FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: A group of conservative leaders is calling on the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Kristen Clarke, to resign from her leadership position following an explosive report from The Daily Signal. “The American people have lost trust in your ability to lead the Civil Rights Division,” reads a letter to Clarke, signed by Advancing American Freedom Executive Director Paul Teller, American Accountability Foundation President Tom Jones, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, and CatholicVote President Brian Burch. “We request that you resign immediately.” The Daily Signal published a report on Tuesday highlighting evidence that Clarke had not disclosed a 2006 arrest and subsequent expungement during her 2021 nomination to the DOJ—and then explicitly denied ever having been arrested to Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton. Clarke has not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal, though the DOJ acknowledged receipt of these requests. She did speak to CNN on Wednesday, however, confirming that she did not disclose the arrest and expungement and alleging that her ex-husband Reginald Avery domestically abused her. He denied this in a statement to The Daily Signal. The letter to Clarke from conservative leaders, sent Friday to the DOJ official, repeatedly references The Daily Signal’s reporting and attaches a copy of the Tuesday report itself. The letter also points to Clarke’s enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against pro-life activists. “The American people deserve a Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice led with honesty and integrity,” the letter says. “Since taking over the Civil Rights Division, you have weaponized the Department of Justice by wielding the FACE Act against pro-life Americans in an unprecedented manner—even while standing idly by as churches and pro-life pregnancy centers are vandalized, and Jewish students are unable to attend class on college campuses.” AAF Letter To DOJ’s Kristen Clarke.Download Jones, one of the signers of the letter, began digging into Clarke’s background during her nomination process and spoke to Avery around the same time, as The Daily Signal previously reported. Avery told Jones at the time that Clarke attacked him with a knife, slicing his finger to the bone, during a domestic dispute in July 2006. “The accusations against Kristen Clarke of lying to Congress and domestic violence are deeply troubling,” Jones told The Daily Signal on Friday. “Clearly she does not possess the character or integrity to be in any position of power. She must resign now.” On Thursday evening, the New York Post Editorial Board similarly called on Clarke to step down in an editorial titled: “Kristen Clarke lied and must step down from the DOJ — NOW.” “Clarke’s now arguing that because the arrest was expunged, she wasn’t required to disclose it to lawmakers,” the New York Post Editorial Board wrote. “That’s precisely the kind of razor-sharp logic that top Biden appointees are known for.” “Then again,” the board continued. “Clarke’s the same dunderhead who muffed a major question about First Amendment litigation last year, claiming in a congressional hearing to be totally unaware of the lawsuit by the state of Missouri against the president over government efforts against ‘disinformation’ — a huge civil rights issue where Team Biden had lost and was appealing to the Supreme Court.” The New York Post Editorial Board added: “Her defense now is beyond pathetic. She told an unambiguous lie to Congress. Was she thinking she’d never get caught, or that if she did, her political connections would protect her?” CNN published Clarke’s allegations in a report headlined “DOJ civil rights leader says she was a victim of abuse in extraordinary statement.” That report is drawing accusations from conservative media that the outlet sought to curry favor with President Joe Biden’s DOJ through its framing. “CNN propagandist Hannah Rabinowitz was asked by DOJ to spread this info op and she complied, hiding the explosive journalism which provoked it,” tweeted Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway. “Amazing,” noted The Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross. “After @MaryMargOlohan reports that DOJ’s Kristen Clarke lied about being arrested, Clarke runs to CNN with a claim that she lied only because she was the victim of domestic abuse. And CNN spins it with the typical ‘conservatives pounce’ framing.” Clarke did not respond to requests for comment for this story. The Daily Signal previously reported that Clarke, who oversees investigations into violations of the FACE Act, has used FACE to charge dozens of pro-life individuals since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. This includes Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven arrested at gunpoint by the FBI and charged with violating FACE in September 2022 (a jury found Houck was not guilty in January 2023, and the DOJ has not commented on this verdict publicly). Enacted in 1994, the FACE Act prohibits threats of force, obstruction, and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services. It applies not only to abortion clinics, but also to pro-life pregnancy centers and houses of worship. Though Clarke is the helm of the DOJ’s FACE Act enforcements, she is a vocal abortion proponent who has denounced pro-life pregnancy centers, as The Washington Free Beacon’s Ross previously reported. The DOJ has charged only five pro-abortion individuals with violating the FACE Act when they attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, even though hundreds of pregnancy centers and Catholic churches have been attacked since May 2022, when the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked, indicating Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned. DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has charged zero individuals with FACE for attacking Catholic churches, though it has charged other individuals with hate crimes with defacing a synagogue with neo-Nazi symbols and attempting to burn down a church that planned to host drag show events. The post EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Leaders Call on DOJ’s Kristen Clarke to Resign Following Daily Signal Report appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs on why the agency lost out on as much as $805 million that could have been used to serve veterans.  