#college diversity speakers

[hopeastrz]

𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐕𝐈🌼✨

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫/𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 + 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞??! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏,𝟓𝐤 𝐀𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞!.

The childlike wonder 𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐒 posses is so precious, makes me feel like it’s their first life on earth, they are so so sweet when comfortable, because as much as they can’t hold their negative emotions at bay, they do the same to positive ones, which makes them share everything with you, especially little things that makes them happy and excited too.. i love them so much.

𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐘 — 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎 harmonious aspects tend to give you a very magnetic and enchanting tone, you may have a low husky voice or you just have a very slight but attractive Hoarseness.

No because why does 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝟏𝟏° have the most unhinged/weird af thoughts out there.. Me and Felix of stray kids have the exact same mercury placement with the same degree 𝟏𝟏° 𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐑𝐀 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟏𝟎𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄, and when he said “chicken has meat in it,” + “i believe there are ghosts but i don’t want to believe there are ghosts.” I felt him the most, these two quotes gives you enough context i guess.

𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 attract jealousy and obsession from their friends it’s kinda concerning so take care!.

𝟐𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒 LOWER🗣️ YOUR 🗣️ DAMN🗣️ VOICE🗣️.. if i discovered that some of you have natural high tech speakers attached to your throats i wouldn’t even be surprised.

𝟐𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒 𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐒 may become financially stable in an early stage of their lives, I’m talking like in late teenage years, they pay for their college tuitions or something, they just have to have this responsibility on their shoulders somehow, same thing for 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍, 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐑 𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄.

𝐋𝐄𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒, go blonde, it suits you so freaking much, i don’t make the rules.

𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐔𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐔𝐌 𝐌𝐄𝐍 and the chokehold they have on me, i love them so much dude.

If a 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 — 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 breaks up with someone just know that they really reached their limit, because they tend to turn blind eye on lots of things in a relationship, since they cherish harmony and love, they are one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.

𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 dance, dance it’ll do wonders to your and your body.

𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐆𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐒 please im begging you, stop being so hard on yourselves, you are enough trust me.

𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈, 𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 have the most diverse music taste in the world, it’ll literally blow your mind!, they listen to everything, any genre, rock, punk, home, R&B anything you have in mind and in different languages too.

𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐔𝐌 are very artistic it’s fascinating, really quite admirable, and if accompanied with 𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐆𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 then you’ll have the most amazing multitasking creative individual ever, the type to be so good at everything, drawing, singing, dancing, writing literally whatever art related.. they have a wide set of hobbies and won’t fail to impress you.

𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 kindly give me your skin care routine right now. I’m not even joking the have the most flawless skin ever, so soft and chubby just beautiful!.

I’ll always recommend checking your 𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓 until my last breath because it will never fail you, to me it is the most important 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓 out there especially if you just can’t resonate with your natal chart ascendant..

.. furthermore I’m a Sagittarius rising in my natal chart with Pluto and bla bla, but for years i always thought that it doesn’t suit me, even though i have my exact right birth time, later on when i checked my ascendant persona chart IT MADE SO MUCH SENSE..

.. people used to say that i have a soft, delicate and dreamy nature to my face, like i seem lost, also they said that i look rich lmao, basically everything that had nothing to do with my natal chart rising, and when i checked 𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐂 i had pisces ascendant conjunct Uranus 7° and Moon 16°.. it was mind blowing istg.

𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 – 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎/𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 fuck your self worth so bad, no because they are the type to question people love for them 24/7 because they just can’t believe it. In Neptune case it puts a veil on your face making you blind, but for Pluto it just makes you feel like you are the worst person out there and you don’t deserve to be loved… these people need a hug so bad rn.

You know who has this placement? 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎, The Versace prince Hwang Hyunjin of stray kids!, and if you remember he once said in maniac concert “i still don’t know why do you like me.. do i deserve this kind of love?.”….. yeah, i can’t do this today *proceeds to scream in her pillow.”

Now lastly on 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒—𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 you have the best eyebrows out there, just quite neat and attractive, especially if 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐒 it’ll enhance this placement.

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans view college campuses as far friendlier to liberals than to conservatives when it comes to free speech, with adults across the political spectrum seeing less tolerance for those on the right, according to a new poll.

Overall, 47% of adults say liberals have “a lot” of freedom to express their views on college campuses, while just 20% said the same of conservatives, according to polling from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.

Republicans perceive a stronger bias on campuses against conservatives, but Democrats see a difference too — about 4 in 10 Democrats say liberals can speak their minds freely on campuses, while about 3 in 10 Democrats say conservatives can do so.

“If you’re a Republican or lean Republican, you’re unabashedly wrong, they shut you down,” said Rhonda Baker, 60, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, who voted for former President Donald Trump and has a son in college. “If they hold a rally, it’s: ‘The MAGA’s coming through.’ It’s: ‘The KKK is coming through.’”

Debates over First Amendment rights have occasionally flared on college campuses in recent years, with conflicts arising over guest speakers who express polarizing views, often from the political right.

Stanford University became a flashpoint this year when students shouted down a conservative judge who was invited to speak. More recently, a conservative Princeton University professor was drowned out while discussing free speech at Washington College, a small school in Maryland.

At the same time, Republican lawmakers in dozens of states have proposed bills aiming to limit public colleges from teaching topics considered divisive or liberal. Just 30% of Americans say states should be able to restrict what professors at state universities teach, the poll found, though support was higher among Republicans.

Overall, Republicans see a clear double standard on college campuses. Just 9% said conservatives can speak their minds, while 58% said liberals have that freedom, according to the polling. They were also slightly less likely than Americans overall to see campuses as respectful and inclusive places for conservatives.

Chris Gauvin, a Republican who has done construction work on campuses, believes conservative voices are stifled. While working at Yale University, he was once stopped by pro-LGBTQ+ activists who asked for his opinion, he said.

“They asked me how I felt, so I figured I’d tell them. I spoke in a normal tone, I didn’t get excited or upset,” said Gauvin, 58, of Manchester, Connecticut. “But it proceeded with 18 to 20 people who were suddenly very irritated and agitated. It just exploded.”

He took a lesson from the experience: “I learned to be very quiet there.”

Republicans in Congress have raised alarms, with a recent House report warning of “the long-standing and pervasive degradation of First Amendment rights” at U.S. colleges. Some in the GOP have called for federal legislation requiring colleges to protect free speech and punish those who infringe on others’ rights.

Nicholas Fleisher, who chairs an academic freedom committee for the American Association of University Professors, said public perception is skewed by the infrequent cases when protesters go too far.

“The reality is that there’s free speech for everyone on college campuses,” said Fleisher, a linguistics professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “In conversations within classrooms, people are free to speak their minds. And they do.”

Officials at PEN America, a free speech group, say most students welcome diverse views. But as the nation has become more politically divided, so have college campuses, said Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager for education at PEN.

“There’s this polarization that just continues to grow and build across our country, and colleges and universities are a part of that ecosystem,” she said.

Morgan Ashford, a Democrat in an online graduate program at Troy University in Alabama, said she thinks people can express themselves freely on campus regardless of politics or skin color. Still, she sees a lack of tolerance for the LGBTQ+ community in her Republican state where the governor has passed anti-LGBTQ legislation.

“I think there have to be guidelines” around hate speech, said Ashford. “Because some people can go overboard.”

When it comes to protesting speakers, most Americans say it should be peaceful. About 8 in 10 say it’s acceptable to engage in peaceful, non-disruptive protest at a campus event, while just 15% say it’s OK to prevent a speaker from communicating with the audience, the poll found.

“If they don’t like it, they can get up and walk out,” said Linda Woodward, 71, a Democrat in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.

