California 'Under Rising Pressure' From New Coronavirus Surge

According to this mornings WSJ newsletter, "The latest Covid surge expands beyond the Northeast":

Places from the Midwest to Florida and California are under rising pressure. The most recent weekly update of a CDC metric that uses case and hospitalization data to determine community levels of Covid-19 ranked 137 counties as “high,” up from 79 a week earlier and 14 in mid-April.

Of course this isn't good news, but it's especially troubling in my case because as long as mask mandates continue, I'll still be teaching online --- with my hearing, I need to see a student's face. So, I told my administration that I'm not coming back to teach on campus until all mandates are lifted. That's supposed to be next semester, but if the state, LA. County, or the City of Long Beach maintains indoor masking, I'm toast.

And let's be honest, while the grading for online classes is not just burdensome and heavy, it's even more so a long, monotonous grind. In an "asynchronous" class there's really no direct, face-to-face contact with students, unless on of them requests virtual office hours by Zoom, which is rare.

Well see, in any case. Meanwhile, at the Journal, "Latest Covid-19 Wave Expands to More of U.S.":

Rising cases prompt more calls for precautions but not mandates in hot spots like New York City.

The latest Covid-19 case surge is expanding beyond the Northeast, with places from the Midwest to Florida and California under rising pressure.

Fueled by highly contagious versions of the Omicron variant, the tide is posing a test of how much new infections matter in a changing pandemic. Though built-up immunity in the population has kept more people out of hospitals, federal health officials on Wednesday urged people in hot spots to take precautions, from booster shots to pre-gathering tests and masks, to limit the virus’ spread.

“We’ve got to do what we can to prevent infections,” said Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator. “We’ve got to do what we can to ensure that infections don’t turn into severe illness.”

The seven-day moving average of new Covid-19 cases recently topped 94,000 a day, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show, nearly four times lows reached in late March. The true number of new cases is likely significantly higher, epidemiologists say, because so many people are self-testing at home or not testing at all.

The rise in cases hasn’t translated thus far into major surges in severe illness. The seven-day average of confirmed cases in hospitalized patients reached about 18,550 on Wednesday, up from lows near 10,000 in mid-April, but far below a record peak above 150,000 in January. The numbers include people who test positive on routine screening after getting hospitalized for other reasons. The daily average of reported deaths has slipped under 300 a day, the lowest point since last summer.

But new cases still cause disruptions and carry risks including the possibility of developing long-lasting and sometimes debilitating symptoms, epidemiologists and public-health experts say. The more an outbreak spreads, the more likely it will reach the most vulnerable including elderly people and others with compromised immune systems, the experts say, and the more likely the virus will continue to mutate.

“Vaccines are very effective for reducing severe disease and death but don’t eliminate severe disease and death, and so reducing spread, reducing cases is also important,” said Julia Raifman, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told the WSJ Future of Everything Festival that scientists have yet to determine whether certain variants of the virus are more likely to lead to long-term symptoms.

The latest upswing in cases began in late March in the Northeast, the early hot spot for the Omicron BA.2 subvariant. Virus experts believe spread was muted at first by a mix of immunity-boosting factors: timing, right after a major winter surge, and a similarity to the version of Omicron behind that surge...

Still more.

I'll keep you posted. I'm scheduled for three classes on campus for fall, but that could change.

Biden Campaigns for Newsom at Long Beach City College (VIDEO)

My school.

The security was intense.

At LAT, "In final campaign push with Newsom, Biden says ‘eyes of the nation’ are on California recall":

President Biden joined Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night for a final campaign stop in Long Beach on the eve of the recall election, lending his firepower to fight against the governor’s possible ouster and underscoring the national importance of defeating the effort.

“California, I’m not sure you know it but if you didn’t know it, you should,” Biden said. “This is not hyperbole: The eyes of the nation are on California. Because the decision you’re about to make isn’t just going to have a huge impact on California, it’s going to reverberate around the nation. And quite frankly, it’s not a joke, around the world.“ The rally capped a long day in the West for the president, and a months-long campaign for Newsom and his opponents. Earlier in the day, Biden traveled to Boise, Idaho, and Sacramento to survey wildfire damage and discuss his administration’s response.

A pre-show lineup of mariachi music and dignitaries from across Democratic Party ranks — including Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks and state elected officeholders — rallied the crowd of more than 1,000 invited labor representatives, college students and other Democrats at Long Beach City College before the president and governor’s arrival shortly before 7 p.m.