The department’s “bureaucratic right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing, and our veterans have paid the price,” Grassley asserted in an April 17 letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.  “The VA hasn’t kept its promise to make swift improvements that would bring millions of dollars back to the agency and allow it to maximize funding for veterans’ health care,” Grassley told The Daily Signal on Thursday. “I’ll keep pushing the VA to get into gear and ensure no further reimbursements are left unclaimed.” The Department of Veterans Affairs covers the initial cost of  receiving local community health care when a veteran doesn’t have access to a VA facility.  If such a veteran has private health insurance, the VA is supposed to bill the insurer for reimbursement. The recovered money is supposed to support the Veterans Health Administration, the subagency of the VA that oversees more than 1,300 health care facilities. However, the VA Office of Inspector General issued a May 2022 report that concluded the department failed to seek reimbursement from private insurers in 54% of billable instances between 2017 and 2020. The failure caused the VA to miss out on more than $217 million in reimbursements over those three years alone. If the VA fails to properly bill private insurers, the report said, “it will miss opportunities to increase its funding for all veterans.”  The inspector general’s report recommended corrective actions to address billing errors by the Department of Veterans Affairs. At the time, the VA agreed to implement the recommendations by March 2023.  But more than a year later, the inspector general’s recommendations haven’t been addressed, and the VA continues to miss out on millions in reimbursements that could be used to serve veterans, Grassley argued. In his letter last month to McDonough, Grassley asked how the VA would implement the inspector general’s recommendations. He also requested a detailed analysis of how much money the VA has failed to recover from insurers. The inspector general’s report found that the revenue operations section of the VA’s Office of Community Care knew about problems that prevented it from collecting reimbursements. “Revenue Operations has not taken corrective action adequate to resolve these workload concerns or staffing challenges,” it said. “This is unacceptable,” Grassley wrote to McDonough. In 2022, the inspector general also called for the VA to “maximize” opportunities to bill private insurers; to “strengthen information system controls” for accuracy in claims; and to assess whether resources are adequate.  The VA agreed with those suggestions and the March 2023 deadline to take actions that has come and gone, Grassley noted.  VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said the agency’s job is to “deliver world-class health care and benefits to our nation’s veterans and we always strive to do so while being good stewards of tax dollars.” “We appreciate the inspector general’s review and recommendations to improve processes, which help make VA better,” Hayes told The Daily Signal in a written statement. “While this IG report specifically focused on events from April 2017 to October 2020, we continue to provide training of staff and refine all processes to ensure we maximize opportunities for reimbursements from private insurance.” Between 1.3 million and 2.4 million billable claims—or 54% —paid between April 20, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2020, weren’t submitted to private health insurers for reimbursement before filing deadlines expired, the inspector general’s audit found. As a result, the VA lost more than $217 million. The total could balloon to $805 million later in 2022 without corrective action, the audit warned.  “According to the OIG [Office of Inspector General], the recommended fixes still haven’t been implemented by the VA, running the risk that this elevated amount may have been realized,” Grassley wrote to McDonough. April-Grassley-VADownload The post Grassley Slams VA for Mishandling Hundreds of Millions That Could Go to Veterans’ Health  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs on why the agency lost out on as much as $805 million that could have been used to serve veterans.  The department’s “bureaucratic right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing, and our veterans have paid the price,” Grassley asserted in an April 17 letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.  “The VA hasn’t kept its promise to make swift improvements that would bring millions of dollars back to the agency and allow it to maximize funding for veterans’ health care,” Grassley told The Daily Signal on Thursday. “I’ll keep pushing the VA to get into gear and ensure no further reimbursements are left unclaimed.” The Department of Veterans Affairs covers the initial cost of  receiving local community health care when a veteran doesn’t have access to a VA facility.  If such a veteran has private health insurance, the VA is supposed to bill the insurer for reimbursement. The recovered money is supposed to support the Veterans Health Administration, the subagency of the VA that oversees more than 1,300 health care facilities. However, the VA Office of Inspector General issued a May 2022 report that concluded the department failed to seek reimbursement from private insurers in 54% of billable instances between 2017 and 2020. The failure caused the VA to miss out on more than $217 million in reimbursements over those three years alone. If the VA fails to properly bill private insurers, the report said, “it will miss opportunities to increase its funding for all veterans.”  The inspector general’s report recommended corrective actions to address billing errors by the Department of Veterans Affairs. At the time, the VA agreed to implement the recommendations by March 2023.  