Mike Darlington, a real estate appraiser who votes Republican, said drowning out speakers violates the virtues of a free society.

“It seems to me a very, very selfish attitude that makes students think, ‘If you don’t think the way I do, then your thoughts are unacceptable,’” said Darlington, 58, of Chesterfield County, Virginia.

The protest at Stanford was one of six campus speeches across the U.S. that ended in significant disruption this year, with another 11 last year, according to a database by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech group.

Those cases, while troubling, are one symptom of a broader problem, said Ilya Shapiro, a conservative legal scholar who was shouted down during a speech last year at the University of California’s law school. He says colleges have drifted away from the classic ideal of academia as a place for free inquiry.

An even bigger problem than speakers being disrupted by protesters is “students and faculty feeling that they can’t be open in their views. They can’t even discuss certain subjects,” said Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute think tank.

About three in five Americans (62%) say that a major purpose of higher education is to support the free exchange and debate of different ideas and values. Even more U.S. adults say college’s main purpose is to teach students specific skills (82%), advance knowledge and ideas (78%) or teach students to be critical thinkers (76%). Also, 66% said a major purpose is to create a respectful and inclusive learning environment.

“I believe it should be solely to prepare you to enter the workforce,” said Gene VanZandt, 40, a Republican who works in shipbuilding in Hampton, Virginia. “I think our colleges have gone too far off the path of what their function was.”

The poll finds that majorities of Americans think students and professors, respectively, should not be allowed to express racist, sexist or anti-LGBTQ views on campus, with slightly more Republicans than Democrats saying those types of views should be allowed. There was slightly more tolerance for students expressing those views than for professors.

About 4 in 10 said students should be permitted to invite academic speakers accused of using offensive speech, with 55% saying they should not. There was a similar split when asked whether professors should be allowed to invite those speakers.

Darlington believes students and professors should be able to discuss controversial topics, but there are limits.

“Over-the-top, overtly racist, hateful stuff — no. You shouldn’t be allowed to do that freely,” he said.

___

The poll of 1,095 adults was conducted Sept. 7-11, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rebecca Crosby at Popular Information:

Major corporations, including Mastercard, Meta, and Coca-Cola, are quietly sponsoring a Canadian conference headlined by Christopher Rufo, a far-right activist and crusader against diversity initiatives. Many of these same companies, however, champion diversity in their public communications.  Rufo is listed as a featured speaker for the Canada Strong and Free Regional Networking Conference 2024, which will be held in Alberta, Canada on September 21. The event, which was first highlighted by DeSmog, is billed as an “enriching exploration of conservatism in Canada.” On X, the organization promoted the event using a photo of Rufo with the text, “Fighting the left and wokism.” 

Rufo has been credited with creating the hysteria around Critical Race Theory (CRT) in educational settings. In 2020, Rufo appeared on Tucker Carlson’s former show on Fox News and called on Trump to end CRT training. Within days, the Trump administration released a memo outlining a ban on diversity training in the government, and Trump issued the executive order shortly after.

When it became clear that CRT is a complex legal theory that is not taught in K-12 schools, Rufo shifted his attention to lambasting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Rufo appeared with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) as DeSantis signed the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which limits workplace conversations about diversity and race. (That aspect of the law has been enjoined by a federal court as unconstitutional.) Rufo has also been a leader in the crusade to ban discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. On X, Rufo insinuated that people were attempting to indoctrinate pre-kindergarten students with information about “gender transitioning, exotic pronouns, and simplified Queer Theory.” Rufo has also said that “parents have good reason” to be concerned about “‘grooming’ in public schools.” 

In 2023, Rufo was appointed by DeSantis to the board of trustees at the New College of Florida as part of a right-wing takeover of the liberal arts college. In his newsletter, Rufo bragged that New College was “the first public university in America to begin rolling back the encroachment of gender ideology and queer theory on its academic offerings.” In an interview with the New York Times, Rufo said that New College previously enrolled too many women, which turned it into “a social justice ghetto.” On X, in response to pictures of dozens of books at the college being thrown away, Rufo said, “We abolished the gender studies program. Now we’re throwing out the trash.”  Companies who claim to support diversity are sponsoring the upcoming event promoting Rufo and his ideological agenda. Mastercard, for example, prides itself on being one of the leaders for DEI initiatives among major corporations. Mastercard’s website states that “[d]iversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are what set Mastercard apart by making us more adaptable, more innovative and more creative.” Mastercard says that DEI “makes us better” and is “part of our core values and underpins everything we do.” 

Why are major corporations sponsoring an “anti-woke” conference in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada featuring right-wing paranoiac Christopher Rufo.

Rufo helped foment the manufactured crusade against “CRT” in K-12 schools, LGBTQ+ inclusion policies, and DEI in businesses.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

EDMONTON - The Alberta government says changes are coming to further protect free speech on campuses as a former professor speaking out on so-called “woke” policies prepares for a showdown with the University of Lethbridge.

Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says he plans to announce the changes in the coming days but did not give details.

He was responding to the case of Frances Widdowson, a former tenured professor at Calgary's Mount Royal University, who was invited then disinvited to speak on campus this week about her concerns that a mob mentality and “woke policies” increasingly threaten academic freedom.

Widdowson has previously come under fire for her comments on residential schools.

“I understand past comments made by this speaker are controversial,” Nicolaides said in a statement Tuesday.

“But I believe it is important for our universities and colleges to foster a strong culture of free speech and diverse viewpoints, even when those viewpoints are deemed controversial, or even offensive, barring speech intended to incite hatred or violence of course.” [...]

About 2,500 students signed a petition pushing back on the university for hosting the speech.

University president Mike Mahon, as late as last Thursday, defended the decision to host Widdowson, citing free speech even if the university did not agree with her views.

However, on Monday, Mahon said after further consultation the offer of space was revoked because Widdowson's views would not advance the residential schools discussion and would cause harm by minimizing the pain and suffering inflicted on First Nations children and families. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada, @abpoli

[abbatoirablaze]

Criminal Minds, Season 1, Episode 2

Word Count:  2.1k

Warnings:  mentions of death, arson, angst, mentions of secret relationship/cheating.

Vanessa Jareau

“McGowan doesn’t want to take the case, and my unit liaison has made sure to pass it off, but you need to see this JJ,” you frowned, looking at your older sister, “it-“

“Ness, you really can’t be trying to pass off your own agenda for a case onto me,” she frowned as she pursed her lips, “I know that there are certain cases that hit everyone differently, but-“

“JJ, listen,” you said quickly, cutting her off, “McGowan doesn’t want to take it because he doesn’t want to be stuck on a college campus with a bunch of kids and Hughes straight out refused because he doesn’t think that it’s a serious thing because there’s only been a handful of fires with no real deaths until now...but this is a serious arsonist.”

“Arsonist?”

You nodded and queued up the video.

“Bradford college in Tempe Arizona,” you said quickly, explaining the situation to her, “a student recorded the fire that was in the building across from them, when their dorm caught fire.”

Her eyes nearly bulged, “what?”

The video started off a video of the building across from them which was ablaze, and two students wildly asking if the other was seeing what they were seeing.  And then they heard the clicking coming from the opposing side of the room.  The doorknob was turning, and then something was being poured under the door.  One of the kids commented that it smelled like gas, before it lit.  The student began screaming and the roommate put down the camera to put him out. 

You stopped the video and looked at your sister, “he died, JJ.  First fire that the unsub started that killed someone, but it’s a progression.  One that’s finally claimed a life.  I think the first fire that they recorded was a diversion...something to draw the attention away so that the unsub could go for the real target.  I think the unsub’s real point was to kill these students.”