The president’s stop in California marked the closing campaign act for Newsom, who has touted support from several high-profile Democrats in recent weeks, including former President Obama, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to California to court voters on behalf of the governor.

In a 15-minute address, Biden praised Newsom’s handling of the pandemic and urged attendees to vote for the governor because of his support for reproductive rights and efforts to mitigate climate change.

“Folks, send a message to the nation: Courage matters, leadership matters, science matters. Vote to keep Gavin Newsom,” Biden said.

The Biden administration has a vested interest in the recall’s outcome. A Newsom victory could lift Democrats after a politically challenging several weeks for the president, whose popularity has taken a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s resurgence and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The election of a Republican governor could be devastating to Democrats nationwide, with the possibility that the new governor would appoint a replacement for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) should she retire and leave an open seat in theSenate.

On Monday, the president and governor pointedly attacked the recall as an effort led by Republicans supporting former President Trump. Biden likened conservative talk show host Larry Elder, the leading Republican candidate in the race, to Trump and told the audience “there’s too much at stake” to let him become governor.

“We may have defeated Donald Trump, but we have not defeated Trumpism,” Newsom said to the crowd before Biden took the stage. “Trumpism is still on the ballot in California and that’s why it’s so important, not just for all of us here 40 million Americans strong in the nation’s largest and most populous state, but also to send a statement, all across the United States of America, that Trumpism has no place here, and Trumpism will be defeated all across the United States of America, because we’re better than that.”

Recent polls suggest Newsom probably has little to worry about, after an early split among voters a few weeks ago developed into a strong showing of support for the first-term governor. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times, released Friday showed that 60.1% of likely voters surveyed oppose recalling Newsom compared with 38.5% in favor of ousting the governor.

A crowd of pro-recall protesters gathered outside the Long Beach event Monday, chanting “Recall Newsom!”

“First Vice President Harris, now President Biden: it is baffling and insulting that Gavin Newsom would want either of them here campaigning to save his job while California children, women and families remain abandoned in Afghanistan by this Administration,” California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement following the event. “It’s clear protecting those they were elected to serve comes second to politics. Lucky for Californians, we have a chance tomorrow to recall Gavin Newsom and replace him with a leader who finally puts their needs first.”...

Also at CBS 8 San Diego, "President Biden visits California in support of Governor Newsom ahead of recall election."

Massive Financial Aid Scam Hits California Community Colleges

This is nasty scam.

My division dean mentioned it last week and she sent out a long email notice to all department faculty members today.

Nasty --- and a bit unreal, to think about it.

At LAT, "More than 65,000 fake students applied for financial aid in wide community college scam":

California student aid official Patrick Perry was beginning a routine check of federal financial aid records a few weeks ago when he came across a mystifying number: 60,000 more aid applications from a particular group of students this year than last.

They were first-time applicants to California community colleges who were older than 30, earned less than $40,000 annually and were seeking a two-year degree rather than a vocational certificate. They were spread out across the state, applying to 105 of the 116 campuses in the California Community Colleges system — with the top number at Cerritos, Pasadena, Chaffey, Merced and Antelope Valley. And their applications began surging in May through mid-August.

“We were kind of scratching our heads going, ‘Did or didn’t 60,000 extra older adult students really attempt to apply to community colleges here in the last few months?’” Perry, director of policy, research and data for the California Student Aid Commission, said Tuesday.

He alerted California community college officials Thursday. Around the same time, chatter emerged about abnormal enrollment patterns on a research listserv for community colleges, on which faculty were beginning to question whether some of their “students” were actually fake bot accounts.

The colleges and student aid officials put their heads together and uncovered what is believed to be one of the state’s biggest financial aid scam attempts in recent history.

California Community Colleges officials declined to say whether any financial aid was disbursed to fake students and said they did not know of any confirmed Cal Grant fraud, but the investigation is continuing.

Perry said he thinks the attempted fraud was stymied before much, if any, aid was distributed because community college classes are just starting and campuses are now on high alert. “I can’t tell you whether any money has gone out or not, but my guess is probably not,” he said. “I think we’ve caught it.”

It was unclear what financial aid may be involved in the fraud — state-funded Cal Grants, for instance, federal Pell Grants or COVID-19 emergency relief grants. California community colleges have received more than $1.6 billion in emergency COVID-19 relief for low-income students.