But more than a year later, the inspector general’s recommendations haven’t been addressed, and the VA continues to miss out on millions in reimbursements that could be used to serve veterans, Grassley argued. In his letter last month to McDonough, Grassley asked how the VA would implement the inspector general’s recommendations. He also requested a detailed analysis of how much money the VA has failed to recover from insurers. The inspector general’s report found that the revenue operations section of the VA’s Office of Community Care knew about problems that prevented it from collecting reimbursements. “Revenue Operations has not taken corrective action adequate to resolve these workload concerns or staffing challenges,” it said. “This is unacceptable,” Grassley wrote to McDonough. In 2022, the inspector general also called for the VA to “maximize” opportunities to bill private insurers; to “strengthen information system controls” for accuracy in claims; and to assess whether resources are adequate.  The VA agreed with those suggestions and the March 2023 deadline to take actions that has come and gone, Grassley noted.  VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said the agency’s job is to “deliver world-class health care and benefits to our nation’s veterans and we always strive to do so while being good stewards of tax dollars.” “We appreciate the inspector general’s review and recommendations to improve processes, which help make VA better,” Hayes told The Daily Signal in a written statement. “While this IG report specifically focused on events from April 2017 to October 2020, we continue to provide training of staff and refine all processes to ensure we maximize opportunities for reimbursements from private insurance.” Between 1.3 million and 2.4 million billable claims—or 54% —paid between April 20, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2020, weren’t submitted to private health insurers for reimbursement before filing deadlines expired, the inspector general’s audit found. As a result, the VA lost more than $217 million. The total could balloon to $805 million later in 2022 without corrective action, the audit warned.  “According to the OIG [Office of Inspector General], the recommended fixes still haven’t been implemented by the VA, running the risk that this elevated amount may have been realized,” Grassley wrote to McDonough. April-Grassley-VADownload The post Grassley Slams VA for Mishandling Hundreds of Millions That Could Go to Veterans’ Health  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Mohamed Abdou is a pro-Hamas “anarchist interdisciplinary activist-scholar of Indigenous, Black, critical race, and Islamic studies, as well as gender, sexuality, abolition, and decolonization” at Columbia University. Now, I don’t mean to pick on Abdou. It’s just that he happens to teach virtually every trendy pseudo-intellectual identitarian twaddle concocted by modern man. Ultimately, we make Abdou’s job possible. Nearly every student loan taken in the U.S. is either given by the government or fully guaranteed by taxpayers. This sounds wonderful in the abstract, since it allows every student a chance at higher education. The reality, however, is that we have incentivized universities to create hordes of debt-ridden, credentialed nitwits. I assure you no bank in the world would ever lend any young person tens of thousands of dollars—much less hundreds of thousands—to pursue studies in either Indigenous, black, critical race, Islamic, gender, sexuality, abolition, or decolonization studies if those loans were not backed by the federal government. The state-guarantee policy has created a massive moral hazard that allows schools not only to ignore the real-world needs of their students but to charge astronomical tuition rates. Many, if not most, students still pursue degrees in fields that have promise. They’ll get loans. But if Ivy League schools believe that those political science and journalism degrees are going to pay off in careers, then they should cosign on the loans instead of taxpayers. If Columbia wants an anarchist interdisciplinary activist-scholar on staff, it should be funded by school endowments (a $13 billion hedge fund that should taxed) or through charitable donations provided by the Soros Foundation to End Western Civilization, or whatnot. It is true that universities are not meant to be wholly utilitarian institutions. We need well-rounded, intellectually engaged citizens. Does anyone believe that’s happening? There’s nothing wrong with studying art or culture or philosophy. There is nothing wrong with earning a liberal arts degree. The student loan racket game, however, solidified silos of extremism and buffoonery, with decades of compounding radicalism and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” racism smothering genuine intellectual diversity. Every discipline is infected. Now Democrats want to go from backing this racket to decreeing that taxpayers should just pay off all these bad choices, creating even greater moral hazard. You can inject all the class-war emotions you like into this debate, but the rules of economics are clear. Bailouts disincentivize schools from acting responsibly and incentivize some students to keep chasing degrees that will do them very little good. Speaking of credential nitwits, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both international relations and economics, recently noted that one of the many things loan “forgiveness” would do is allow people to “go back to school.” The rate of first-time, full-time students at four-year institutions who graduate from the school they started at within six years stands at 64%. We need people out of school, finishing degrees that allow them to work and pay back their loans, not going back to school. Of course, the United States is such a hellhole of capitalist imperialism that 13,838 students out of 36,649 at Columbia University are here on foreign visas. (I planned on arguing that this policy was unfair to high-achieving American students, until I realized that 13,838 Americans have been spared Columbia.) Schools love foreign students because they are wealthy and pay in cash. And that’s fine. Most of those kids are probably serious students in business and STEM programs. Still, the U.S. government has zero constitutional duty to keep active visas for foreigners who agitate against the system, celebrate Hamas, or target American Jews (or anyone else) on campuses. We should be pulling visas for anyone suspended for ignoring university rules, breaking laws, invading buildings, or stopping other kids from attending class. Go to school in your excellent home country instead. Universities have always been hotbeds of radicalism. That’s fine. Those are the years to act like an imbecile. But extremism is no longer on the margins. These days, our once-respected institutions are increasingly producing little totalitarians and clueless fellow travelers, who end up populating important real-world institutions. Society would be better served lighting up a giant cash bonfire than subsidizing this corrosive trend. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.  The post Taxpayers Are Subsidizing College Extremism appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Mohamed Abdou is a pro-Hamas “anarchist interdisciplinary activist-scholar of Indigenous, Black, critical race, and Islamic studies, as well as gender, sexuality, abolition, and decolonization” at Columbia University. Now, I don’t mean to pick on Abdou. It’s just that he happens to teach virtually every trendy pseudo-intellectual identitarian twaddle concocted by modern man. Ultimately, we make Abdou’s job possible. Nearly every student loan taken in the U.S. is either given by the government or fully guaranteed by taxpayers. This sounds wonderful in the abstract, since it allows every student a chance at higher education. The reality, however, is that we have incentivized universities to create hordes of debt-ridden, credentialed nitwits. I assure you no bank in the world would ever lend any young person tens of thousands of dollars—much less hundreds of thousands—to pursue studies in either Indigenous, black, critical race, Islamic, gender, sexuality, abolition, or decolonization studies if those loans were not backed by the federal government. The state-guarantee policy has created a massive moral hazard that allows schools not only to ignore the real-world needs of their students but to charge astronomical tuition rates. Many, if not most, students still pursue degrees in fields that have promise. They’ll get loans. But if Ivy League schools believe that those political science and journalism degrees are going to pay off in careers, then they should cosign on the loans instead of taxpayers. If Columbia wants an anarchist interdisciplinary activist-scholar on staff, it should be funded by school endowments (a $13 billion hedge fund that should taxed) or through charitable donations provided by the Soros Foundation to End Western Civilization, or whatnot. It is true that universities are not meant to be wholly utilitarian institutions. We need well-rounded, intellectually engaged citizens. Does anyone believe that’s happening? There’s nothing wrong with studying art or culture or philosophy. There is nothing wrong with earning a liberal arts degree. The student loan racket game, however, solidified silos of extremism and buffoonery, with decades of compounding radicalism and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” racism smothering genuine intellectual diversity. Every discipline is infected. Now Democrats want to go from backing this racket to decreeing that taxpayers should just pay off all these bad choices, creating even greater moral hazard. You can inject all the class-war emotions you like into this debate, but the rules of economics are clear. Bailouts disincentivize schools from acting responsibly and incentivize some students to keep chasing degrees that will do them very little good. Speaking of credential nitwits, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both international relations and economics, recently noted that one of the many things loan “forgiveness” would do is allow people to “go back to school.” The rate of first-time, full-time students at four-year institutions who graduate from the school they started at within six years stands at 64%. We need people out of school, finishing degrees that allow them to work and pay back their loans, not going back to school. Of course, the United States is such a hellhole of capitalist imperialism that 13,838 students out of 36,649 at Columbia University are here on foreign visas. (I planned on arguing that this policy was unfair to high-achieving American students, until I realized that 13,838 Americans have been spared Columbia.) Schools love foreign students because they are wealthy and pay in cash. And that’s fine. Most of those kids are probably serious students in business and STEM programs. Still, the U.S. government has zero constitutional duty to keep active visas for foreigners who agitate against the system, celebrate Hamas, or target American Jews (or anyone else) on campuses. We should be pulling visas for anyone suspended for ignoring university rules, breaking laws, invading buildings, or stopping other kids from attending class. Go to school in your excellent home country instead. Universities have always been hotbeds of radicalism. That’s fine. Those are the years to act like an imbecile. But extremism is no longer on the margins. These days, our once-respected institutions are increasingly producing little totalitarians and clueless fellow travelers, who end up populating important real-world institutions. Society would be better served lighting up a giant cash bonfire than subsidizing this corrosive trend. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.  The post Taxpayers Are Subsidizing College Extremism appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A psychologist for Indianapolis Public Schools was among those held when police arrested 14 masked adults who officers said were blocking traffic late last month just outside the Governor’s Residence in the state capital. The school psychologist, Karisa Cole, and the other arrested protesters were charged with obstructing traffic April 25 at 10:30 a.m. on Meridian Street in Indianapolis.  Karisa Cole’s mug shot. (Photo: Office of Public Information/IMPD) In public statements that morning, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department warned that although peaceful protesting is constitutionally protected, blocking traffic violates Indiana law.  