“Alright, you have my attention,” she sighed, “Hughes and McGowan really refused these?”

“I know that Anastasia tried to convince McGowan, but it didn’t work,” you frowned, “and Smith didn’t even bother trying to sell it to Hughes...just gave him the choice.  I thought liaisons were the one that chose cases.”

“For the most part we are,” she frowned, “but if a team leader is aware of a case that requires their attention more...they can pull rank and go on that assignment.”

You took a deep breath, “Can you just look at the case file?”

She sighed and held out her hand, “I’ll put it in my stack, but I can’t promise anything.  Gideon and Hotchner don’t usually interfere when I pull up an assignment though.  They trust my judgement.”

“Thank you.”

“You owe me!” she smirked, walking away.

“I love you and you’re the best big sister ever!”

“Tell me something I don’t know!” she laughed, walking off and out of your office.

“Well, we took the case!”

You sighed as you took a drink from your water bottle, “thank god...I knew that my team wasn’t going to take it, but with this many fires...the first starting in March...it’s escalating, Garcia.”

“You’re right,” she frowned from her side of the video call, “I just got a call from the team.  There was another fire.  A professor died as a result of it.  They think that he was targeted, but they don’t know why.”

You gasped, your throat instantly feeling tight.  You bit your lip, “wh-what?”

“Yeah...so I guess it’s good you convinced JJ to take it,” she frowned, “Otherwise, they’d be yet another step behind them.”

“Jesus...”

Penelope removed her headphones from her ears and looked at you, “Oh god...Ness...I-I think something just happened...”

“What?”

She unplugged the headphones and turned up the speaker, so that you could hear the message “you have reached the FBI tip line for the Bradshaw College fires:  Karen.  I do this for Karen.”

“Did that jus-“

“Yup,” she said nervously, “wh-who’s Karen?  Is she the stressor?  Is she-“

“You would not believe how many calls I received today that claims the arsonist is a firefighter!” JJ laughed as she came into Garcia’s office. Both of you froze on your call, and you could see the question in her eyes.

“Jennifer...” you said nervously, looking back behind your friend to your sister through the camera. She immediately stopped laughing as she read the reactions from you and Penelope.

“What’s wrong?”

Penelope replayed the audio, and you watched as your older sister’s stomach dropped, “the unsub.”

“The unsub.”

“Ness...I love you, but I have to go and call my team,” Penelope apologized, “I’ll call you back when I have more leads.”

“Okay,” you agreed, “I’m waiting on my team to call me back, so I’ll dig further into the school’s registrar to see if I can find out any connections to a Karen.”

“Thanks!” she said quickly, “call me back if you get anything.”

Samantha Reid

“Sammy...what are you doing here?”

You turned around in your brother’s chair, “waiting for you, goofball...”

“Are you...going to introduce us?” Morgan teased slowly.  You could practically feel his eyes wandering up and down your body though your own gaze was caught on someone else entirely.

“Samantha...”

“SSA Hotchner...”

“He needs help...”

“I’m sorry, Doctor Reid, but I can’t give your brother special treatment,” one of the instructors, and supervisory special agent Aaron Hotchner frowned, “look, your brother did great in the classroom-“

“Aaron, please,” you all but whimpered, your hand falling onto his bicep.  He bit his lip, and his poker face fell away, “please...Spencer won’t listen to me...and I know that you could help him out on the more...physical side of the job.”

“Samantha...this-I can’t be doing you any special favors...”

“It’s not for me.  It’s for him.  I know that I’ll be fine when it comes down to it, but he’s not--Spencer is an asset...he’s just not a meathead,” you said slowly, “you’re only doing the bureau favors by offering to help him.  H-he can’t wash out, Aaron.”

SSA Hotchner looked around the empty gym for a moment.  When he noticed that the two of you were the only ones left he sighed, nodding to himself, “I’ll approach him and offer to tutor him, Samantha...but if he says no-“

“He won’t,” you said quickly, cutting him off.  You leaned up and kissed him softly, “my brother--he’s an idiot sometimes, but he knows he needs help.  He just wouldn’t be the one to ask for it.”

His eyes fluttered open softly, and you found yourself nearly melting into his doe eyes and long lashes, “you know...it’s a mood killer when you talk about your brother and kiss me...if I were to analyze that-“

“Don’t get all Freudian on me, Aaron!” you teased, gently pushing him.  He was quick to wrap his arm around your waist and your eyes met once again.

“Hayley is out of town for the week,” he said slowly after a second, “she’s spending time with her sister...”

Your eyes met his and you bit your lip, “I thought you said it was a one-time thing, Aaron...us...doing that...”

“I don’t want it to be.” he admitted desperately.

“You’re married, Aaron...”

“You didn’t have any issue with that a second ago when you kissed me,” he pointed out, “or when I kissed you back.”

“Aaron...”

“I know what really happens when she visits her sister...she does the same thing with some other nameless man, while you and I run around together,” he frowned as he tried to explain his case, “we fell out of love with each other years ago, Samantha...”

“Then leave her...”

“I would,” he said slowly, lacing your fingers with his, “I would if I knew where this was going...if this was going somewhere...”

“You two know each other?”

“Dr. Samantha Reid,” Hotch said quickly, glaring you down, “everyone, this is Reid’s twin sister.  She’s on one of the other teams, also working for the BAU.  I’m sure you have seen her around before, haven’t you?”

Morgan sputtered, giving you a double take, “twin sister?”

“We’re fraternal,” Spencer said quickly, “it means that unlike identical twins, we don’t look alike, and developed from two different eggs, and we only really share half of our genetics.”

“And yet they’re both geniuses?”

“They say that intellect derives from both the combination of genetic and environmental factors,” Spencer said quickly, “and we ended up sharing a similar environment and-“

“Well, I’m more well off socially,” you smirked, nudging your brother, “and I’m obviously the prettier one.  So our environments were a tad skewed from each other.”

“You can have your social skills and vanity,” Spencer scoffed, “I still edge you out by four points intellectually.”

“Four points,” you scoffed in return, “on your best days maybe.”

His smirk only grew as he pointed out, “four points still counts, Sammy.  It means that I’m the smarter one.  And the older one.”

“Age has nothing to do with intellect you neanderthal.”

“A neanderthal that is still smarter than you!” he teased.

“Wow, there really is two of them...”

“I’m sorry, can we back up to the part where Reid has a hot twin sister.”

“Careful with the wording, Morgan, Dr. Reid also works for the bureau,“ Hotch growled, “she’s on McGowan’s team.”

Your eyes caught his, and you sensed the slightest bit of anger, mixed with a tinge of jealousy. 

“I just hung around after I finished my paperwork,” you said softly, looking at your brother, “got your text about your flight and figured you’d want to get a late dinner.”

“Sure, I just hav-“

“Dr. Reid, could I see you in my office, please?” Aaron asked, cutting your brother off.

“Me, or-“

“Samantha.”

The two of you shared a look for a moment, and the rest of his team seemingly backed off.  You nodded and stood, following the team leader out of the bullpen and to his office.  Closing the door behind yourself, you watched as he closed the blinds.

“I know that-“

“What are you really doing here, Samantha?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, your brow furrowing, “I came to see Spencer.  He told me that they were getting in, and I figured I’d stay for a little bit and-“

“We had an agreement, Samantha.”

You felt your breath catch in your throat, “look, Aaron, I know that you don’t want to be around me, but we both work here.  It’s going to happen where we see each other around the office from time to time.”

