“We Cannot Fight Fire with Fire”: Efforts to Ban Race-Based College Admissions

Sep 20, 2021 · · Comments Off on “We Cannot Fight Fire with Fire”: Efforts to Ban Race-Based College Admissions

Currently, nine states prohibit colleges and universities from practicing race-conscious admissions. That number may soon become ten if a new bill in the North Carolina legislature is successfully adopted.  Public opinion polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose racial preferences in college admissions. Even in states dominated by the political left, citizens have … Continue reading ““We Cannot Fight Fire with Fire”: Efforts to Ban Race-Based College Admissions”

Oklahoma University Thumbs its Nose at Oklahomans — With ‘So Few Repercussions’

Sep 1, 2021 · · Comments Off on Oklahoma University Thumbs its Nose at Oklahomans — With ‘So Few Repercussions’

“I don’t understand how a state as red as Oklahoma can have such an obsessively woke state university with so few repercussions,” law professor and New York Post columnist Glenn Reynolds recently marveled. He’s not alone. I don’t understand it, either. Nor do many Oklahoma taxpayers I’ve talked to. The question is whether OU’s regents will … Continue reading “Oklahoma University Thumbs its Nose at Oklahomans — With ‘So Few Repercussions’”

Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory

Aug 25, 2021 · · Comments Off on Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory

Over the past several months, critical race theory (CRT) has become one of the most divisive topics in higher education and in America’s political dialogue. Mainstream liberals have framed the issue as simply a matter of teaching accurate history. In their eyes, teaching CRT in the classroom is equivalent to teaching that slavery existed, Black … Continue reading “Asian Americans Debunk Critical Race Theory”

The Fight over Critical Race Theory in Education: A Fight for Our National Survival

Aug 18, 2021 · · Comments Off on The Fight over Critical Race Theory in Education: A Fight for Our National Survival

Editor’s note: The following article was originally published at Legal Insurrection on August 8, 2021. On July 29, 2021, I gave a presentation on “Fighting Smart Against Critical Race Theory In Education” to over 100 state legislators at the American Legislative Exchange Council annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The invitation to speak grew out of the publicity generated … Continue reading “The Fight over Critical Race Theory in Education: A Fight for Our National Survival”

Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools

Aug 11, 2021 · · Comments Off on Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools

Law schools in the U.S. used to be run by no-nonsense individuals who, whatever their personal politics, thought that their institutions existed to teach students about the law, not to engage in advocacy or speculation. That began to change in the 1980s, as some younger law professors started to push into previously forbidden terrain, introducing … Continue reading “Progressivism Surges Through America’s Law Schools”

Letter to the Editor: Eradicating microaggressions will not eliminate racism

Jul 4, 2021 · · Comments Off on Letter to the Editor: Eradicating microaggressions will not eliminate racism

To the editor: I appreciated George Leef’s article,  and the law journal article by Cantu and Jussim that it reviewed. I recently learned, for example, that whites apparently have a higher threshold for recognizing racism than minorities. “The American Psychological Association found in a national survey that Whites experience less race-based discrimination than people of … Continue reading “Letter to the Editor: Eradicating microaggressions will not eliminate racism”

When Universities Don’t Step Up, Good Professors Are Forced to Step Down

Jun 18, 2021 · · Comments Off on When Universities Don’t Step Up, Good Professors Are Forced to Step Down

With “cancel culture” running rampant on social media, in politics, and in the classroom, professors who put forth the effort to help students think critically and challenge their beliefs are needed more than ever. Over the last 15 years at Central Michigan University, journalism professor Timothy Boudreau championed those practices in his classroom, to the … Continue reading “When Universities Don’t Step Up, Good Professors Are Forced to Step Down”

The Backlash to Critical Race Theory Is on The Way

Jun 11, 2021 · · Comments Off on The Backlash to Critical Race Theory Is on The Way

Michelle Goldberg complains in the pages of The New York Times about how it is the left wing that is currently a victim of cancel culture—thanks to the right, which is trying to destroy “critical race theory.” Sounding alarm at the global counter-movement, she writes that Critical race theory, the intellectual tradition undergirding concepts like white privilege … Continue reading “The Backlash to Critical Race Theory Is on The Way”

Wilhelm Marstrand-Don Quixote and Sancho Panza at a crossroad

Tilting at the Windmills of ‘Inequity’

May 19, 2021 · · Comments Off on Tilting at the Windmills of ‘Inequity’

The fight for “equity” in higher education is a story-driven project. As the Annie E. Casey Foundation explains, “To illuminate racism, we need to ‘name it, frame it and explain it.’” This process is essential because “a common language creates a narrative that makes it easier to communicate the commitment to racial equity…and creates a … Continue reading “Tilting at the Windmills of ‘Inequity’”

The Origins of the Cruel Ritual of Diversity Training

May 5, 2021 · · Comments Off on The Origins of the Cruel Ritual of Diversity Training

Diversity training is now in force at many institutions of higher education. In the typical scenario, students, staff, and faculty submit themselves to the mercies of hectoring lectures and demeaning demonstrations that purport to reveal white privilege and the oppressive conditions faced by “underrepresented populations” in their institutions. Former Smith College staffer Jodi Shaw’s account … Continue reading “The Origins of the Cruel Ritual of Diversity Training”