Author: KnowledgeHippo

Students can no longer take sociology to fulfill their core course requirements, Florida’s state university system decided Wednesday. Instead, his board approved “a lesson in historical reality” as a replacement.The 17-member board’s decision came after fierce opposition from sociology professors in the university system, which includes the University of Florida and Florida State.And it’s the latest move by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to challenge the education establishment, and what the governor has portrayed as its liberal orthodoxy. Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, had tried to leverage his educational background in his failed presidential campaign.In a brief announcement Wednesday, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues…

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The number of reported hate crimes at schools and colleges nearly doubled between 2018 and 2022, according to data released Monday by the FBIAbout 1,300 hate crimes were reported in elementary schools, secondary schools and colleges in 2022, up from 700 in 2018 — an increase of about 90 percent, according to the report, the first on the subject to be issued by the federal government.Black Americans were the most frequent victims, with a total of 1,690 hate crimes reported against them over the five-year period, followed by LGBTQ people with 900 offenses. Jewish Americans were third, with 745 reported…

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Campus protests aren’t usually directed at just one person. But last week at the University of Pennsylvania, professors organized a rally aimed at Marc Rowan, the New York private equity billionaire.A Penn alumnus and major benefactor of the university, Mr. Rowan used his formidable resources in a relentless campaign against Penn President M. Elizabeth Magill that led to her resignation in December.But it was what happened next that sparked the protest. Mr. Rowan sent a four-page email to university administrators titled “Moving Forward,” which many professors interpreted as a plan for a more conservative campus.Amy C. Offner, a history professor…

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Virginia is on track to ban legacy preferences at its public universities, which give a boost to the children of graduates applying for admission.The state House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would repeal the preferences. the State Senate did so last week.Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office indicated he would sign the legislation, saying in a statement that he “believes that admission to Virginia’s universities and colleges should be based on merit.” The law will go into effect on July 1, after admissions decisions are made for the fall of 2024.The ban, which would affect two of the nation’s…

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The newsUtah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a sweeping bill that dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state’s educational institutions and government offices — the latest state to take action amid a broader national backlash against such efforts.The law prohibits any program, office or initiative that has “diversity, equity and inclusion” in its name or “asserts that meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist.” It also requires that student support services be open to all students, outlawing efforts that target students of certain races or genders.The Background: The law is part of a broader national crackdown on diversity efforts.Since early…

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In the fall of 2020, around the height of the pandemic school closing debate, a lawsuit in California made a serious claim: the state failed in its constitutional obligation to provide an equal education to low-income, black and Hispanic students, who had less access in online learning.Now, in a settlement announced Thursday, the state has agreed to use at least $2 billion earmarked for pandemic recovery to help those students still trying to catch up. And it includes guardrails on how the money can be used.Mark Rosenbaum, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, described it as a “historic settlement” that ensures…

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The United States has led a major wave of retaliation in the Middle East, striking dozens of targets belonging to armed groups backed by Iran since Friday. The strikes represent a sharp escalation of hostilities in the region, something President Biden has sought to avoid since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began in October.See how the latest strikes have unfolded.January 28: Three US service members were killed and dozens wounded in a drone attack on their remote military outpost in Jordan, the Pentagon said. They were the first known US military deaths by enemy fire in the…

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Tucked away in a patch of dying grass on the outskirts of Islamabad, the gathering hardly looked like a political gathering at the height of an election season. Two dozen men sat in plastic chairs in silence. There were no posters to promote a campaign, no microphones for speeches, no sound system to amplify the crowd.Even the candidate, Aamir Mughal, was missing: he had gone into hiding months earlier, with the first signs of a military crackdown on his political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI. Authorities had already raided his home. arrested two of his sons and filed a…

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His unit decimated by Ukrainian fire, the last surviving soldier in a Russian attack hid in a shallow crater while the Ukrainians shouted at him to surrender. As he hoisted two grenades into the air, a Ukrainian drone swooped overhead and exploded.Soon, the smoke cleared, a surveillance drone appeared overhead, revealing the body of the Russian soldier. That day’s attack, just north of the ruined city of Avdiivka, was repulsed. But Ukrainians were under no illusions: There would be many more.”They’re coming in waves,” said Lt. Oleksandr Shyrshyn, 29, the deputy battalion commander in the 47th Mechanized Brigade. “And they…

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Kenya’s government will not wait for an appeals court ruling before deploying forces to Haiti, a senior government official said, further underscoring the government’s determination to press ahead with a proposed multinational force aimed at bringing stability to the Caribbean nation ravaged by gangs.Abraham Korir Sing’Oei, the principal secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, told The New York Times in an interview that Kenya and Haiti are working to finalize a bilateral agreement in the next two weeks and that, once in place, its forces Kenya will direct development.Mr Sing’Oei’s statement comes just a week after the country’s Supreme…

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