After brief remarks and a collective chant calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, to divest from doing business with Israel, the protesters crossed into Meridian Street and blocked traffic. IMPD continues to make announcements telling protestors who are in the street they are in violation of Indiana law and subject to arrest.These announcements have been going on for at least fifteen minutes. https://t.co/YIbiZjS4xq pic.twitter.com/YlP9CAxWJ9— IMPD (@IMPDnews) April 25, 2024 When police officers arrived, they asked the protesters to leave the roadway multiple times. When the protesters didn’t move, officers arrested the 14 obstructers, who began to sing as officers pulled them off the street. IMPD now making arrests. @IMPDnews pic.twitter.com/XgKHrOX0kl— Gina Glaros (@ginaglaros) April 25, 2024 Cole, 45, appears to own several social media accounts that advertise her employment as a school psychologist by Indianapolis Public Schools since 2020. They include multiple anti-Israeli and antisemitic posts, including promotion of the ethnic-cleansing motto of the Hamas terrorist organization, “From the River to the Sea.” (This motto calls for Jews west of the Jordan River to be swept violently into the Mediterranean Sea to make room for the Islamic State of Palestine). Cole’s Instagram account, marked by “she/they” personal pronouns, includes instructions for teachers to “adopt social justice and anti-racist teaching skills” when “teaching about Palestine in the classroom.”  Cole warned teachers not to put Israel and Palestine on the “same level,” accusing Israel of being an apartheid state that is “committing an ethnic cleansing.” Cole also encouraged teachers not to describe Hamas as “extremist” or “terrorist.” She accused those who do so of racism “against Muslim or POC [people of color] communities.”  Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other NATO countries since 1997.  Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200, torturing or raping many first, and taking over 200 hostages. Ever since, the Israeli military has targeted the adjacent Gaza Strip—where Hamas is the elected government and uses civilians as shields—with the goal of “eradicating” the terrorist group. The Daily Signal obtained Cole’s booking photograph and other public information about her arrest from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.  Indianapolis Public Schools did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on whether the school district was aware of Cole’s arrest or what if any action it has taken as a result.  The Indianapolis Center for Inquiry School 70, the building where Cole works, lists her as a school psychologist on its staff page. Cole didn’t respond to requests for comment and confirmation that she owns the social media accounts cited above. However, the school psychologist’s LinkedIn account was deleted after The Daily Signal reached out. The post Police Arrests of Anti-Israel Protesters Include Indianapolis School Psychologist appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A psychologist for Indianapolis Public Schools was among those held when police arrested 14 masked adults who officers said were blocking traffic late last month just outside the Governor’s Residence in the state capital. The school psychologist, Karisa Cole, and the other arrested protesters were charged with obstructing traffic April 25 at 10:30 a.m. on Meridian Street in Indianapolis.  Karisa Cole’s mug shot. (Photo: Office of Public Information/IMPD) In public statements that morning, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department warned that although peaceful protesting is constitutionally protected, blocking traffic violates Indiana law.  After brief remarks and a collective chant calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, to divest from doing business with Israel, the protesters crossed into Meridian Street and blocked traffic. IMPD continues to make announcements telling protestors who are in the street they are in violation of Indiana law and subject to arrest.These announcements have been going on for at least fifteen minutes. https://t.co/YIbiZjS4xq pic.twitter.com/YlP9CAxWJ9— IMPD (@IMPDnews) April 25, 2024 When police officers arrived, they asked the protesters to leave the roadway multiple times. When the protesters didn’t move, officers arrested the 14 obstructers, who began to sing as officers pulled them off the street. IMPD now making arrests. @IMPDnews pic.twitter.com/XgKHrOX0kl— Gina Glaros (@ginaglaros) April 25, 2024 Cole, 45, appears to own several social media accounts that advertise her employment as a school psychologist by Indianapolis Public Schools since 2020. They include multiple anti-Israeli and antisemitic posts, including promotion of the ethnic-cleansing motto of the Hamas terrorist organization, “From the River to the Sea.” (This motto calls for Jews west of the Jordan River to be swept violently into the Mediterranean Sea to make room for the Islamic State of Palestine). Cole’s Instagram account, marked by “she/they” personal pronouns, includes instructions for teachers to “adopt social justice and anti-racist teaching skills” when “teaching about Palestine in the classroom.”  Cole warned teachers not to put Israel and Palestine on the “same level,” accusing Israel of being an apartheid state that is “committing an ethnic cleansing.” Cole also encouraged teachers not to describe Hamas as “extremist” or “terrorist.” She accused those who do so of racism “against Muslim or POC [people of color] communities.”  Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other NATO countries since 1997.  Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200, torturing or raping many first, and taking over 200 hostages. Ever since, the Israeli military has targeted the adjacent Gaza Strip—where Hamas is the elected government and uses civilians as shields—with the goal of “eradicating” the terrorist group. The Daily Signal obtained Cole’s booking photograph and other public information about her arrest from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.  Indianapolis Public Schools did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on whether the school district was aware of Cole’s arrest or what if any action it has taken as a result.  