“I was ready to leave my wife for you, Samantha,” he admitted angrily, “this isn’t just about me being upset that you’re in the office late.  I was ready to leave Hayley and-“

“And then you got her pregnant, Aaron!” you hissed, “so really has the moral high ground here?”

“Samantha...”

There was an air of tension in the room as the silence took over.  He looked away from you and your jaw clenched, “I was willing to put my career on hold...was willing to go into being a liaison and stay out of the field so that we could have a relationship, Aaron...because you were worried what would happen to me if I was a field agent...and you knocked Hayley up.  You decided that we couldn’t move forward with our relationship.  So, you don’t get to act hurt...because the only one that lost anything was me.”

“Samantha-“

You were quick to pull away from him as he reached for your hand, “don’t touch me, Aaron...”

“I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, Samantha.  I didn’t know that she would get pregnant.  I-“

“How couldn’t you know?” you asked, “You were having unprotected sex with her.”

“She told me...she said that she was on the pill, okay?” he asked, “she knew that I was going to leave, and she tricked me...”

You shook your head, “you don’t get to play the victim card, Aaron...you still could have left her after she miscarried the first time...but you felt guilty...you asked her if you could try again...you still love your wife.”

“Sam-“

“No...I don’t fault you for it, Aaron...but I-you don’t get to be the one that is hurt because of it...” you said slowly.  When he didn’t respond, you shook your head, wiping the tears from your face, “now...I-I’m going to go out there.  And I’m going to take my brother to dinner...and we’re going to keep ignoring each other.  Just like we’ve been doing for the past two years, okay?”

“Samantha-“

“Aaron...”

“Fine!” he huffed sadly. 

You nodded and started towards the door.  But your heart broke just a little when you were about to open it.

“Just so you know...I never stopped loving you either, Samantha...” he muttered, “she may have the ring, but you were the only one to ever truly have my heart.”

S1 E3

[sapropel]

From the Jewish Voice for Peace Boulder/Denver Chapter newsletter:

"For over six months, tens of thousands of Jews, and countless other people of conscience, have fought to end the Israeli government's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

As our movement continues to grow, student antiwar protesters set up an encampment at the Auraria Campus, home to the University of Colorado Denver, Metro State University, and Community College of Denver. Denver Students for a Democratic Society initiated the encampment Thursday, and the protest quickly gained momentum.

The Denver/Boulder chapter of JVP showed strong support, standing in unwavering solidarity with the students and activists at Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus, beginning Thursday night and continuing through the weekend.

Before long, students and faculty from diverse backgrounds were participating. There was significant support from the wider Denver community, demonstrating broad solidarity with our demands, including for the Biden administration to end its support for Israeli genocide.

On Friday, a day later, the Denver Police Department arrested more than 40 peaceful protesters defending the encampment. Despite this, students quickly reestablished the encampment and continued their protest.

That evening, JVP Denver/Boulder led a Shabbat service at the encampment following Jummah prayer.

Despite rain, snow and sleet, the students remained at the encampment, organizing further speakers and rallies on Saturday.

These events were attended by local political leaders, university professors, and representatives from community groups, including JVP. 

Dr. Angela Davis, renowned activist and scholar, visited the encampment. Her inspiring presence lent significant historical and moral weight to the students' efforts.

Dr. Davis gave a moving speech linking the encampment to a long history of civil rights and student activism, describing it as a pivotal moment in contemporary social movements and something she hadn’t seen since the student movements to end the Vietnam War.

Now, the encampment continues, with students and supporters remaining until all their demands are met."

Image IDs:

#1: A student encampment on the Tivoli Quad at Auraria campus. Masked protesters wear keffiyeh scarves and ponchos--they are sitting on blue tarps in the rain. There is a sign that says AURARIA ENCAMPMENT FOR PALESTINE: CU DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE.

#2: Dr. Angela Davis stands at a microphone, hand to her chest. She is in front of a Palestinian flag, wearing a yellow-brosn keffiyeh. On the left side of the image, three protesters wearing keffiyeh scarves and a fourth mostly obscured protester listen to Dr. Davis' words. They all stand beneath tarps or tents in the rain.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christopher F. Rufo and Luke Rosiak

Published: Apr 22, 2024

Recent headlines about UCLA School of Medicine suggest that the institution has lost its focus. Instead of brushing up on organic chemistry, its students were subjected to lessons on “Indigenous womxn” and “two-spirits.” Future doctors had to take a class on “structural racism” and were led in a “Free Palestine” chant by a Hamas-praising guest speaker. The school made plans to segregate students by race for courses on left-wing ideology, and two of its psychiatry residents championed “revolutionary suicide.” 

Why has the school charted this course? One reason is its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology. UCLA has a DEI program called “Cultural North Star,” and at the medical school, it is led by Natalie J. Perry, whose official title is Cultural North Star Lead. Her UCLA biography says that her job is to “embed our aspirational Cultural North Stars [sic] value [sic] in our organizational DNA.” UCLA honored Perry last month for teaching students to “do what’s right,” saying her “empathy and radical listening” are to thank for her “success as an educator and a leader.”

According to a Daily Wire and City Journal investigation, however, Perry’s academic career is based on fraud. Perry published her Ph.D. dissertation in 2014 at the University of Virginia about college diversity programs. An analysis of the paper found it ridden with the worst sort of plagiarism, reproducing large swaths of text directly from several other authors, without proper citations. The scale of the plagiarism suggests that Perry lacks both ethics and competence and raises questions about academic programs that push DEI.

Perry’s dissertation lifted passages from ten other papers. In key portions of her text, she copied almost every paragraph from other sources without attribution. She fails even to mention at least four of the ten plagiarized papers anywhere in her dissertation.

Let’s review some examples.

The first three pages of Perry’s paper, “Faculty Perceptions of Diversity at a Highly Selective Research-Intensive University,” suggest that she did not even bother to read beyond the first page of papers from which she stole. Her dissertation’s second sentence reproduces verbatim part of a sentence on the first page of a paper by Adrianna Kezar, Peter Eckel, Melissa Contreras-McGavin, and Stephen John Quaye. Her third paragraph, without citation, lifts more than 100 words from the first page of a paper by Angela Locks, Sylvia Hurtado, Nicholas Bowman, and Leticia Oseguera.

Each colored portion of the below text was taken from a different author:

In some cases when Perry did include parenthetical citations, she wasn’t citing the papers whose text she had lifted. Instead, she simply reproduced the citations included in those stolen excerpts.

Take the above paragraph, which ends with “(Bernard, 2005; Bollag, 2005; Munoz, Jasis, Young, and McLaren, 2004; Williams, Nakashima, Kich, and Reginald, 1996).” Perry was not synthesizing those authors. Instead, the citation was part of Adalberto Aguirre and Ruben Martinez’s paper, from which she apparently copied and pasted, without attribution.

A core part of Perry’s dissertation involved summarizing work done by professors Robert Quinn and John Rohrbaugh. Instead of citing them directly, however, Perry cribbed summaries from other academics. Perry copied and pasted almost all of a nearly thousand-word passage from a paper by Chad Hartnell, Amy Yi Ou, and Angelo Kinicki, without quoting the authors.

Consider, for example, the following excerpt from Perry’s dissertation. The italicized portions were taken verbatim from Hartnell, Yi Ou, and Kinicki’s paper:

The CVF is widely used in organizational literature (Ostroff et al., 2003). Measures of organizational culture that directly or indirectly assess the CVF have been administered in over 10,000 organizations globally (Cameron et al., 2006) within the following academic disciplines: management, marketing, supply-chain management, accounting, social services, hospitality, and health care. Further, the reliability and content validity of Cameron and Ettington's (1988) measure of the CVF has been empirically supported in studies utilizing multitrait-multimethod analysis (Quinn & Spreitzer, 1991), multidimensional scaling (Howard, 1998), and structural equation modeling (Kalliath, Bluedorn, & Gillespie, 1999). Surprisingly, prior to 2011, there had been limited assessment of the theoretical foundation of the CVF despite its reported content validity and widespread use in research and practice.

