Recently‚ the legislature in my home state of Alabama told public four-year colleges to report how much they spend on “diversity‚ equity and inclusion.” The amount: $16.2 million. Are taxpayers getting anything for this money? DEI advocates say it’s a good investment. Paulette Granberry Russell‚ the president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education‚ says that anti-DEI legislation ultimately would prevent historically marginalized students from fully engaging in higher education. But is that true? To find out‚ I looked at spending on DEI programs at prominent colleges and enrollment of black students at those schools. Auburn University and the University of Alabama reported DEI budgets of $3 million each‚ according to AL.com. The University of Alabama enrolled 4‚344 blacks in 2022 (less than 12% of its student body) and Auburn University 1‚560 blacks (less than 5% of its students)‚ according to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. How about outside Alabama? The University of Michigan reportedly spends more than $18 million on DEI staff and benefits‚ yet in 2022 blacks made up less than 5% of undergraduates there. George Mason University in Northern Virginia has “a ratio of 7.4 DEI staff per 100 faculty‚” yet  blacks made up just over 11% of students there in 2022. How much did Troy University‚ where I teach‚ spend on DEI? Zero dollars. Yet Troy enrolled 4‚421 blacks in 2022—almost 32% of its student population. Instead of feeding bloated DEI bureaucrats on Troy’s campus‚ the school actively recruits international students from across the world to our small town in southeast Alabama—hence our nickname “Alabama’s international university.” Troy University has achieved diversity in part by rejecting DEI‚ which negatively affects organizational culture‚ fostering fear and resentment rather than friendship‚ openness and dialogue. Ironically‚ DEI racially discriminates to remedy past racism. It stifles viewpoint diversity by bureaucratizing speech restrictions with bias-reporting systems and response teams. It mandates ideological diversity and sensitivity training‚ seeking to compel acceptance of controversial and suspect premises. Some DEI initiatives are absurd. For instance‚ the Federal Aviation Administration’s DEI plan recommends hiring employees with psychiatric and “severe” intellectual disabilities. Will those qualities make flying safer? DEI is dehumanizing‚ classifying people by immutable characteristics‚ not by the choices they make that reflect their character‚ individuality or excellence. The salaries of DEI officers at public universities are considerably higher than most faculty salaries‚ despite the dearth of evidence that DEI works. The National Science Foundation recently awarded a grant to study why its $365 million investment in diversity failed to increase female representation in engineering. The Heritage Foundation discovered that students at the Power Five collegiate athletic conference universities with numerous DEI staff feel less‚ rather than more‚ welcome on campus. It also found that black and Hispanic students suffered larger learning losses in public school districts with chief diversity officers. Even among private firms‚ diversity programs fail. A recent New York Times headline asked‚ “What if Diversity Training is Doing More Harm Than Good?” Intimidation and resentment—products of DEI—are not conducive to learning or community. The Supreme Court recently struck down the affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. Bills limiting or defunding DEI programs at public universities have passed or been introduced in numerous jurisdictions‚ including Alabama. It’s time for public universities to be more like Troy University‚ which diversifies its student body by concentrating on education‚ its stated mission‚ and not on divisive concepts that too often accompany DEI training and bureaucracy. The university’s motto reads‚ “Educate the mind to think‚ the heart to feel‚ and the body to act.” These words apply to all races‚ uniting diverse peoples across cultures and traditions. My colleagues and I take this motto seriously. And the racial and demographic statistics of our student body demonstrate the merit and effectiveness of our approach. You can’t legislate‚ coerce or command a welcoming environment. But you can nurture an institutional culture in which students and faculty feel they belong. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Troy University Proves You Don’t Need DEI to Achieve Campus Diversity appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Charlie Angus‚ a longstanding New Democratic Party MP representing the Timmins-James Bay region in Canada‚ has introduced a provocative private member’s bill this week‚ known as the Fossil Fuel Advertising Act or C-372. Essentially‚ this act aims to impose penalties‚ including imprisonment‚ on those found publicly advertising praise of fossil fuels‚ even if their statements are based on accepted scientific facts. For example‚ such facts could include the statement that burning natural gas is less harmful to the environment than coal. However‚ Bill C-372 encompasses much more than just prohibiting false advertising from oil and gas companies. Heralded by Angus in the House of Commons as the oil industry’s impending “big tobacco moment‚” this reference reflects the sweeping federal ban on tobacco advertisement currently in effect in Canada. Yet‚ seeing as the NDP currently only holds 25 seats in parliament‚ it is unlikely that this private member’s bill will gain the necessary traction to pass. We obtained a copy of the bill for you here. Despite its slim chances of success‚ the implications of this act apply broadly. For instance‚ any Canadian found commending the oil industry or oil in general could be faced with penalties. The law stipulates a heavy fine of up to $500‚000 for individual violators‚ while oil corporations could face up to two years imprisonment or have to shoulder a $1‚000‚000 fine. Under the law‚ a wide net is cast as to what constitutes “promotion” or “advertising‚” potentially including items such as social media posts. The bill also criminalizes various common arguments in favor of oil and natural gas‚ even if they’re scientifically supported. Moreover‚ the law potentially introduces legal consequences for making arguments about fossil fuels being advantageous to the Canadian economy‚ Indigenous reconciliation‚ or Canadians’ health. The post Canada: NDP-Proposed Speech Law Calls to Jail Those That Praise Fossil Fuels appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Private search engine Mojeek‚ one of Reclaim The Net’s recommended search engines‚ has announced the launch of its new algorithm that integrates a semantic element into its search engine. This update‚ which has undergone extensive building and user testing phases‚ is now live and set to revolutionize how queries are matched to relevant pages. The traditional keyword-based approach of Mojeek has been enhanced with this semantic element. This means that pages that might not have ranked highly solely based on keywords can now achieve better visibility. The primary goal of this update is to refine search results‚ making them more relevant and user-friendly. The semantic approach addresses the limitations of keyword searches‚ such as issues with misspellings‚ synonyms‚ and polysemous words (words with multiple meanings). For example – “Light” and “Lamp.” “Light” can refer to the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible‚ but it also means not heavy. A search engine might struggle with connecting “light” to “lamp” if the context is ambiguous. Despite this new addition‚ Mojeek retains its core keyword-based search mechanism. The balance aimed here is to enhance search results without overstepping into the realm of guessing what the user intends – a common frustration with some search engines. The refinement brought about by the semantic element is particularly notable in its current application to English-language results. However‚ Mojeek plans to expand this functionality to other languages over the year. This move is part of a larger strategy to overhaul the way results are ordered‚ promising continual improvements and updates throughout the year. Mojeek has emphasized the importance of user feedback in this process‚ encouraging users to provide feedback through the Contact page or use the buttons on the results pages. The post Private Search Engine Mojeek Deploys New Algorithm That Provides Better Results for Users appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Sweden Bails on Nord Stream Blast Investigation