The Indianapolis Center for Inquiry School 70, the building where Cole works, lists her as a school psychologist on its staff page. Cole didn’t respond to requests for comment and confirmation that she owns the social media accounts cited above. However, the school psychologist’s LinkedIn account was deleted after The Daily Signal reached out. The post Police Arrests of Anti-Israel Protesters Include Indianapolis School Psychologist appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The University of North Florida closed its diversity, equity, and inclusion office on Wednesday, but DEI personnel were given new job titles, rather than being fired. The former chief diversity officer, Richmond Wynn, was not fired, but given a new title—vice president of community engagement and partnerships.  In the new role, Wynn is responsible for “developing and implementing comprehensive strategies to establish and enhance mutually beneficial relationships between the university and communities, stakeholders, and industry partners,” according to his LinkedIn profile.  He also “works with other UNF departments to facilitate and promote on-campus community engagement activities that embed civility and a culture of care throughout UNF, institutional values that support a safe and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff.” Wynn did not respond to a request for comment.  When asked if the job description means Wynn will continue to promote DEI-related initiatives at UNF, a spokeswoman for the university said the closing of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and its centers is in response to Florida state Senate Bill 266 and regulations approved by the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida.  Signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last May, the law bars public colleges and universities from spending taxpayer dollars on DEI programs. “By this week, all the centers were officially closed,” UNF Media Relations Manager Amanda Ennis told The Daily Signal. “Some staff members have left the University for other job opportunities. All other employees have moved to other open positions in the university that are not related to DEI.” UNF announced in January that it would begin phasing out the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. University President Moez Limayem said that no staff members would lose their jobs as a result, but would be assigned to work in other departments with the same or higher salary. The new role of Sheila Spivey, who was previously assistant vice president of diversity and inclusion, could not be found online, and an emailed request to her for comment bounced back with an “out of office” notice. Brandi Winfrey, director of inclusive excellence, has not changed her job title on LinkedIn and did not respond to a request for comment.  The diversity office staff also included two administrators, and two to three employees for each center.  UNF will continue offering a handful of DEI-related courses in the fall 2024 semester, according to the course catalog, including Introduction to Educational Leadership for Social Justice; Race, Gender, and Politics; Sex, Race, and Social Class; and Difference, Discrimination, and Oppression.  The latter course addresses “issues of power, inequality, privilege, discrimination and the resulting oppression,” according to the course description.  “Course material will use a social justice perspective for the study of and practice with oppressed groups at all system levels, including those distinguished by race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status, religion and social class,” the description adds.  The webpage that once displayed UNF’s DEI resources now shows “Access Restricted” result, with this message: “You do not have permission to access this resource.” The page previously included UNF’s “Inclusive Excellence” strategic plan, as well as information on its Intercultural Center, Interfaith Center, LGBTQ Center, and Women’s Center, according to a Wayback Machine internet search.  “Inclusive Excellence employs a broad and inclusive definition of diversity that includes genetic information, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, sex, ability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, veteran status and other important social dimensions that are part of the campus community,” the strategic plan said.  The LGBT Center offered resources on “preferred” personal pronouns, transgenderism, and more.  “Pronouns are a reflection of someone’s gender identity, and to ignore that is to say that their identity isn’t valid,” the resource on pronouns said. “Even when the person isn’t around, using the correct pronouns to refer to them says to those around you that you acknowledge the person’s identity, regardless of how you feel about the person, and encourages others to do the same.” The page includes a list of common pronouns, as well as “neo” pronouns, such as “Xe/Xem/Xyr,” “Ey/Em/Eir,” “Zie/Zim/Zir,” “Ve/Ver/Vis,” and “Ne/Nem/Nir.”  The Women’s Center was “committed to advocating for gender equality and improving the status of women.” “We recognize that gender inequalities are deeply connected to other areas of disenfranchisement and oppression in our society,” the archived webpage reads. “Therefore, our programs and services strive to value and promote respect for all differences. This means that women and men and people of all races, cultures, and sexual orientations are welcome in the Women’s Center.” The Diversity Office webpage also included a statement in support of anti-racism.  “Examining biases and exclusionary practices, and promoting integrity, inclusivity, and ultimately excellence, enhances our personal development, relationships with others, well-being, and global citizenship,” part of the statement reads.  Some UNF students voiced their complaints about the office’s closure on Wednesday.  “I think it’s a travesty we’re shutting down such great resources,” student Emily Roles told WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida.  The UNF Diversity Office closure closely follows the shutdown of DEI at the University of Florida. The home of the Gators sports teams closed an office for a chief diversity officer and eliminated other DEI positions in March, and is reviewing whether the remaining Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion violates state law.  