In addition, the fake applications are roiling the ability of college officials to determine true student enrollment numbers at a time of declining community college attendance and major efforts to recruit students and offer them financial and emergency pandemic aid to help them continue with higher education goals. Many professors are crestfallen trying to assess whether they have a class of students or bots.

Since last week, Perry said, the number of suspected fake financial aid applications has surpassed 65,000, and the problem appears confined to state community colleges. No irregular patterns were detected with the University of California or California State University.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General confirmed it was investigating but declined to comment further because the inquiry is ongoing.

But the financial aid commission and community colleges have found similar red flags for both admission and financial aid. Applications were missing a phone contact or had the same phone number on multiple applications. Numerous applications used an Outlook.com email address, listed student ages as old as 90 and repeated addresses — most to a vacant house.

“We were looking at the financial aid and they were looking at applications for enrollment and we finally put the two together,” Perry said. “The two just matched up and at that point we went, ‘Yeah, this is fraudulent.’”

The community college system is beefing up internal reporting and security measures after finding that 20% of recent traffic on its main portal for online applications was “malicious and bot-related,” according to a memo issued Monday by Valerie Lundy-Wagner, interim vice chancellor of digital innovation and infrastructure.

Nearly three-quarters of that traffic was caught by new software called Imperva Advanced Bot Detection, which was installed in July, and the matter remained of “grave concern,” Lundy-Wagner said.

“I’m certainly alarmed,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who is on temporary leave working for the Biden administration. “There’s lots of unscrupulous players right now trying to access and exploit benefits, not unlike what’s happened with unemployment insurance and any number of other benefits that have been made available recently because of the pandemic.

“But I’m confident that the colleges have been able to identify the activity and are working to mitigate the risk to campuses,” he said.

Keep reading.

 

LBCC Loses Nearly $2 Million Amid Coronavirus

Yeah, but my college is expected to get $14 million from the Care package passed by Congress. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

Long Beach City College has lost nearly $2 million so far due to coronavirus https://t.co/YtgK6toBdr

— LB Press-Telegram (@presstelegram) April 23, 2020

University Libraries Are Seeing Precipitous Declines in the Use of the Books on Their Shelves

Well, few students read, at least on my campus. It's very hard to get them to complete their assignments, especially in the introductory American government class. And you rarely see a student reading a book while out walking around the campus. The ratio is a least 20-to-1 with students using mobile phones over reading.

I notice when a student has a book. It's so rare.

At Instapundit, "CHANGE: The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper."

Long Beach City College Gun Scare Lockdown (VIDEO)

My college's Pacific Coast Campus was on lockdown yesterday, although it turned out the weapon was a fake gun, I guess to be used in some kind of theater production.

Campus security sent out emergency notifications through email and text messaging around 11:00am or so. The college took this very seriously, which is good. I'd like more answers about why some theater production was having fake guns in use and there was no formal notification to the college beforehand?

My school's newspaper, the Viking, has the story. Turns out is was a theater professor himself who "stupidly" walked across campus carrying the fake weapon, without a bag or anything. You think people might freak out?

See, "Film professor carrying prop gun caused campus lockdown."

And at ABC 7 News Los Angeles:

Rep. Linda Sánchez Takes the Heat

I use Rep. Rep. Linda Sánchez as an example of newer-style Members of Congress and congressional careers. She represents the 38th district, right next to my college, so she's an interesting example to discuss. Some students live in the district. And she's been in Congress since 2003, so she's got considerable seniority. And of course, she's a Latina.

In any case, she spoke out a year ago about Nancy Pelosi's entrenched leadership, and called for generational change. She's totally right, of course, but now she's in the cross hairs apparently. You know Pelosi's a vindictive bitch, so no matter what happens in the November elections, Sánchez is going to be fighting to keep her spot among the top Democrats in the House.

At Politico, "Highest-ranking Latina braces for backlash over Pelosi snub: Rep. Linda Sánchez called for a new generation of Democratic leadership. Her allies fear it might cost her her own spot in the upper echelon":

Rep. Linda Sánchez called for a new generation of Democratic leadership. Her allies fear it might cost her her own spot in the upper echelon.https://t.co/kO600ptfUm

— POLITICO (@politico) May 30, 2018

Forget Nancy Pelosi. The most endangered member of House Democratic leadership is its most recent entrant and the highest-ranking Latina in Congress, Rep. Linda Sánchez.

