turning to an independent police review committee for answers.
There should be plenty of research opportunities for former Suffolk County district attorney Ralph Martin, who is heading the six-member committee. Black students and faculty at Harvard complain that they draw unwarranted police attention. Police queried students at a field day last year sponsored by two black student groups, though the participants had a permit. A prominent black professor has been mistaken for a robbery suspect. Last month, two Harvard officers were placed on administrative leave after a confrontation with a black high school student who was working on campus.
Harvard Police officers receive the same academy training given to recruits who join major municipal police departments. And minority officers comprise a respectable 22 percent of the 65-member force. But that is no guarantee of success when dealing with the concerns of minorities on or off campus. The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association is now designing a curriculum to counter racial profiling with help from the State Police and police leaders from Boston, Woburn, Brookline and other municipalities. University police at Harvard and elsewhere should be integrated into this effort.
The age and experience of campus police officers could be a significant factor, according to Northeastern University criminologist Jack McDevitt, a national specialist on racial profiling. Campus officers who are marking time while awaiting appointments to city police departments, says McDevitt, may be inviting problems by looking for action where little exists. Universities often fare better with older or more experienced officers whose idea of a good day runs more along the line of helping a foreign dignitary than conducting a foot chase. [To read the entire editorial, go to: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/09/02/profiling_and_harvard_police/ ]
The 2008 Republican Party Platform
Inside Higher Ed
September 2, 2008
To date, John McCain’s higher education policy has been short on specifics. That’s not to say his rival, Barack Obama, delved heavily into the finer points of student aid or research funding before his party held its convention last week in Denver. Nevertheless, the Democratic nominee’s public statements on college affordability and other topics, combined with somewhat more detailed policy prescriptions already available on his Web site, made for few surprises last week when delegates ultimately adopted the party platform committee’s official report.
On Monday, during a subdued schedule altered at the last minute to accommodate Republican Party leaders’ concerns about the impact of Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf Coast, delegates convened to complete the Republican National Convention’s “specific official business” — including, as a matter of procedure, approving the party platform.
That document, which outlines the Republican Party’s official stances on policies ranging from immigration to the environment, also contains the most detailed look so far at how the presumptive nominee John McCain would approach higher education as president.
The candidate’s existing positions call for more innovation, more transparency and fewer regulatory barriers in higher education, casting colleges and universities as necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage in the world. Many of McCain’s proposals are about simplification, although they don’t go into much detail: simplifying (and consolidating) financial aid programs, simplifying college tax benefits, simplifying student lending, reducing earmarks that could take away from peer-reviewed federal research funding.
The platform, like all party documents, doesn’t necessarily commit McCain to support individual policies, and its intended audience is more likely to be constituencies within the Republican Party than undecided voters or policy makers. It is essentially identical to a draft circulated late last month, which the chairmen of the platform committee, referring to a process that invited citizens to upload videos with suggestions for revising the document, called “the most grassroots-driven platform development effort in the history of American politics.”
It provides a glimpse into potential future Republican approaches to issues largely overlooked so far in the presidential campaign: the role of community colleges; whether institutions should use more of their endowments to boost financial aid; an acknowledgment that low graduation rates threaten American dominance in higher education; a call to revamp the financial aid system; opposition to how Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is applied in college athletics; and a nod to supporters of distance education (details below).
On other issues — like affirmative action and quotas (against) and the Solomon Amendment and ROTC (for) — the platform maintains longstanding positions supported by both the party and McCain. [To read the entire story, go to: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/02/repubs ]
September 2, 2008
To date, John McCain’s higher education policy has been short on specifics. That’s not to say his rival, Barack Obama, delved heavily into the finer points of student aid or research funding before his party held its convention last week in Denver. Nevertheless, the Democratic nominee’s public statements on college affordability and other topics, combined with somewhat more detailed policy prescriptions already available on his Web site, made for few surprises last week when delegates ultimately adopted the party platform committee’s official report.
On Monday, during a subdued schedule altered at the last minute to accommodate Republican Party leaders’ concerns about the impact of Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf Coast, delegates convened to complete the Republican National Convention’s “specific official business” — including, as a matter of procedure, approving the party platform.
That document, which outlines the Republican Party’s official stances on policies ranging from immigration to the environment, also contains the most detailed look so far at how the presumptive nominee John McCain would approach higher education as president.
The candidate’s existing positions call for more innovation, more transparency and fewer regulatory barriers in higher education, casting colleges and universities as necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage in the world. Many of McCain’s proposals are about simplification, although they don’t go into much detail: simplifying (and consolidating) financial aid programs, simplifying college tax benefits, simplifying student lending, reducing earmarks that could take away from peer-reviewed federal research funding.
The platform, like all party documents, doesn’t necessarily commit McCain to support individual policies, and its intended audience is more likely to be constituencies within the Republican Party than undecided voters or policy makers. It is essentially identical to a draft circulated late last month, which the chairmen of the platform committee, referring to a process that invited citizens to upload videos with suggestions for revising the document, called “the most grassroots-driven platform development effort in the history of American politics.”
It provides a glimpse into potential future Republican approaches to issues largely overlooked so far in the presidential campaign: the role of community colleges; whether institutions should use more of their endowments to boost financial aid; an acknowledgment that low graduation rates threaten American dominance in higher education; a call to revamp the financial aid system; opposition to how Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is applied in college athletics; and a nod to supporters of distance education (details below).