The rest of Perry’s analysis of Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s work is largely copied, unquoted and unattributed, from a 2003 paper by John Smart. Below are pages 13 and 14 of Perry’s paper, outlining its “Theoretical Framework,” with the italicized text coming directly from Smart:

To develop this theory Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) asked a panel of distinguished organizational theorists to evaluate the similarity between every possible pair of 39 indexes of organizational effectiveness derived from Campbell’s (1977) exhaustive synthesis of criteria used to assess the performance of organizations. The results of this analysis revealed three basic dimensions underlying the judgments of respondents. The first dimension is organizational focus, which distinguishes organizations that have an internal emphasis on the development of people from those that have an external focus on the development of the organization. The second dimension is organizational structure, which distinguishes between organizations that have an emphasis on stability and control from those that have an emphasis on flexibility and innovation. The third dimension is organizational means and ends, which distinguish between organizations that emphasize processes such as planning and establishing goals from those that emphasize resulting outcomes such as productivity and efficiency.

In a section titled “Positioning Diversity Leadership in Higher Education,” Perry copies almost every sentence from one of several other papers. In no case does she credit the actual source:

Finally, in a section on organizational culture, Perry duplicates language from a variety of other authors:

Perry presented her paper as “qualitative” research because she chatted with what appear to be ten members of her colleagues at the University of Virginia who sat on the faculty-retention taskforce and counted their musings as “data.” But when the paper gets to this section, where plagiarism wasn’t possible, Perry includes the following jumbled passage that includes a glaring spelling error:

The positionality of the participants informed the perspective on the origins of the commission. /in response to the needs of the varios [sic] stakeholders within the university, the commission addressed issues of diversity on the faculty, undergraduate, graduate, and university level.

The section of original text suggests that her plagiarism could be used to mask glaring academic deficiencies. Moreover, Perry in her references section fails to list some of the papers that she cites parenthetically in the body of the dissertation—a telltale sign that she had simply copied those citations from somewhere else. Legitimate academic inquiry would not excuse such shoddy work.

Perry and UCLA did not return requests for comment.

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently argued that DEI policies don’t necessarily lower an organization’s expectations. But for Harvard, UVA, and UCLA Medical School—where Perry earned her master’s, Ph.D., and DEI position, respectively—this is evidently not the case. These institutions have dramatically lowered expectations for favored groups and pushed a cohort of “scholars” through the system without enforcing basic standards of academic integrity.

Ultimately, Natalie Perry is to blame for her misconduct. But these institutions of higher learning share some fault for permitting such shoddiness to stand unchallenged.

==

These are the same people who want to lecture us how much more morally enlightened they are than we are.

[eretzyisrael]

by Zach Kessel

Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from September 22 to 24. Featuring as speakers noted antisemites, running the gamut from Marc Lamont Hill to Roger Waters, the festival promises to be a veritable cornucopia of hatred of Jews: calls for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the land of Israel, accusations of Jews being subhuman, insinuations that a Jewish cabal controls American media, you name it. If it’s a form of antisemitism, it’s sure to be found on Penn’s campus this weekend. I hope it’s a coincidence that the festival’s last day coincides with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

There’s an update to this story, and for those familiar with the rising tide of antisemitism on college campuses across the country, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since the festival began drawing attention over the past week or so, there have been strident responses from the university’s Jewish alumni and supporters. More than 2,000 such concerned individuals signed an open letter sent to the university’s president, Liz Magill, urging her to issue a statement — without equivocating or falling into both-sides-ism, as higher-education administrators often do when they lack the courage to condemn antisemitism — “specifically denouncing the event’s platforming of known antisemitic speakers.” The letter’s authors noted that, had a university department sponsored a festival promoting anti-black or anti-Asian racism, homophobia, or any other kind of bigotry, there’s no question that Penn would immediately distance itself from and condemn the event. Of course, within the academy and progressive intelligentsia more broadly, Jews are themselves oppressors, and antisemitism isn’t a legitimate form of hatred deserving of attention.

Though the University of Pennsylvania does and should aim to foster an environment of free expression, the letter notes, “neither academic freedom nor freedom-of-speech principles prevent the university from using its own voice to speak out against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs, especially on campus.” The Palestine Writes organizers have a right to voice their opinions, but they do not have the right to do so on Penn’s land.

It turns out that’s too much to ask of Magill. In a statement obtained by Jewish Insider, she made perfunctory comments about how the university opposes all forms of hate including antisemitism, how Waters has been roundly condemned for his past words and actions, and how she is “personally committed more than ever to addressing antisemitism in all forms.” You’d think part of that commitment might entail disallowing such vile displays from taking place on the campus she runs. Apparently, at least in Magill’s eyes, it doesn’t. She invoked the university’s “responsibility to foster open dialogue and cultural diversity on campus.” But there’s a massive difference between open dialogue and cultural diversity and tacitly endorsing speakers who traffic in this kind of antisemitism.

And then, Thursday morning, something at once entirely predictable and yet bone-chilling for Penn’s Jewish students happened: A student at the university vandalized the school’s Hillel building. As the Daily Pennsylvanian reported, “a regular attendee” opened the building’s doors for a morning service, and the culprit entered:

“When I walked into Hillel, I noticed that the lobby was completely trashed — one of the podiums was smashed, one of the tables was smashed. There was stuff everywhere,” [University of Pennsylvania student Marc] Fishkind said. . . . “He immediately started smashing things, yelling ‘F**k the Jews’ and ‘They killed JC,’” Fishkind recounted from what he was told by someone who was there, adding that eventually, the perpetrator ran out of Hillel as the police arrived.

Make no mistake: As university president, Magill bears responsibility. By allowing the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to take place on her campus, and by allowing multiple academic departments to co-sponsor the event, she has helped foster an environment of antisemitism at Penn that empowers people like the student who vandalized the Hillel building. Magill doesn’t seem to understand that her inaction has consequences and that by building a permission structure for antisemitism, she has allowed antisemitic acts to occur.

It’s insane that we have to keep writing about events such as these. From my May 2022 piece in National Review:

Last month, several student groups signed a statement written by NYU School of Law’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter defending terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and accusing Zionists of controlling the media, a well-worn antisemitic canard. On April 26, Georgetown Law School’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter hosted Mohammed El-Kurd, an activist who has accused Israelis of harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians and of having “an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood & land.” In recent weeks, the Rutgers chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi — a historically Jewish fraternity — faced multiple incidents of antisemitic harassment. First, activists waving Palestinian flags yelled antisemitic slurs and spat at fraternity brothers. A few days later, vandals threw eggs at AEPi’s house during the fraternity’s Holocaust Remembrance Day proceedings — the second year in a row the house was egged during Yom HaShoah. On Saturday, April 23, at Northwestern, where I am an undergraduate, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter organized a candlelight vigil and painted messages across Northwestern’s “Rock,” a boulder on campus that student organizations paint for various promotional purposes. By Tuesday morning, alongside the SJP chapter’s Instagram username, the rock bore the slogan “From the River to the Sea.”