Strange Bedfellow: Gaetz Endorses McCarthy

The NY Times Covers Detransitioners

Colorado Had a Bad Day at SCOTUS on Trump DQ

If you think people today enjoy a cheeky bottle (or two) of wine on a Friday night‚ then wait until you hear about the Romans. It’s well established that they loved a bit of vino‚ even to the point where watching it be made was seen as a form of entertainment. But what did Roman wine actually taste‚ smell‚ and look like? A new study analyzing the clay pots Romans used for winemaking may well have revealed the answer.With an intact sample of Roman wine remaining unopened (and who can blame them‚ have you seen it?)‚ researchers Dimitri Van Limbergen and Paulina Komar turned to the clay pots wine was commonly stored in‚ known as dolia‚ to find out what the popular drink might’ve been like.“No study has yet scrutinised the role of these earthenware vessels in Roman winemaking and their impact on the look‚ smell and taste of ancient wines‚” state the authors in their study.The duo compared the vessels to those used in traditional Georgian winemaking. These lemon-shaped clay pots are called qvevri and are used to ferment the wine; this is similar to how Roman wine is thought to have been produced‚ suggesting that modern Georgian wine would be comparable to the Roman drink.A series of wineries dating from 12th-century to modern-day Georgia.Image credit: D. Van LimbergenBy making this comparison‚ the researchers concluded that Roman wine was likely dark yellow or amber-colored‚ matching up with what has been translated from ancient Roman texts. This color is thought to be down to the shape of the vessel; the narrow base stopped the grape solids from touching the wine too much as it aged and affecting its color.As for the most important result – at least if you’re a sommelier – what did the wine taste and smell like? According to the researchers‚ it was probably slightly spicy and thanks to the porous clay allowing for oxidation‚ may have had “pleasant grassy‚ nutty and dried fruit-like flavours”.The scent is the result of the dolia having been buried‚ allowing winemakers to control the temperature and pH. As a result‚ this could allow surface yeasts to grow and release a compound called sotolon into the wine. This produces aromas of “toasted bread‚ apples‚ roasted walnuts and curry”. A perhaps unconventional‚ but fairly delicious sounding combination – no wonder the Romans loved it so much. It definitely sounds nicer than the 170-year-old shipwreck champagne.These are the remains of Roman wine cellars - they look similar to the Georgian ones seen above.Image credit: Francesco Pizzimenti‚ courtesy of Soprintendenza Archeologia‚ Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di L'Aquila e TeramoAs well as providing an insight into why Romans were necking wine on a regular basis‚ the authors conclude that the study’s findings “change much of our current understanding of Roman winemaking‚” by suggesting winemakers had much more control over the process than previously thought.In a statement sent to IFLScience‚ Dr Van Limbergen concluded: “The value of identifying‚ often unexpected‚ parallels between modern and ancient winemaking lies in both debunking the alleged amateurish nature of Roman winemaking and uncovering common traits in millennia-old vinification procedures.”The study is published in the journal Antiquity.

Sprawling underneath Mammoth Cave National Park in the US is‚ well‚ a pretty mammoth cave system. In fact‚ at 686 kilometers (426 miles) in length‚ it’s the longest cave system in the world – and within it‚ researchers are making all sorts of discoveries. The latest is two new species of ancient sharks‚ thought to have lived over 325 million years ago.Both species were identified from fossils collected in the cave system. It was through adult and juvenile teeth‚ for example‚ that palaeontologists classified Troglocladodus trimblei: a shark that’s estimated to have reached around 3-3.6 meters (10-12 feet) in length. That’s about the same as an oceanic whitetip or lemon shark.T. trimblei also represents both a brand-new species and genus of shark. The genus name translates to “Cave Cladodus” or “Cave Branching Tooth”‚ whilst the species is named after park superintendent Barclay Trimble‚ who found the first specimen (a tooth) back in 2019.The second new shark species discovered was Glikmanius careforum‚ identified from teeth and a partial set of jaws and gills found in different regions of the cave system. Though its genus was already known to science‚ there was still novelty to be found‚ as the cartilage fossil found was the first of its kind for this genus. This particular species revealed that it may actually have originated 50 million years earlier than previously thought.It’s estimated that G. careforum was about the same length as its fellow new discovery‚ whilst its jaw shape indicates that it likely had a short head with a powerful bite. That bite would probably have been directed towards smaller sharks‚ or bony fish‚ but regardless‚ you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.Both of the new species belong to the ctenacanths‚ an extinct order of fish characterized by their multi-cusped teeth and spines on their dorsal fins. It’s thought that they would’ve hunted along the shores that make up modern-day Kentucky and Alabama during the Mississippian subperiod‚ around 325 million years ago. At the time‚ that region was part of an ancient seaway connecting what would later become eastern North America‚ Europe‚ and northern Africa – though Pangaea decided to get in the way first.The fossils were uncovered as part of an ongoing collaborative project in US National Parks known as the Paleontological Resources Inventory (PRI)‚ which aims to survey the parks for fossils‚ assess their significance‚ and identify how they can be managed and preserved. Since it began‚ at least 70 species of ancient fish have been identified from samples collected at Mammoth Cave.“Every new discovery at Mammoth Cave is possible due to collaborations‚” said Superintendent Barclay Trimble in a statement. “Our park team is honored to work alongside the National Park Service Paleontology Program and now the University of Alabama Geological Sciences Department whose coordinated efforts have made this latest announcement possible.”