The University of Oklahoma’s mandatory course for education majors on social justice and racism may violate state law.

OU “requires undergraduates studying education to take a course that portrays white people as complicit in institutional racism and instructs them to give special treatment to minority students,” the Daily Caller reported.

Last year, however, Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order stating that universities cannot “mandate…any education” that “grants preference based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity or national origin over another’s.”

Another state law forbids “any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping.” […]

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“It may be challenging now to remember that democracy and higher education have been good for each other. We don’t have to pretend to be neutral, but we do have a job to do,” Roth stated in a news release Wednesday.

He condemned the “mass deportations promised by president-elect Trump” as a threat to students “who may be undocumented.”

It is a “cause of great concern to many in our community,” Roth stated.

He pledged not to cooperate with the federal government in efforts to deport students or staff “because of their citizenship status.” […]

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“What can reading the texts that matter to us as sacred tell us about ourselves and our lives? Discover a new way to engage with the Taylor Swift canon that honors the important emotional and spiritual role her work plays in many peoples’ lives. Bring your favorite Taylor Swift song and we’ll bring the sacred reading practices,” the event description states.

The RSVP page also states the gathering is “open to people from all religious, ethical, and spiritual backgrounds.”

“We will be using Lectio Divina, an ancient Christian monastic reading practice, but the insights you gain from this practice will not necessarily be connected to the Christian tradition or ‘religious’ in nature. Students are invited and encouraged to bring insights and wisdom from their own lives, traditions, and backgrounds.”

Harvard is no stranger to Swift adoration. […]

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President Donald Trump’s “violent rhetoric” is getting worse, according to two political scientists.

University of California Los Angeles doctoral student Nikita Savin and UCLA Professor Daniel Treisman reached their conclusion after analyzing Trump campaign and presidential speeches from 2015 to 2024.

They compared it to President Barack Obama’s White House weekly addresses, even though a campaign speech is different in tone than a formal address. They have also said Hillary Clinton’s violent language is part of her “toughness” as a female politician confronting stereotypes.

“While politicians’ rhetoric does not always predict their actions, Trump’s increasing attachment to violent language and populist themes may offer insight into his future approach, whether as president or in defeat,” they wrote in The Conversation. […]

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The “Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement” will help students learn about the “fundamental challenge that we face in the university [or] on this planet in the coming hundred years,” Professor Sarah Gille told The College Fix on a phone interview.

Gille, a climate scientist, served on the faculty senate workgroup with the administration to finalize the requirement.

The 30 percent of the class content “should be focused on understanding and addressing climate change and its impacts,” according to an academic senate memo.

“Students can fulfill the requirement in courses that span the entire curriculum,” Gille told The Fix when asked about possible pushback from students who study in fields unrelated to climate change. […]

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In an official statement posted on X Tuesday, Gov. Lombardo (pictured) stated that he “wholeheartedly respect[s] the decision of the players.”

“No student athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period,” he stated.

“As I’ve said previously, I believe there are competition and safety concerns with this issue, and it’s irresponsible for the NCAA to put student athletes in a position of balancing their personal safety against the schools, competition, and sports that they love,” the governor stated.

He called on the NCAA to “address this issue in a consistent way that protects the integrity of women’s sports and the student athletes who participate.” […]

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David Yates (pictured), who goes by “Sasha,” got his job back via a 6-2 vote by the Gettysburg Area School District board last summer.

Yates had been dismissed after various complaints, including “changing in and ‘walking through’ the girls’ locker room,” and “talk[ing] to students about undergarment preferences and menstruation.”

But he later reapplied for his coaching position, and a solicitor recommended he be rehired — else the district could face a lawsuit.

Many in the local community favored Yates’ rehiring, claiming transphobia was behind his firing in the first place. […]

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“Following a year-long investigation, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) uncovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. federal research funding over the last decade has contributed to China’s technological advancements and military modernization,” a Committee on Education and the Work Force news release states.

“The results of our joint investigation are alarming,” Moolenaar (pictured) told The College Fix in an email statement.

The CCP “is driving its military advancements through US taxpayer-funded research and through joint [U.S.-China] institutes,” he said.

The House report states that millions of dollars in U.S. federal research funding have helped “the PRC achieve advancements in…hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, fourth generation nuclear weapons technology, and semiconductor technology.” […]

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A search for “LGBTQ” in the KSU 2024-25 course catalog brings up 14 courses, and a search for “gender” brings up 98 courses. A search for “sexuality” brings up 47 courses. A few of the courses overlapped among the three topics.

Among the offerings on tap at the public, Ohio-based institution: “Queer Theory,” “Introduction to Transgender Studies,” “Race, Gender, and Social Justice,” “Development of Gender Role and Identity,” and “Feminist and Queer Art and Cultural Theory.”

Students in the Queer Fiction Writing course “will write queer stories — and write stories queerly,” a flier promoting it states. “Students will read examples of LGBTQ+ fiction, and will interrogate the traditional fiction writing workshop. Can the workshop be ‘queered’?”

The course will be taught by Associate Professor Lauren Vachon, who uses they/she pronouns, according to the flier, a copy of which was obtained by The College Fix. […]

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