As vice chairwoman of the Democratic Caucus, Sánchez occupies the obscure No. 5 spot in Democratic ranks, a position deemed the “potted plant” of leadership by veteran lawmakers. But what is normally a launching pad to greater ambitions could be a blunt end to Sánchez’s so-far promising leadership career as some members have her in their cross hairs come November.

For Sánchez, the trouble started last fall when she shocked the caucus by publicly calling for a change in House Democrats’ leadership regime, long led by Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Assistant Minority Leader Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.

It was a sentiment dozens of lawmakers have shared privately — but it was unheard of for a member of leadership to express to the media.

For her part, a defiant Sánchez shrugged off any potential blowback — even if that includes getting booted from leadership.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the future of the caucus,” Sánchez told Politico. “My ultimate goal is to leave behind a stronger Democratic Caucus with an effective majority because I think that would leave the country better off. That’s my ambition for my congressional career.”

The dilemma facing Sánchez is at the heart of tensions within the Democratic Caucus over its static top leadership. Pelosi and her team have made it clear they want to stay in power if Democrats win back the House in November, but their decade-plus reign has left a wake of frustrated younger members with little room to advance.

Sánchez gave voice to frustrations that most members are comfortable expressing only privately, and lawmakers say they’re watching closely to see whether she pays a price for speaking out.

What happens to Sánchez also has significant implications for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and its influence over leadership. She’s not the only prominent member of the group who might want to move up in the ranks where few slots, if any, might be open.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico could push for a promotion if his stint as chairman of Democrats’ campaign arm helps them win back the House. Other prominent CHC members, including Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Pete Aguilar of California, are also mentioned in the leadership mix, according to members.

Interviews with 20 Democratic lawmakers and aides indicate an overwhelming sense that Sánchez will face a challenge for her leadership post this fall. But opinions are mixed as to whether she’s built up enough loyalty within the caucus to beat back a potential opponent.

So far, no one has stepped forward to say they are planning to challenge Sánchez. And the California Democrat could even have an opportunity to move up if the top three leaders step aside, especially if Democrats underperform in the midterm elections...

More.

The Soft Bigotry of School Discipline Reform

This is an amazing piece, at the Fordham Institute:

Simon Whitehead, a former teacher, gives his take on why not all forms of #school #discipline reform are working: https://t.co/Kw24DiPpih

— Fordham Institute (@educationgadfly) November 22, 2017

I am here today because I am very worried about the direction some of our urban and suburban schools are taking.

Over the past four to five years, there have been strong expectations to discipline students differently depending on their race. We were told that too many students of color were being suspended and this looked bad, especially in the case of African American boys. This was definitely the case in Minneapolis.

However well-intended, this policy actually disrespects a whole class of students by lowering the expectations for their behavior, their work ethic, and inevitably their academic progress. When students walk though my classroom door, I have high expectations for them—no matter what they look like.

Another great area of concern is that students are now increasingly emboldened to get together and collaborate to “get teachers in trouble.” Those teachers can lose their jobs and their entire careers. The teachers who tend to be targets are those who have a more traditional way of teaching. By this I mean holding all students to high expectations—such as punctuality, respectful behavior, teamwork, good work ethic, following school rules, politeness, meeting deadlines—and providing consequences for not reaching those high standards.

This has led, in my opinion, to a generation of teachers who are “walking on eggshells,” trying very hard to not say anything or do anything that might remotely get them reported. I believe that many teachers now turn a blind eye to school policies not popular with students: they inflate grades, ignore dress codes violations, don’t give deadlines for handing work in, and put up with bad behavior that would previously had prompted disciplinary action. It is a culmination of these “little expectations” that has led to an erosion of the overall school climate of academic rigor, as well as an erosion of student and staff safety. In addition, if there’s a student exhibiting significantly bad behavior, many teachers feel helpless because they know that a behavior referral will be fruitless; assistant principals will return that student to the same classroom that day or the next day. Order in the classroom deteriorates, and learning suffers.

When you have given twenty-five years to teaching city kids, it hurts to be called a racist, as I have been many times. It’s upsetting to be verbally abused on a daily or even hourly basis, and in some cases even physically abused.

What other profession has to tolerate this?

This is a key reason why we are losing great teachers.

I like to think I ran a pretty tight ship. I like to think that we got a lot of learning done in fifty minutes. I would teach up to two hundred students a day. I was the head varsity coach of two sports in my school. I was in the hallways every day, passing time, keeping order and greeting students. But under the current conditions, I cannot and will not teach any longer in Minneapolis.