Hatred of Jews on campus, of course, didn’t end in May 2022. Antisemitic attacks at American universities have nearly doubled in 2023, and almost 60 percent of Jewish college students in the United States have either experienced or witnessed antisemitism at their places of learning, according to an Ipsos poll. Another Ivy League school, Princeton University, has included on a humanities course syllabus the book The Right to Maim, which claims that Israelis harvest Palestinians’ organs, a variant on the time-worn “blood libel” canard.

The longer academic institutions take to actually address antisemitism on their campuses, the longer they’re allowing it to flourish. By hiding behind rote affirmations of a school’s commitment to diversity, to equity, to whatever progressive buzzwords they like to emblazon on their overpaid and underworked administrators’ doors — and by refusing to act when the time comes, like right now — university presidents like Liz Magill create the conditions in which, for instance, Hillel buildings are vandalized. I’m left with only one question: What did she think was going to happen?

[thornofthelily]

@pinksparkl tagged me in this, what, like a week ago? But I wasn't able to sit down to organize my thoughts because I've been busy with life lol

So here it goes! My 5 + 1 headcanons! 5 Redactedverse headcanons I hold and 1 I'm still working on!

(Sorry if these are supposed to be like, fics, because I don't really have many posted fics or wips right now lmao)

1. Will is basically our silly old grandpa vampire now, but he carefully cultivated that reputation after centuries of brutality. There's a reason the gentle-voiced, teasing, Bob Ross-loving vampire survived to become an old blood king, and it wasn't always through kindness. There's a reason he wants to be a good maker, and also, why he's reluctant to turn people (and no, it's not Alexis's fault for being a "hellion")

2. Lovely was in college when they met Vincent. They had moved to Dahlia for regular human school, and it was the first time they'd been away from home. They were trying to balance school and work and maintain their friendships from back home, but it wasn't going well. They were feeling pretty lonely and not adjusting to life in Dahlia well, and that's why they went to Wonderworld for the first time. They thought it would be a good story for their friends at home, or impress someone from their classes there. They felt like they had something to prove. (When their core was awoken and they switched to DAMN, they finally started making friends and fitting in in a way they never felt like they had among humans. They still had some human friends but DAMN was the first place they felt like they belonged.)

3. Not an original but a goodie I think, but I am ten thousand percent in camp "Angel and Guy are siblings." And honestly, I've come to accept "Angel" as being their actual name. Like, their real names from birth are Guy, and Angel. Their parents liked those oddly specific, literal names. Their boy child is a Guy, their sweet (as a baby) child is an Angel.

4. "Dear" (Lasko's listener) first really fell for him during the Inversion. They were stuck outside with everyone else, and though they didn't have anyone they were especially close to inside, they were still scared sick for their coworkers and students. They had always been passively aware of and attracted to Lasko, and normally they'd never risk the discomfort of flirting with or asking out a coworker, but after Inversion, they had so much respect and admiration for him for how he stood up and got people organized and inspired them and everyone else to rush in to take down shades and find survivors, they finally decided to be brave and ask him out, long after the dust finally settled.

5. Asher is actually incredible well-read and loves literature. Before becoming the goofy gamer loud mouth can't cook beta we all know and love, his mom being a writer meant he grew up surrounded by books all the time. He gained most of his emotional intelligence through reading, and if things ever got tense in the pack, he tended to retreat to a book, read the whole thing in one night, and come back rejuvenated and refreshed and ready to help resolve whatever issues people had the day before.

And for the one I'm still working on...

With all the discussion going around, it made me want to revamp my race/ethnicity headcanons. Full disclosure, I know I'm not the best at writing diversely, it's an issue I'm aware of and I am trying to work on. It requires a few drafts of my ocs to get past the same pale template I default to. So, in examining my hcs for the various speaker and listener characters, while I already had a few, I was looking for other characters I could spice up past the same template, and I am working on the idea of having a Philippino Guy (and by extension, Angel). I haven't done much to expand this idea or flesh it out with any greater detail, but it fits pretty well in my head so far!

[coochiequeens]

Good news..... doctors can campaign for the discussion of science!

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has been forced into an about-turn after cancelling a conference on sex and gender.

LGBTQ+ campaigners approached the college to express their concern that it was allowing the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG), a group of psychiatrists and doctors who campaign for science-based dialogue on gender issues, to use its conference space.

The event, titled First Do No Harm, aims to explore “current controversies in the care of children and young people with gender-related distress”.

Aware of a situation’

After being contacted by the campaigners, including the Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors & Dentists and Pride RCGP, the college said last week that it was “aware of a situation regarding an upcoming event”.

The college’s events management team, Searcys, later wrote to CAN-SG to inform it that its event had been cancelled. Searcys proposed two alternative venues but said it wasn’t sure “if any of those two medical institutions would hold similar views to the RCGP as far as your event is concerned”.

Dr Louise Irvine, the co-chairman of CAN-SG, said: “I asked why the event was cancelled and the manager said he did not know. He just said that senior people in RCGP had been discussing it all day and then instructed him to contact me to cancel.

“I found out later that on that Friday, there was a well-orchestrated campaign by activists to send numerous emails to RCGP full of false allegations about our conference.”

Baroness Hayter, a Labour peer, subsequently wrote to the college to warn it that gender-critical beliefs were protected under the Equality Act 2010.

She told The Telegraph: “I’m shocked and disappointed that a medical body – indeed a Royal College – which should promote evidence-based treatment tried to close down debate on an important clinical issue. This is not in patients’ interests. Open, academic discussion is essential if all patients and their carers are to be guaranteed best treatment by their GPs.

“The RCGP needs to explain why it sought to silence certain senior medical practitioners and thus deny their own members the opportunity of hearing current findings on this subject.”

Prof Mike Holmes, the chairman of the trustees for the RCGP, said: “Our initial concern… was that it was being marketed and publicised in a way that could give the impression the college was hosting, sponsoring or supporting the conference and having an active role in the content and programme.”

‘Decided to honour the booking’

The college said that after CAN-GS agreed to remove the college’s name from promotional material, it “decided to honour the booking”.

A spokesman for CAN-SG said: “We are delighted that our conference will go ahead at 30 Euston Square, and we are looking forward to a great event with excellent speakers. All CAN-SG members are clinical professionals who uphold professional standards to provide safe and effective care to all our patients, including our LGBTQ+ patients, to promote long-term well-being.”

A spokesman for the Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors & Dentists said: “The existence and rights of gender-diverse people are not up for debate and the community currently does not feel safe as the result of actions of groups like CAN-SG. This is not about wokery but about decency.”

[beardedmrbean]

Before this column ends, we’ll get to the unmissable fact that anti-Israel, often antisemitic, protests are proliferating at what we amusingly choose to call our most “selective” universities—Columbia, Yale, New York University, Stanford, Berkeley. For the moment, add these North Face tent protests on $75,000-a-year campus quads to the sense among the American public that their country is running off the rails.

A list of the phenomena laying us low includes: wokeness, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), defund the police (a depressing subset of wokeness), conspiracy theories, head-in-the-sand isolationism and a self-centered political polarization typified—from left to right—by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.

Ironically this time of year is associated with hope, amid spring and college graduations—except at the University of Southern California, which, fearing trouble, canceled its commencement speakers and told honorary-degree recipients not to show up.

Setting silenced USC aside, a hopeful note one hears at college commencements is that the American system is self-correcting, that despite recurrent stress, it always rights itself. Opinion polls suggest few believe this anymore but—happy spring—it looks as if we may be on the brink of a real counter-revolt against the craziness.

Last week in the hopelessly gridlocked House, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, facing threats to his job from the chaos caucus, cast his lot with the enough-is-enough caucus. The House passed bills to sustain allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Congress isn’t dead—yet.