While University of Florida fired DEI personnel, Florida State University took an approach similar to UNF’s, changing the titles and classifications of employees who were in related positions. The Board of Governors is in the process of reviewing programs in Florida universities to ascertain whether they violate state laws prohibiting DEI instruction, Communications Director Cassandra Edwards told The Daily Signal. She said that programs in state schools found to violate the law will be “eliminated.”  “As this is an ongoing, deliberate process, it will not conclude overnight,” she said. “But rest assured, thanks to Gov. DeSantis’ leadership, state or federal funds will not be used for DEI by Florida’s universities.”  The post DEI’s Demise: University of North Florida Closes Divisive Department appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The University of North Florida closed its diversity, equity, and inclusion office on Wednesday, but DEI personnel were given new job titles, rather than being fired. The former chief diversity officer, Richmond Wynn, was not fired, but given a new title—vice president of community engagement and partnerships.  In the new role, Wynn is responsible for “developing and implementing comprehensive strategies to establish and enhance mutually beneficial relationships between the university and communities, stakeholders, and industry partners,” according to his LinkedIn profile.  He also “works with other UNF departments to facilitate and promote on-campus community engagement activities that embed civility and a culture of care throughout UNF, institutional values that support a safe and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff.” Wynn did not respond to a request for comment.  When asked if the job description means Wynn will continue to promote DEI-related initiatives at UNF, a spokeswoman for the university said the closing of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and its centers is in response to Florida state Senate Bill 266 and regulations approved by the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida.  Signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last May, the law bars public colleges and universities from spending taxpayer dollars on DEI programs. “By this week, all the centers were officially closed,” UNF Media Relations Manager Amanda Ennis told The Daily Signal. “Some staff members have left the University for other job opportunities. All other employees have moved to other open positions in the university that are not related to DEI.” UNF announced in January that it would begin phasing out the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. University President Moez Limayem said that no staff members would lose their jobs as a result, but would be assigned to work in other departments with the same or higher salary. The new role of Sheila Spivey, who was previously assistant vice president of diversity and inclusion, could not be found online, and an emailed request to her for comment bounced back with an “out of office” notice. Brandi Winfrey, director of inclusive excellence, has not changed her job title on LinkedIn and did not respond to a request for comment.  The diversity office staff also included two administrators, and two to three employees for each center.  UNF will continue offering a handful of DEI-related courses in the fall 2024 semester, according to the course catalog, including Introduction to Educational Leadership for Social Justice; Race, Gender, and Politics; Sex, Race, and Social Class; and Difference, Discrimination, and Oppression.  The latter course addresses “issues of power, inequality, privilege, discrimination and the resulting oppression,” according to the course description.  “Course material will use a social justice perspective for the study of and practice with oppressed groups at all system levels, including those distinguished by race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status, religion and social class,” the description adds.  The webpage that once displayed UNF’s DEI resources now shows “Access Restricted” result, with this message: “You do not have permission to access this resource.” The page previously included UNF’s “Inclusive Excellence” strategic plan, as well as information on its Intercultural Center, Interfaith Center, LGBTQ Center, and Women’s Center, according to a Wayback Machine internet search.  “Inclusive Excellence employs a broad and inclusive definition of diversity that includes genetic information, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, sex, ability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, veteran status and other important social dimensions that are part of the campus community,” the strategic plan said.  The LGBT Center offered resources on “preferred” personal pronouns, transgenderism, and more.  “Pronouns are a reflection of someone’s gender identity, and to ignore that is to say that their identity isn’t valid,” the resource on pronouns said. “Even when the person isn’t around, using the correct pronouns to refer to them says to those around you that you acknowledge the person’s identity, regardless of how you feel about the person, and encourages others to do the same.” The page includes a list of common pronouns, as well as “neo” pronouns, such as “Xe/Xem/Xyr,” “Ey/Em/Eir,” “Zie/Zim/Zir,” “Ve/Ver/Vis,” and “Ne/Nem/Nir.”  The Women’s Center was “committed to advocating for gender equality and improving the status of women.” “We recognize that gender inequalities are deeply connected to other areas of disenfranchisement and oppression in our society,” the archived webpage reads. “Therefore, our programs and services strive to value and promote respect for all differences. This means that women and men and people of all races, cultures, and sexual orientations are welcome in the Women’s Center.” The Diversity Office webpage also included a statement in support of anti-racism.  “Examining biases and exclusionary practices, and promoting integrity, inclusivity, and ultimately excellence, enhances our personal development, relationships with others, well-being, and global citizenship,” part of the statement reads.  Some UNF students voiced their complaints about the office’s closure on Wednesday.  “I think it’s a travesty we’re shutting down such great resources,” student Emily Roles told WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida.  The UNF Diversity Office closure closely follows the shutdown of DEI at the University of Florida. The home of the Gators sports teams closed an office for a chief diversity officer and eliminated other DEI positions in March, and is reviewing whether the remaining Center for Multicultural Engagement and Inclusion violates state law.  While University of Florida fired DEI personnel, Florida State University took an approach similar to UNF’s, changing the titles and classifications of employees who were in related positions. The Board of Governors is in the process of reviewing programs in Florida universities to ascertain whether they violate state laws prohibiting DEI instruction, Communications Director Cassandra Edwards told The Daily Signal. She said that programs in state schools found to violate the law will be “eliminated.”  “As this is an ongoing, deliberate process, it will not conclude overnight,” she said. “But rest assured, thanks to Gov. DeSantis’ leadership, state or federal funds will not be used for DEI by Florida’s universities.”  The post DEI’s Demise: University of North Florida Closes Divisive Department appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Columbia University anti-Israel encampment has been cleared out, but the New York school continues to beclown itself. According to a report by the Washington Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium, the student editors of the Columbia Law Review issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on Columbia Law School to cancel final exams. They wrote that it had to be done because the “violence” students had witnessed on campus left them “irrevocably shaken” and “unable to focus.” NEW: The student editors of the Columbia Law Review have issued a statement urging the law school to cancel exams in the wake of the police operation that cleared the university's encampment, saying the "violence" has left them "irrevocably shaken" and "unable to focus."? pic.twitter.com/BOD87x5mwM— Aaron Sibarium (@aaronsibarium) May 2, 2024 The statement “represents the majority opinion of the editorial board and was endorsed by five other law journals,” Sibarium wrote. Columbia Law Review isn’t some generic school paper or marginal publication, it’s the most prestigious law journal on campus and one of the most prestigious law publications in the country. The editors said that canceling exams would be a “proportionate response” to the “distress our peers have been feeling.” The law school already postponed exams on May 1 and has offered students pass/fail grading, though it didn’t make pass/fail mandatory. “The current exam policy raises concerns around equity and academic integrity,” the statement said. “Many are unwell at this time and cannot study or concentrate while their peers are being hauled to jail.” Given the kinds of “punishments” we’ve seen for other disorderly protesters who have been arrested, and given the judicial powers that be in New York City, it’s unlikely those arrested will face serious consequences.   “The events of last night left us, and many of our peers, unable to focus and highly emotional during this tumultuous time,” the statement read. “This only follows the growing distress that many of us have felt for months as the humanitarian crisis abroad continues to unfold, and as the blatant antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism on campus have escalated.” The statement also said that the school “refused to consider our calls for making all classes this semester mandatory pass/fail.” Of course, by making classes pass/fail, they would just erode the school’s commitment to any kind of measurable standards of success and failure.   Your first reaction might be to think that the “cancel tests, we’re trembling in fear” demand is a sign of weakness. It’s just your typical college student snowflakes mewling about their bogus “trauma,” right? Not quite. In the upside-down world of America’s elite institutions, this is actually a power play. Victimhood, especially when it’s accrued on behalf of left-wing causes, holds the greatest social cachet in higher education. It can give one the power to command and silence others. It also can be used to escape consequences for one’s actions and bludgeon political opponents. By demanding that classes be canceled, Columbia Law Review editors are putting the school administration on notice, demanding recognition for their aggrieved status and justifying the supposed morality of the anti-Israel protesters. This is how the collective “safe space” of our intellectual leadership class operates, and the Columbia Law Review is eager to milk that system. This is the arrangement our future attorneys general, district attorneys, Justice Department officials, and top law firm associates think is right and reasonable. According to Reuters, “Columbia Law School snagged the top spot among U.S. law schools for having the highest percentage of 2023 graduates who landed jobs at big law firms.” How do you think these people will operate once they end up in a top law firm or in serious positions of power? They will enforce this code of victimhood status just as they try to do at their schools. That’s why what’s taking place on college campuses right now is so important, why in a certain sense it transcends our societal disagreements about Israel and Gaza or anything else on the international stage. This is about the transformation of our most powerful and once-exalted institutions into a malignant force for “social justice” at the expense of traditional forms of justice. It’s about how they have accrued power and impose their ideology, not just internally, but on the rest of our society from the top down. So, while whining about having to take tests after what happened at Columbia certainly sounds pathetic on its surface, it’s really a sign of how the whole rancid system operates. That’s part of the reason why this story continues to dominate the news and why Americans need to seriously rethink the role higher education plays in our country. The post Columbia Law Review Demands School Cancel Tests for Students Traumatized by NYPD appeared first on The Daily Signal.