African American students will never reach their full potential when they are getting conflicting messages from radical activists who tell them they are, and will be, victims of discrimination, who promote the ideology of white privilege (code for “you have no chance”), and who get them all riled up and angry in school so that they’re protesting at every opportunity. It is tough to learn when you are angry.

These students need to hear the same strong, uplifting, and positive message from teachers, parents, counselors, principals, and district administrators that they can achieve success with hard work, dedication, and determination...

He's right. This is the main problem with our schools. I deal with these things all the time. I'm lucky I'm not white. Seriously. I hate to do it, but I can turn the race card around on anyone who makes any issue about race. It's too easy for progressives to scream "racism." But I'll throw it back in their faces. Ideology has taken over public education. I'm fighting a tough battle, and sometimes I find myself going too easy on my students, because I get tired of playing campus cop all the time, 24/7. But unless you keep up a unified front, things happen, and it takes a cascade of disruptive behavior to remind you you've got to maintain high standards. You have no idea sometimes. (I'd like to retire, in fact, but it's just not happening any time soon, and it's for precisely these reasons).

More at the link.

Jackie Johnson's Increasing Humidity Forecast

I started updating my fall syllabi at the office today, and got further along on my American government classes than I expected. I'm making some significant additions to the syllabus in terms of expectations and decorum. Today's youth mobile phone/social media culture is sometimes shocking in its extreme casualness. The key word now is "messaging." Students don't see themselves as emailing professors a formal communication, addressed appropriately with the proper honorific (like "Hi Dr. Douglas"). Nope, they'll "message" you on their iPhones just as casually as if they were texting their best friends. They don't think twice about it. One student last semester, asking for the URL for the course's online digital textbook, just wrote "Link." That's it. He was asking me to send him the link to the digital book, but each class section has a different URL, since the proprietary software creates a unique roster for each class at my dashboard. And of course, you want to include a polite greeting when you're contacting your professors, or you'd think. I explain this to students, of course, and it's in the course syllabus; but they tune out in class (or they've forgotten what I've gone over) and they don't read their syllabi. I'm including much more formal instructions on email communications this semester, and I'm giving a brief quiz on the syllabus, for credit/no credit, at the beginning of the second week. (I'm also having students "pre-read" a couple of New York Times op-eds, including "U Can't Talk to Ur Professor Like This.")

A lot of students aren't pleased that I'm a stickler for standards and decorum. Often I don't have the most "popular" student evaluations, because don't cave to the culture's lowest-common-denominator. Of course, I don't care about being popular. I care about imparting values and professional standards, as well as a rigorous political science curriculum and good writing. Sometimes it feels like a losing battle, but fortunately I get enough positive feedback from time to time to know I'm making difference.

In any case, here's the lovely Ms. Jackie with the forecast, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Long Beach City College Announces Post-Election Student Support and Resources

I haven't heard about any hateful incidents, but my college is joining other institutions around the country in creating "safe spaces" for students traumatized by the election of Donald Trump.

See, "Message From President Oakley: Post-Election Student Support and Resources":

Dear LBCC Students,

Across our country and throughout college campuses nationwide, people are processing the outcome of an unprecedented Presidential election. For many Americans, and indeed for many college students, this election has brought deep anxiety, discomfort, and uncertainty about the future. Undoubtedly, many of you have seen the responses in community and campus demonstrations, and statements by some that question the safety and rights of students from diverse backgrounds.

I feel compelled to address these concerns and reassure our students that Long Beach City College remains a safe, secure, and supportive environment for all of you. The diversity of our campus is one of our proudest and strongest qualities. We will continue to serve all of you and advocate on your behalf. Every single one of you belongs here and you are welcome on this campus – now and in the future.

While we are seeing some unrest within college and university campuses, we must remember that this unrest is an example of the unwavering rights we have in the United States to speak freely and engage in social action as a community. Our system remains strong and our campus will remain steadfast in its fair and equitable treatment for all students.

I encourage you, during this time of transition and uncertainty, to stay focused on your educational goals. Do not lose sight of what brought you to LBCC and the success that I know lies ahead for each and every one of you.

Campus resources are available to you, so please take advantage of these as you need them. Do not hesitate to contact LBCC’s Director of Student Health Services and Student Life Ginny DuRivage ... if you have any concerns or need to utilize student support resources.

For more information, please see this flyer for upcoming support group sessions, and this statement from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.