Blue states and cities that looked willing to collapse rather than defend their citizens have begun to push back against progressives’ pro-criminal and antipolice movements.

At the urging of Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York’s just-passed state budget includes measures to crack down on shoplifting. Assaulting a retail worker will be a felony. Larceny charges can be based on the total goods stolen from different stores. Progressives in the state’s Legislature opposed the measures. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, elected in January on restoring law and order (yes, it can be a Democratic issue), last week announced a plan to support policing in the most crime- and drug-plagued neighborhoods.

March seemed to be a tipping point. The hyperprogressive Council of the District of Columbia, in a city that had become an embarrassing carjacking hellhole, passed an array of anticrime measures. Oregon’s Legislature voted to reverse the state’s catastrophic three-year experiment with drug decriminalization. San Francisco voters approved two measures proposed by, of all people, Mayor London Breed, to ease restrictions on policing and require drug screening for welfare recipients. The results in Los Angeles County’s primary for district attorney strongly suggest progressive George Gascón will be voted out in November.

In all these places, the reversals by elected officials are driven by the prospect of voters’ turning them out of office. That is the U.S. political system trying to right itself.

In California, a safety coalition has collected about 900,000 signatures to reverse parts of Proposition 47, the state’s now-notorious 2014 decision to reduce some theft felonies to misdemeanors. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to overturning a Ninth Circuit decision that bars cities and towns from enforcing vagrancy laws. Though the case emerged from Grants Pass, Ore., which is trying to ban homeless encampments, about three dozen elected officials and organizations in California filed briefs arguing that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling made cleaning up the streets almost impossible.

News stories since the start of the year have noted that many private companies are rethinking policies on DEI, partly under legal pressure, such as the Supreme Court’s decision last year to strike down the use of race in college admissions.

Some in the corporate DEI movement thought they were immune to restraints. No longer. Companies are rediscovering that the constituency most needing inclusion is their customers. The loudest shot across the bow came last week, when Google fired 28 employees after some staged sit-in protests at its New York and California offices over a contract with Israel’s government. Google’s firing statement describes “completely unacceptable behavior.” No one saw that coming.

All this adds up to a nascent counter-revolt against America’s lurch toward self-destruction. The exception is elite U.S. universities. Their leadership has seen itself as answerable to no one and politically immune.

Robert Kraft, a Columbia grad and owner of the New England Patriots, said this week he will no longer give the school money “until corrective action is taken.”

If big donors ever regain control of these so-called selective schools, a suggestion: Firing the president won’t close the barn door. Instead, fire the admissions office. What a tragedy to think how many serious high-school students were rejected by Columbia, Yale and NYU, edged out by nonuseful idiots whose chosen major is the political structure of re-education camps.

Someone has to be a lagging indicator, and these schools are it.

Non-paywall link

[persianatpenn]

Meet Zahara!

For my final blog post of the semester, I want to share Zahara’s story with language, culture, and her experience as a Dari and Persian speaker. Zahara inspired me to learn Persian and about its various dialects. As former neighbors, our bond grew from our shared backgrounds – Zahara’s Afghan heritage and my Palestinian roots.

(Picture by Zahara, located in Afghanistan)

Her life began with Dari, a language deeply tied to her family. Born in Pakistan to parents from Bamyan and Kabul, she moved to the U.S. at the age of five. While in Peshawar, she was primarily surrounded by refugees from Afghanistan who spoke Pashto. Her time in Peshawar added a touch of Pakistani culture to her upbringing through the films she watched and food she ate.

(Picture by Zahara, located in Tajikistan)

In America, learning English became became a priority for her family, overshadowing the importance of preserving her native tongue. Zahara found limited resources for Dari in Philadelphia’s small Afghan community, relying on old tapes from her time overseas maintain interaction with the language. As Zahara grew up, she learned the Persian script using the Quran, despite the challenge posed by the Arabic script having four fewer letters than Persian. She felt a gap between her language and culture. Leading into university, Zahara was disenchanted with Dari due to the lack of resources available to learn the language but this soon changed.

(Picture by Zahara, located in Tajikistan)

During college, a Middle Eastern studies course guided Zahara to the Critical Language Scholarship in Tajikistan. While in the program she reconnected with writing in Persian script and strengthened her literacy skills. Upon returning to the US, she continued to seek more opportunities to practice speaking, eager to improve despite the limited opportunities available to her. Her and her siblings now have a rule to only speak Dari with their parents in order to bolster their command of the language. To demonstrate the lack of local Persian education, she said explained the only formal academic program available in Philadelphia was at Penn and further cemented the importance of inheriting Dari orally in the West.

(Picture by Zahara, located in Tajikistan)

Zahara's experience underscores the importance of language in preserving cultural identity across generations. Zahara’s story also highlights the diversity of experiences in Dari and Persian speaking communities.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

North Carolina Senate Republicans filed legislation Monday to strip Gov. Roy Cooper of power to appoint State Board of Elections members, intensifying a years-long struggle over state government powers between the GOP-led General Assembly and the Democratic Governor.

The unveiling of the bill came almost two hours after a panel Cooper created recommended changes designed to ease the current GOP dominance of University of North Carolina governing boards.

The dueling proposals escalate the clash between Cooper and the General Assembly to reshape the balance of power within government in the final weeks of the year’s main legislative session. Still, Republicans maintain the upper hand after regaining veto-proof control of the legislature in April.

The current state board has five members appointed by the Governor — three Democrats and two Republicans from candidate lists made by state party leaders.

Under the GOP bill filed Monday, legislative leaders would appoint all eight members. The Senate leader, House speaker and House and Senate minority leaders would pick two apiece but wouldn’t be obligated to choose from the party’s nominations — raising the possibility that unaffiliated voters could serve.

The board administers elections in the ninth-largest state, a presidential battleground where over 7 million voters are registered and statewide elections are usually close.

Republicans say having an even number of members will support consensus building on the board. They’ve complained often about the Democratic-controlled board entering a legal settlement in 2020 over absentee ballot rules that the GOP says ignored state laws.

“The voters of North Carolina should have faith that members of the Board of Elections can work together to conduct free and fair elections without any perception of bias,” Sen. Warren Daniel of Burke County, a bill sponsor, said at a Legislative Building news conference.

The bill is scheduled for committee debate Wednesday. Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters that House GOP counterparts support the state board appointment changes. The bill also would direct legislative leaders from both parties to pick four-member election boards for all 100 counties. Berger’s office said expected amendments would make the state board changes happen immediately and the county board changes effective in 2024.

In a news release, Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, a Wake County Democrat, called the bill a “power grab, plain and simple” that “would create more gridlock and uncertainty in our elections system.”

Cooper sued over previous state election board laws approved since late 2016, and courts ruled in his favor, saying the board’s compositions by the GOP prevented him from having control over carrying out elections laws. Registered Republicans now hold a 5-2 seat majority on the state Supreme Court.

Separate legislation being negotiated by House and Senate Republicans this year also would take more appointment powers away from governors on several key state boards, including state and local community college boards. GOP leaders have said more accountability and diversity of thought are needed on important boards that Cooper’s appointees control.

Speaking to unveil recommendations of a blue-ribbon commission led by former UNC system presidents Tom Ross and Margaret Spellings, Cooper said he hoped Republicans would now also consider seriously its suggestions to diversify the UNC Board of Governors and trustee boards at 16 campuses.

“Here the legislature controls pretty much everything in higher education. So diversifying appointment authority here is a good idea,” Cooper said at an Executive Mansion news conference. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be here if it is there.”