On other issues — like affirmative action and quotas (against) and the Solomon Amendment and ROTC (for) — the platform maintains longstanding positions supported by both the party and McCain. [To read the entire story, go to: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/02/repubs ]
Professor Suspects UCLA Is Illegally Using Race in Admissions Decisions
Chronicle of Higher Education
News Blog
September 1, 2008
A political-science professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, who says he suspects that his institution is “cheating on admissions” by illegally taking into account the race of student applicants, has resigned from a university admissions committee in protest.
The professor, Tim Groseclose, who has made his suspicions public in a report he posted on his UCLA Web site, says high-ranking administrators at the university and members of the committee are “engaged in a cover up” by refusing to allow him access to data about applicants so he can investigate his concerns. He says that the university’s new “holistic” approach to evaluating students allows it to let the race of applicants carry more weight than is allowed under a constitutional amendment that California voters adopted in 1996. The percentage of black students admitted as freshmen rose sharply after the new admissions policy was adopted, in 2006.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the number of entering black students edged up this fall, to 230 out of of 4,889 freshmen. In 2006, 103 black students entered as freshmen. University officials said Mr. Groseclose’s conclusions that race-conscious admissions policies played a factor failed to take into account the higher level of recruiting that the university has undertaken since then.
The study is likely to add fuel to the continuing debate over affirmative action in college admissions. [To read the entire story, go to: http://chronicle.com/news/article/5075/professor-suspects-ucla-is-illegally-using-race-in-admissions-decisions?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ]
News Blog
September 1, 2008
A political-science professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, who says he suspects that his institution is “cheating on admissions” by illegally taking into account the race of student applicants, has resigned from a university admissions committee in protest.
The professor, Tim Groseclose, who has made his suspicions public in a report he posted on his UCLA Web site, says high-ranking administrators at the university and members of the committee are “engaged in a cover up” by refusing to allow him access to data about applicants so he can investigate his concerns. He says that the university’s new “holistic” approach to evaluating students allows it to let the race of applicants carry more weight than is allowed under a constitutional amendment that California voters adopted in 1996. The percentage of black students admitted as freshmen rose sharply after the new admissions policy was adopted, in 2006.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the number of entering black students edged up this fall, to 230 out of of 4,889 freshmen. In 2006, 103 black students entered as freshmen. University officials said Mr. Groseclose’s conclusions that race-conscious admissions policies played a factor failed to take into account the higher level of recruiting that the university has undertaken since then.
The study is likely to add fuel to the continuing debate over affirmative action in college admissions. [To read the entire story, go to: http://chronicle.com/news/article/5075/professor-suspects-ucla-is-illegally-using-race-in-admissions-decisions?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ]
Virginia Tech to Increase Investment in Diversity
From Diverse Online
Current News
Virginia Tech to Increase Investment in Diversity
By Associated Press
Sep 2, 2008, 00:16
BLACKSBURG, Va.
Virginia Tech plans to invest nearly $1 million over the next five years to increase ethnic diversity on campus.
A report said the school will spend $899,000 to implement task force recommendations that call for additional faculty, greater minority student recruitment efforts, outreach programs and curriculum changes.
Last fall, Virginia Tech's Black student enrollment was 4.6 percent, third-lowest among the state's 15 four-year public universities, according to the State Council of Higher Education. Hispanic enrollment ranked in the bottom half.
Tech Provost Mark McNamee formed the task force in the summer of 2006, in response to protests over the announced departure of Black political science professor Christopher Clement, who received a negative review in his tenure process.
The task force's action plan calls for ``cluster hires'' in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years to bolster the complement of minority professors and provide mentors to faculty already at the schools.
Six would be hired next year, four of them senior positions in Africana studies and race and social policy.
Overall enrollment of Blacks at Virginia Tech has declined since 2003, when the board of visitors voted to end affirmative action in hiring and student enrollment. The board quickly reversed the decision, but Black freshmen enrollment plummeted and has been slow to recover. [To read the entire story, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_11626.shtml ]
Current News
Virginia Tech to Increase Investment in Diversity
By Associated Press
Sep 2, 2008, 00:16
BLACKSBURG, Va.
Virginia Tech plans to invest nearly $1 million over the next five years to increase ethnic diversity on campus.
A report said the school will spend $899,000 to implement task force recommendations that call for additional faculty, greater minority student recruitment efforts, outreach programs and curriculum changes.
Last fall, Virginia Tech's Black student enrollment was 4.6 percent, third-lowest among the state's 15 four-year public universities, according to the State Council of Higher Education. Hispanic enrollment ranked in the bottom half.
Tech Provost Mark McNamee formed the task force in the summer of 2006, in response to protests over the announced departure of Black political science professor Christopher Clement, who received a negative review in his tenure process.
The task force's action plan calls for ``cluster hires'' in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years to bolster the complement of minority professors and provide mentors to faculty already at the schools.
Six would be hired next year, four of them senior positions in Africana studies and race and social policy.
Overall enrollment of Blacks at Virginia Tech has declined since 2003, when the board of visitors voted to end affirmative action in hiring and student enrollment. The board quickly reversed the decision, but Black freshmen enrollment plummeted and has been slow to recover. [To read the entire story, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_11626.shtml ]
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