Sincerely,
Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Superintendent-President

LBCC's Eloy Ortiz Oakley Selected as California Community Colleges Chancellor

He's the president of my college, moving on to greener, more powerful pastures.

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "BREAKING: Long Beach’s Eloy Oakley named chancellor of California Community Colleges."

Read it at the link.

Oakley's a glitzy showman without a Ph.D. He acts like some big mover and shaker all the time. Meanwhile, the overall quality of our college demographic continues to fall, and there's very little programmatic support that improves the classroom experience.

Anyway, good for him. We get a new college president.

Free Speech Farce: How One College Lets Students Censor Debate

From Jillian Kay Melchior, at Heat Street, "Muzzled Professors: An Inside Look at How One College Lets Students Censor Classroom Debate":

"Bias Response Team" tells professor to avoid "transgender issues" after students complain: https://t.co/lSj7uME8IH pic.twitter.com/pnJanIlsUO

— Heat Street (@heatstreet) June 20, 2016

For many students and professors, one of the great appeals of college life is being exposed to new and different ways of thinking. But that age-old process is now under threat at schools around the country. Take the University of Northern Colorado.

After two of the school’s professors asked their students to discuss controversial topics and consider opposing viewpoints, they received visits from the school’s Bias Response Team to discuss their teaching style. The professors’ students had reported them, claiming the curriculum constituted bias.

These incidents, both in the 2015-2016 academic year, reflect a growing trend in higher education. College students increasingly demand to be shielded from “offensive,” “triggering” or “harmful” language and topics, relying on Bias Response Teams to intervene on their behalf. Such teams are popping up at a growing number of universities.

Heat Street filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get a look at some of the complaints to UNC’s Bias Response Team, and a sense of how the team is handling those petitions. In one report reviewed by Heat Street, a professor, whose name was redacted, had asked students to read an Atlantic article entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind,” about college students’ increasing sensitivity and its impact on their mental health.

The professor then asked his students to come up with difficult topics, including transgender issues, gay marriage, abortion and global warning. He outlined competing positions on these topics, though he did not express his personal opinion.

In a report to the Bias Response Team, a student complained that the professor referenced the opinion that “transgender is not a real thing, and no one can truly feel like they are born in the wrong body.”

“I would just like the professor to be educated about what trans is and how what he said is not okay because as someone who truly identifies as a transwomen I was very offended and hurt by this,” the student wrote.

A member of the Bias Response Team met with the professor, the report says, and “advised him not to revisit transgender issues in his classroom if possible to avoid the students expressed concerns.” The Bias Response Team also “told him to avoid stating opinions (his or theirs) on the topic as he had previously when working from the Atlantic article.”

In a separate incident, a professor, whose name was also redacted, asked his students to choose from a list of debate topics, some of them regarding homosexuality and religion.

The Bias Response Team’s notes summarized: “Specifically there were two topics of debate that triggered them and personally felt like an attack on their identity (GodHatesFags.com: is this harmful? Is this acceptable? Is this Christianity? And Gay Marriage: should it be legal? Is homosexuality immoral as Christians suggest?)”

The student, whose name is redacted and who is referred to as “they” in the report, complained that “other students are required to watch the in-class debate and hear both arguments presented.”

“I do not believe that students should be required to listen to their own rights and personhood debated,” the student wrote. “[This professor] should remove these topics from the list of debate topics. Debating the personhood of an entire minority demographic should not be a classroom exercise, as the classroom should not be an actively hostile space for people with underprivileged identities.”

The Bias Response Team wrote that while this incident “did not reach a level of discrimination,” members still contacted the professor to “have a conversation… [and] listen to his perspective, share the impact created for the student and dialogue about options to strengthen his teaching.”

The Bias Response Team wrote that once the conversation was completed, they wanted a full report of “the outcome of your time together. . . so I can document and share with the student that outreach was completed.”

The University of Northern Colorado did not respond to Heat Street’s request for comment about whether the Bias Response Team is a threat to free speech and academic freedom. We also asked to be put in touch with the professors who had received complaints, but we did not hear back before publication...

I don't create "safe spaces" in my classrooms, and I don't let students censor debate, although I don't think my campus has a "bias response team." (And I'm not going to give administrators any ideas.)