For 50 years, the legislature has chosen the voting members of the system Board of Governors ― with half of the current 24 elected by the House and the other half by the Senate. In the 2010s, Republicans filled the board with like-minded members and ultimately pushed out Ross and later Spellings from the presidency. The legislature also stripped from the Governor appointments to campus trustee boards.

Cooper and others argue that the boards need to better reflect the state’s population as it relates to race, gender and political views.

The commission recommended the General Assembly keep electing UNC Board of Governors members, but that lawmakers return to electing 32 members as they did for decades. The minority party in the two chambers would get to select combined eight of those members. Sixteen members would be picked from specific regions of the state. The panel also recommended that the governor get to pick four of the 15 seats on UNC campus trustee boards, but that wouldn’t take effect until January 2025, after Cooper leaves office.

[readersmagnet]

Janice Jobey, author of 12 Little Ducks, is an early childhood expert with a Master's in Child Development and Education who advocates for phonological awareness in young children. With a wealth of knowledge in literacy, learning, diversity, and mental health, she supports infants and toddlers with disabilities and instructs college students. Janice is a sought-after speaker, passionate about literacy development, self-regulation, and challenging behaviors in young children.

Visit https://www.janijobooks.com/ to learn more about Janice Jobey and her other works.

[umichenginabroad]

So Long

Well, this is it. The last post that I will ever make. When I first arrived, I was anxious yet excited. I didn’t quite know what I had signed myself up for. I didn’t know if I would be able to get along with everyone else. I just didn’t know what I was in for. As I said in my first post:

“I’m gonna take that leap of faith and I'll take you guys along to see what's on the other side.”

First picture taken, just arriving in Berlin (left). Last picture taken, watching USA vs Bolivia in the Copa America (right).

Well, I think I’ve made it to the other side now. Along the journey, I’ve learned how fragile each moment is. During my time in my first semester in Ann Arbor, days would pass by like seconds and I wouldn’t take notice of it. However, being here in Berlin has changed my perspective because as we were only here for 6 weeks, each moment was extra precious and because I had gotten so close with everyone, I made sure to appreciate each moment that much more, and treasure each memory for what it was. Now coming to think of it, I only have 4 years in college and 1 year has already blown by. The remaining 3 years could be the same, but I’m determined to change that. I am determined to do everything as if it is my last chance because one of these days, it actually will be. 

To reflect on some things that I said in my first post, I can confidently say that my German has improved vastly, as I was even able to listen to German commentary for the Euros and understand a good chunk of it. I’ve been able to translate for my friends and even maneuver my way through tricky train delays speaking to native speakers who don’t speak a lick of English. Even though I was anxious in the beginning, I can say that I settled in quickly and had a blast with everyone that I met. Even though we had a very diverse group of people, we still had an absolute blast hanging out every day. 

However, after re-reading my first post, I noticed something magical. Taking the first letter of every paragraph, it spells out HOME. Home, sweet home. Although I am miles away from home, I realized that I also felt so at home, and that’s because home isn’t determined by where you reside, but where you live out your best life. I realized that even though Michigan is my true home, with this magnificent group of people, for 6 glorious weeks, my home was Berlin. 

As I wrap up this final post I must say that this was one of my favorite experiences that I’ve ever had. Everything from hanging out with friends after the lab, posting weekly blogs or celebrating a successful self-balancing robot, I just cannot say how much I’ve enjoyed myself here. There’s a quote that I live by Dr. Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” I look back on this experience and all the great memories and relationships that I have built up, and I can truly say that I will be smiling, even if it is through a stream of tears running down my face. 

Dervin Tian

Data Science

IPE: Engineering Laboratory Experience at TUB in Berlin

[explainlearning]

Language Study Community – Enhance Your Language Skills

Conquering a new language can feel like climbing Mount Everest – exciting, challenging, and sometimes a little daunting. You might be enrolled in a language class, using online learning apps, or tackling it independently with textbooks and podcasts. But there’s one powerful tool that can significantly boost your language learning journey: the Language Study Group.

Language Study Groups provide a supportive and dynamic environment to enhance your language skills. While traditional learning methods offer valuable foundations, interacting with peers in a dedicated group setting unlocks a whole new level of practice and progress.

Why Join a Language Study Group?

Here are some compelling reasons to consider joining a language study group, especially for high school and college students:

1. Deeper Language Immersion:

Language learning thrives on immersion. While apps and online resources can simulate a virtual environment, a study group offers a more dynamic and realistic experience. Discussing topics, asking questions, and participating in debates in your target language exposes you to different accents, vocabulary, and colloquialisms, creating a richer learning experience.

2. Collaborative Learning:

Explain Learning emphasizes that teaching a concept strengthens your own understanding. In a language study group, you can take turns explaining vocabulary words, grammar rules, or even presenting cultural nuances you’ve discovered. This collaborative learning approach not only reinforces your own knowledge but also allows you to learn from your peers’ unique perspectives on the language.

3. Enhanced Confidence and Fluency:

Speaking a new language can be intimidating. A supportive study group environment provides a safe space to practice speaking and overcome the fear of making mistakes. By engaging in regular conversations with other learners, you’ll gradually increase your confidence and fluency, making you more comfortable speaking the language in everyday situations.

4. Increased Motivation and Accountability:

Learning a language requires dedication and consistent practice. Study groups foster a sense of accountability, knowing your peers are relying on you to show up prepared. This shared commitment can keep you motivated, especially when faced with challenging topics or moments of discouragement.

5. Exposure to Diverse Learning Styles:

Everyone learns differently. Joining a language study group allows you to interact with peers who prefer various learning styles. Some might excel at visual aids, while others benefit from auditory explanations or kinesthetic activities. By witnessing and participating in different learning approaches, you can discover new tactics to enhance your own language acquisition.

Finding the Perfect Language Study Group:

1. Online Platforms:

The digital age offers a wealth of options for finding a language study group. Numerous online platforms connect learners worldwide based on skill level, target language, and learning goals. These platforms often have built-in features for facilitating discussions, document sharing, and video conferencing.

2. Language Learning Communities:

Many schools and universities have dedicated language learning centers or student-run language clubs. These groups provide an excellent opportunity to connect with classmates or fellow students passionate about learning the same language.

3. Local Community Centers and Libraries:

Community centers and libraries often host language learning programs or conversation groups. These sessions offer a casual and accessible environment to practice conversational skills with native speakers or fellow learners within your community.

Tips for a Successful Language Study Group:

1. Define Your Goals:

Before forming a group, establish a clear goal. Do you want to focus on conversational skills, prepare for a language exam, or delve deeper into a specific aspect of the language like literature or grammar? Setting clear goals will help you attract compatible members with similar aspirations.

2. Set Ground Rules and Structure:

Establish the frequency and duration of your group meetings. Decide on a structure for your sessions, such as rotating topics, incorporating games or activities, and allocating time for practicing conversation skills.

3. Embrace Different Levels:

It’s perfectly fine to have members with varying levels of proficiency. A supportive group environment encourages advanced learners to mentor beginners, fostering a sense of community and shared progress.

4. Celebrate Successes and Milestones:

Learning a language is a journey filled with achievements, big and small. Celebrate each other’s successes, from mastering a new grammar point to overcoming a fear of public speaking. This positive reinforcement will keep everyone motivated and engaged.

Conclusion:

Joining a Language Study Group is a fantastic way to take your language learning to the next level. By leveraging the power of Group Study, you can immerse yourself in the language, enhance your understanding, and build confidence in your speaking abilities. So, gather your language-loving friends, set some goals, and embark on a rewarding journey of linguistic discovery together!

Content Source https://explainlearning.com/blog/language-study-community-enhance-your-language-skills/