I discuss controversial issues in class all the time, presenting both sides of debate, but usually contrasting "Main Street" opinion from the collectivist wisdom found at major media outlets like the New York Times. I always put the New York Times homepage up on the overhead screen, starting from the minute I call the roll sheet. I'll usually begin class lectures with a discussion of the hot news items. It's great. We discussed leftist political correctness after the Belgium jihad attacks (I posted this ABC News piece on administration threats to prosecute anti-Muslim "hate speech" in class), and transgender issues pretty much the whole semester. We had especially good discussions on the trans problem, and one of my students was transitioning from female to male, and told the class that Donald Trump was the only candidate so far that he could relate to! Now that was a teachable moment, heh.

In any case, more at the link.

Quoted in LBCC's Viking Newspaper

Following-up from last night, "Hillary Clinton Rallies Supporters at Long Beach City College (VIDEO)."

The college newspaper contacted me for some comments on Clinton's visit. My colleague Charlotte Joseph was contacted as well.

Here's the piece, "Political-Science Professors React to Hillary Clinton Rally":

Professor Charlotte Joseph said in an email Sunday, June 5, she considers herself a “swing voter” and is supporting Clinton due to her vast experience in foreign and domestic policy. She said, “It is a fantastic opportunity whenever any candidate comes to our campus.  It allows our students and the entire college community a chance to hear challenging ideas and to evaluate how these fit with their own beliefs.”

Joseph said, “It provides an educational opportunity that most people never get the chance to see.  Most of us get our information from the television or the internet, in sound bites. We rarely have the opportunity to hear a speech from beginning to end. Hopefully, this will be the first of many such events at LBCC because of the uniqueness of our college and student body.”

Although he is registered to vote in the Republican primary, Professor Douglas said in an email Monday, June 6, just hours before Clinton’s speech that he doesn’t identify as Republican or Democrat.

Douglas said, “The 2016 election has generated tremendous excitement, more than usual, in my experience, especially in California, where our primary is expected to be decisive. So, it’s great that students can participate directly in the political process by attending a campaign rally. The event brings the campaign home to those who’re already interested and makes it a personal, potentially life-changing experience to see and hear their candidate close up.”

Douglas also said he expects Clinton to receive a lot of media coverage and believes if Clinton were to lose in California, then the Bernie Sanders campaign would receive “enormous momentum and could put pressure on the Democrat National Committee to weaken the rules of the party’s super delegates.”

Hillary Clinton Rallies Supporters at Long Beach City College (VIDEO)

The college just announced the Clinton visit on Friday, which was relatively short notice.

I wasn't all that thrilled about it, especially since the original announcement said that doors were open at 2:00pm (for a 4:00pm event), and that was going to cut into class time.

It turns out the timeline was pushed back two hours, with doors scheduled to open at 4:00pm (for a 6:00pm event). That wasn't too bad. My 12:45pm American politics class saw pretty much regular attendance. My 2:20pm international relations class was less than half attended, but no matter. I had a brief presentation planned anyway, and I distributed a handout last week, in any case.

Students elsewhere around campus were complaining, though. It was a big event that caused some distractions for students not interested in the campaign. They just wanted to study.

I don't see a report on the rally anywhere. Everyone's talking about the AP story announcing the Clinton's got the delegates to clinch the nomination.

I'll update with more later.

Meanwhile, some video and tweets:

Ginormous line to get into @HillaryClinton rally at #LBCC crossing fingers I make it #thisiswhatdemocracylookslike 👍 pic.twitter.com/5qJnXPNyKH

— MichelleRobbins (@MichelleRobbins) June 6, 2016

Bernie Sanders supporters outside #HillaryClinton rally in #longbeach pic.twitter.com/MJ0eWWbFQ0

— Stephanie Rivera (@Steph_LBPost) June 7, 2016

First public sighting of Hillary since AP called the nomination for her. pic.twitter.com/JsBt4fXNL0

— Seema Mehta (@LATSeema) June 7, 2016

.@Hadas_Gold #HillaryClinton speaking at #LBCC. cc. @maggieNYT @Instapundit @Not_RSMcCain #CAPrimary #CA pic.twitter.com/3q7VrnDW0O

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 7, 2016

"We are on the brink of a historic unprecedented moment but we still have work to do don't we? We have 6 elections tomorrow"-@hillaryclinton

— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) June 7, 2016

"I have a special place in my heart for Long Beach...I want to be a good partner"--words perhaps never spoken before by a newly-minted nom

— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) June 7, 2016

"I'm a progressive who wants to get things done"--does that mark the end of "stronger together" or just a visit to the slogan vault?

— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) June 7, 2016

@cathleendecker No. She said "stronger together" too.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 7, 2016

After the tweet! :) https://t.co/zkBpbaIian

— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) June 7, 2016

Didn't Feel Well Yesterday

I had a wonderful long Memorial Day weekend, but yesterday was a strange day at work.

Mostly, I was upset at the news of the UCLA shooting, which starting breaking around 10:30am. My office hours were busy, and then the campus fire alarm went off and faculty, staff, and students had to exit the buildings for about 20 minutes or so until the all clear was given. News trickled in, and by the time I went to teach my first class reports indicated that the shooting was a murder-suicide.

My classes were fine --- I have one section of American government and one section of international relations on Mondays and Wednesdays. (I felt a little out of it in my IR class, though, since my usual preparation was thrown off by the strange morning. Sometimes it takes a little more to get back in the swing of things, in any case. Oh well, I'll hit it out of the park during Monday's class.)

Plus, Milo Yiannopoulos ended up cancelling the talk he was going to give on campus, as he was apparently personally affected by the shooting and didn't think it was appropriate to hold a debate. (Trolls were blaming him for the shooting on Twitter, unsurprisingly.)

Gustavo Arellano, the editor of the O.C. Weekly, who was scheduled to debate Milo, did speak solo it turns out, talking about corruption in Orange County. He's an interesting guy, not the least his public profanity. He gave a shout out to this feature piece at the magazine, "Who Wants to Free a Southern California Serial Killer? Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas." I don't care for local politics that much, so it was educational for me.

(I also had a nasty bout of acid reflux late yesterday afternoon, which didn't come under control until later in the evening. So there's that.)

I'll have more blogging tonight, and then over the weekend. Next week's finals week and then I'm out for the summer. I'm looking forward to some time off from teaching.

And thanks to everyone who's been shopping at my Amazon links. As noted, I've been plowing the proceeds back into my own reading habit, so thanks again.

Have a great day.

Vivian Malauulu Beats Incumbent Irma Archuleta in Race for LBCC District Board Election

This is good news for my faculty union, which has been campaigning hard to elect a pro-faculty majority to the college's elected board of trustees. With Malauulu's election, the college will now have two strongly pro-faculty members of the board

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "Long Beach election: Doug Otto, Vivian Malauulu win LBCC races."

Cal State Faculty Agree to Tentative Contract

Perhaps the threat of the strike brought about some concessions from the CSU negotiators.

I hope so, because my union's in contract negotiations with my college, and it's time to bring the heat on the administration.

At LAT, "Cal State faculty union postpones planned strike after tentative salary agreement is reached."

Back from Pearson Revel Community Forum at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Hotel, Dana Point

I attended a teaching conference this weekend in Dana Point.

I tweeted:

At a teaching conference today, in Dana Point. Taking a break from the #TedCruz / #DonaldTrump purity wars. pic.twitter.com/6WxLqLV1Dp

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) March 11, 2016

A lovely hotel, particularly the views overlooking the harbor. The weather was beautiful when I got there Friday morning, but by mid-afternoon we had more of the El Niño downpours.

No matter. It was fun and informative.

Moving the Goalposts: What Feminist 'Rape Culture' Discourse Is About

An epic post, from Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain.

Cited there is Susan Shaw and Janet Lee, eds., Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings.

I have a copy of the third edition, and I tweeted a photo of it to Robert. He asked if I'd just gotten my copy, and I said, "No, the radical lesbian feminist professor two offices down from mine left an old copy out in the hall, in a stack of free books."

And that's not a joke. Professor Rachel Hollenberg, from the Department of Philosophy, is two doors down from me. She's really hardcore, as you can tell, by a quick look at this conference program where she participated, in 2005, at Claremont Graduate School, "Queering the Discourse Conference."

(And notice how she marked up the contents page at the textbook, seen below. Boy, you really gotta highlight all the entries on oppression, lol.)

In any case, buy Robert's book, Sex Trouble: Essays on Radical Feminism and the War Against Human Nature.

I'll have more blogging tonight

End of Summer Savings

Actually, it's not the end of summer so much as it's the end of my summer, heh.

The semester starts back up on Monday and today I'll be at the College Day program for the new semester.

I'll have more blogging tonight.

Meanwhile, shop Amazon, Shop for Home - Save 20% on Select Dyson Fans.

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BONUS: Dick and Liz Cheney's new book will be in stores on September 1st. Pre-order yours here, Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.